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1 Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History.]

FIFTH REPORT

Injurious and Other Insfxts

STATE OF NEW YORK.

Made to the Regents of the University, Pursuant to
Chapter 355, of the Laws of 1883.

By J. A. LINTNER, Ph. D., State Entomologist.

ALBANY:
THE TROY PRESS COMPANY, PRINTERS.

1889.

[From the 420 Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History.]

FIFTH REPORT

Injurious and Other Insects

STATE OF NEW YORK.

Made to the Reo-ents of the University, Pursuant to
Chapter 355, of the Laws of 1883.

By J. A. LINTNER, Ph. D., State Entomologist.

ALBANY:
THE TROY PRESS COMPANY, PRINTERS.

1889.

State of New York

No. 68.

IN SENATK,

Februaky 28, 1889.
FIFTH REPORT

STATE ENTOMOLOGIST ON THE INJUKIOUS AND OTHEE
INSECTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YOEK.

Office of the State Entomologist, )
Albany, February 25, 1889. j"

To the Legislature of the State of Neu) York :

I have the honor to present to the Legislature, my Fifth Report
on the Insects of the State of New York, which is also presented
to the Begents of the University, as required by law.

Very respectfully,

J. A. LINTNEE.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

TEANSMITTAL 151

EEMEDIES AND PEEVENTIVES OF INSECT ATTACK :

Cutting out the Squash-Vine Borer 155

Change of Soil for Strawberry Plants 156

Brine for the Currant-worm 156

Saltpetre not a Preventive of Cabbage -fly Attack 157

Preventives of Cabbage-fly Attack 158

Beans for Eepelling the Striped Cucumber Beetle 159

Gas-lime for the Woolly- Aphis 160

How to Kill the Apple-tree Aphis 160

Tobacco Dust for Aphis Attack 162

A Lime Wash for Bark-lice 163

INJUEIOUS HYMENOPTEEA :

Nematus Erichsonii Hartig — The Larch Saw-Fly 164

Nematus salicis-pomum Walsh — The Willow-apple Gall Saw-fly.. 173

INJUEIOUS LEPIDOPTEEA :

Darapsa Myron (Cramer)— The Green Gi'apevine Sphinx 174

Alypia octomaculata [Fabr.) and Eudryas grata {Fahr.) —The Eight-
spotted Forester and the Beautiful Woodnymph 179

Phobetron pithecium {Sm.-Ahh.)—TlhQ Hag-Moth Caterpillar 183

Anisota senatoria (Sni.-Abb.) — The Senatorial Oak Moth 192

Agrotis saucia (Hubner) — The Variegated Cut-worm 200

Mamestra picta Harris —The Zebra Cabbage Caterpillar 206

Mamestra grandis {Boisduval) —A Poplar-feeding Cut-worm 210

Penthina nimbatana {Clemens) — The Eose-leaf Tyer 213

Incurvaria acerifoliella {Fitch) —The Maple-leaf Cutter 215

INJUEIOUS DIPTEEA :

Haematobia (Lyperosia) serrata Bob. Desv.— The Cow-horn Fly ... 220

148 Contents. [6]

INJUEIOUS COLEOPTEEA: page.

Dynastes Tityus {Linn.) —The Spotted Horn-bug 227

Oberea bimaculata {Oliv.) — The Easpberry-cane Girdler 231

Galeruca zanthomelsena (Schrank) — The Elm-leaf Beetle 234

INJUEIOUS HEMIPTEEA :

Clastaptera obtusa {Say) — The Alder Spittle-Insect 242

Siphonophora avenas (Fabr.) —The Grain Aphis 246

Myzus cerasi (Fabr.) — The Cherry Aphis 253

INSECT ATTACKS AND MISCELLANEOUS OBSEEVATIONS :

The Canker-worm — Anisopteryx vernata (Peck) 258

Abundance of Geometrid Larvae 259

The Apple-leaf Bucculatrix 260

The Clover-seed Midge — Cecidomyia leguminicola Lintn 262

The Hessian-fly — Cecidomyia destructor Say 263

Sciara sp. ? Occurring on Wheat 264

The Cabbage-fly — Anthomyia brassicae BoucM 265

A Lady-bug Attack on Scale-insects 266

The Carpet Beetle — Anthrenus scrophularias (Linn.) 267

The Oak-pruner — Elaphidion parallelum Newm 268

Oviposition of Saperda Candida Fabr 269

Orthaltica copalina (Fabr.) 271

The Clover-leaf Weevil Destroyed by a Fungus Attack 272

Poecilocapsus lineatus {Fabr.) 273

Attack on Young Pears by a Plant-bug 275

An Experiment with the Thirteen-year Cicada 276

White Scale-insect Attack on Ivy — Aspidiotus nerii BoucM 278

The Black-knot of the Plum-tree and its Guests 280

Collections in the Adirondack Eegion, et al 281

Collections in the Adirondack Eegion in 1885 283

ACAEINA AND MYEIOPODA :

A Mite Attack on Garden Plants 287

A Parasitic Mite of a Sexton Beetle 289

A Parasitic Attack on the Colorado Potato-beetle 289

The Cheese-mite Infesting 'Smoked Meats — Tyroglyphus siro

{Linn.) 291

The Cheese-mite Infesting Flour 294

Food of Cermatia forceps {Raf.) 295

Julus cferuleocinctus beneath Carpets 296

[7 J Contents. 149

APPENDIX : page.

(A.) LIST OF PUBLICATIONS OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST 299

(B.) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT 324

GENERAL INDEX 327

PLANT INDEX 345

EBPOET

Office of the State Entomologist, )
Albany, December 11, 1888. j

To the Honorable Board of Regents of the University of the State of
New York:

Gentlemen. — In accordance witli chapter 355 of the Laws of
1883, I beg leave to present to your honorable board the follow-
ing report embracing, results of my studies and observations on
the Insects of the State of New York during the year 1888 :

Interesting insect attacks of an unusual number have presented
themselves for study, of which by far the larger number have
been upon our fruit crops. While it is evident to all who are
engaged in agricultural pursuits that insect depredations are
annually increasing in our country, both in the number of pests
and in the aggregate of the losses that they occasion, it is
equally evident to the entomologist, who is specially charged with
the study of these depredations, that the increase in new forms
of attack lies largely in the direction of fruit pests. A sufficient
reason for this may be found in the increasing attention that is
being given to fruit culture, and its remarkable extension, as a
commercial interest, year by year. How such extension in the
production of special crops tends to augment insect ravages in
still greater proportion, has been shown by me in former reports
and needs not to be repeated at the present.

Several of the new attacks are still under study and have not
progressed sufficiently to warrant present report upon them. Of
these are two forms of insect injury to fruits and fruit trees which
have for years been an enigma to us, but have found their explana-
tion during the past summer, although not yet assigned to
the particular species which cause the injury. In one, the young
fruit of the apple and pear, and perhaps the quince, are pitted,
become gnarled, often distorted, and fail of development even
when they remain upon the tree ; in the other, the trunks and
2

152 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [10]

limbs of fruit trees show areas of cliflferent sizes, varying from a
fraction of an inch to several inches, in which the sapwood is
killed so as to disclose patches of the dead inner wood from over
which the bark has broken away, leaving deeply depressed dead
portions, around the margin of which the annual growth of sap-
wood following the injiiry builds up an irregular wall.

An extraordinary multiplication of a common fruit-tree pest,
the apple-tree tent-caterpillar, CUsiocampa Americaiia, during the
past summer in the State of New York was such a phenomenal
event as to draw wide-spread attention to it. There is no record
of its ever having appeared before in such enormous numbers
over so extended a territory. Apple orchards in the eastern
counties of the State, and in portions of New England and New
Jersey, were only saved from defoliation through much earnest
labor. Where it had not been thought necessary to contend with
the caterpillar, as in its occurrence on the wild cherry and other
trees upon which it feeds, the leaves were eaten to the last- fragment,
and the defoliation was as complete as if they had been swept by
fire. In passing through the country a prominent feature of the
landscape was the multitude of these leafless trees in midsummer,
bearing in the forks of their branches the white web nests to the
number often of from twenty to forty in a single tree, which the
caterpillars had built up for their shelter at night and during
rains.

In connection with the above reference to fruit pests, it may be
of interest to state that injuries from the same source have been
reported in England the present year, to even a greater extent
than with us. Miss Ormerod, the eminent entomologist of the
Eoyal Agricultural Society of England has written me : " The
orchards in our fruit-growing counties were in some cases devas-
tated by the hordes of Lepidopterous caterpillars of various kinds
that swept off the foliage — in some instances even killing the trees."
Mr. Charles Whitehead, Agricultural Adviser to the Agricultural
Department of England, has recently reported as follows : " In
many of the principal fruit-producing districts, caterpillars have
lately caused most serious injury to apple, pear, plum, damson,
filbert, and other fruit trees, so that in some cases the whole crop
has been lost. When the blossom buds and leaf buds began to
unfold, it was seen that they were attacked by legions of cater-
pillars. Soon the blossoms and leaves were entirely devoured, or

[11] Report of the State Entomologist. 153

so much injured as to be useless. The fruit plantations in parts
of Kent, Hereford, Worcester, and some other counties where
fruit is extensively grown, looked as if a hot wind had passed over
them."

Grain nor grass crops have not suffered to any unusual extent.
Injury to June grass {Foa pratensis) through a thrips attack, which
has been noticed for several years, in which the larva extracts the
juices from the upper joint of the grass at its base, causing its
speedy withering and drjdng up, is apparently increasing and
largely extending its range. A similar attack on Timothy grass
{Phleum pratense) has been reported from Canada the present
year, and has also been observed by me in Albany county. I have
failed in my effort to rear the larvas to the perfect stage, and
thereby verify or disprove my belief that the Timothy insect is
identical with that which for a long term of years has been infest-
ing June grass,* to which Professor Comstock some time since
gave the MS. name of Limothrips poap)hagas, and has recently
published its characteristic features.

A feature of the year has been a remarkable exemption from
aphis injuries. The hop crop was unusually free from aphis
presence — in striking contrast with its excessive abundance and
destructiveness in 1886. Not a single complaint was received by
me of aphis injury to apple trees at the opening of the season
when almost annually the insect threatens the destruction of the
starting buds and the unfolding leaves. In a few cases only was
aphis attack of any kind reported, and then merely to some of
the minor garden crops.

In several portions of the State, the Colorado potato-beetle was
very abundant, showing that the pest is not disposed to abandon
the territory which it has occupied for a number of years, and
that it is still necessary to meet it persistently with the arsenical
insecticides, which, properly used, are adequate to its control.

There has been a notable increase in the operations of the oak-
pruner, Elapliidion p)arallelum Newman., in the southeastern
portion of the State, in cutting off the ends of the branches and
dropping them to the ground. A number of reports of its injuries
— not only to oaks but also to maples — have been received from
localities on Long Island. In one instance where the attacked

* Report of the State Entomologist to the Regents of the University, S. N. Y., for 1886,
pp. 96-98.

154 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [12]

trees were serving as ornaments of a lawn, it had been necessary
to gather the pruned tips and branches from the ground from
time to time, and carry them away by the cart-load for burning.
From features shown in the excised material sent me, it is
thought that more than one species of Elaphidion may have been
engaged in these attacks. This will be ascertained when the
beetles have been reared from the infested twigs.

From several sections of the State, as notably from Jefferson
county, unusually severe attacks from the rose-bug, Macrodactylus
subspinosLts (Fabr.), have been reported — in some instances destroy-
ing both the foliage and the fruit of the plum, the cherry, and the
grape.

Fuller's rose-beetle, Aramigiis Fulleri Horn, a destructive
curculionid beetle, but fortunately of only local distribution, has
occasioned considerable trouble in the rose-houses in Rochester,
N. Y. Mr. W. J. Palmer states that the beetle is found in the
morning sitting at the base of the leaves, and if disturbed, usually
escapes by dropping to the ground and hiding.

The white grub, Lachnosterna fusca (Frolich), has inflicted
much damage on pastures in Lewis county, by eating the roots of
the grasses. On one farm, that of Mr. J. L. Seymour, near Lyons
Falls Station, it had destroyed thirty acres of pasture, and its
operations at the time the report was made, seemed to be spread-
ing to several other farms in the vicinity.

I regret that the very brief time that has elapsed between the
printing of my fourth report (issued November twenty-third) and
the presentation to your honorable board of the present one, has
not permitted the more careful preparation and arrangement of
the following pages which they would otherwise haA'e received,
and the introduction of some desired original illustration. I
would, therefore, beg the indulgence of my fellow entomologists,
and of those who may be familiar with most of the figures pre-
sented, so long as they will be new and serviceable to many
of the agriculturists whom they will reach.

Respectfully submitted.

J. A. LINTNER.

REMEDIES AM PREYENTIYES OF INSECT ATTACKS.

Cutting out the Squash-Vine Borer.

This pernicious insect — the larva of Melittia cucurhitce (Harris)
of the injuries of which complaints are often received,
vs^as given an extended notice in the Second Report on
the Insects of New York, pp. 57-68, and the remedies piG.i — The Squash-
and preventives pointed out which were thought to vine borer. Melit-
be the most serviceable against it. In referring to
protection by " cutting out the larvpe," it was stated : " When, how-
ever, thousands of the larvte have to be destroyed in order to
insure the crop, the method is quite unsatisfactory. It certainly
is not reliable under the great increase of the insect in recent years,
as stimulated by the increased cultivation of the Hubbard squash."

I would now recommend its adoption in (he manner detailed below,
in connection with the means which Mr. Goff, of the New York
Agricultural Experiment Station, found so successful, viz., " wetting
the stems at a distance of two feet from the base of the plants with water
containing Paris green at the rate of half a teaspoonful to a gallon,
after'every rain, from the middle of July to the first of September;"
and as preventive of egg-deposit, placing in each hill four or five corn
cobs dipped in coal tar, and redipping them from time to time
during July and August.

With these methods faithfully employed, there would seem to be
no necessity for failure in maturing a crop of squashes, so far as
dependent upon the attack of its greatest enemy.

We give below an extract from a communication to the Country
Gentleman of August 12, 188(5, from Mr. H. C. Schmitz, of Albemarle
county, Va., in which his manner of detecting the presence of the
"borer," its extraction, and subseciuent treatment of the vine, are
detailed. The success that attended these measures are a sufficient
recommendation for their general adoption.

Walking through the plantation at regular intervals, to operate
immediately when action was wanted, I noticed the following signs as
a certain indication of the presence of the borer.

The vine assumes a more or less yellow color, often the whole,
sometimes only the portion near the main root ; the leaves droop,

156 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [14]

sometimes wilt badly. Generally the borer enters the main stem
near the root, but often at the apex of the lower leaves, which then
discolor, droop and wilt. If the borer has entered the main stem,
now below the surface after repeated workings of the soil, the earth
must be scraj)ed away to the depth of two inches, more or less.
The main stem on being pressed between the fingers, will be found
soft and hollow, often nearly girdled from the inside. Here, with a
penknife, I slit the stem, and proceed upward until the inside shows
normal growth again. Often I have extracted from such a slit two or
three specimens, measuring from one-fourth of an inch or less to one
inch or more, some in the main stem, others having proceeded into
side branches, even into the peduncles of the leaves. Next working
with the knife downward in the direction of the root, you may find
more. Let your work be thorough ; be not satisfied with finding only
one borer ; lay bare to your eyes the whole inside of the stem as far
as the borer has been feeding. One single borer left will absorb
nearly all the sap flowing upward to feed the plant.

The squash vine calloses speedily if some dry dust is rubbed on
the wound ; then covering the injured stem with a little mound of
fine soil, the sap flows again in its natural direction, and the plant
recuj)erates soon. I have plants growing finel}^ now where repeated
incisions (the work was not done thorough from the start) had not
left more than one-eighth of an inch of bark. If not layered already,
layer immediately. The vine strikes root rapidly in mellow moist
soil, and as yet I have never found a borer above the layer, nor a
second attack in a callosed stem ; and it might be a good preventive
to slit the stem of the young plant from the root to the third leaf,
sprintle with mellow soil, and layer at the fourth leaf. Then again, I
saw to-day some layered plants growing thriftily, where by repeated
incisions and workings the main stem had been severed from the main
root.

Change of Soil for Strawberry Plants.
At a meeting of the American Horticultural Society, Mr. Smith, of
Wisconsin, stated that insects had been a great hinderance to him in
raising strawberries, until he practiced setting the plants in soil that
had not grown strawberries in several years, kept them well cultivated,
raised one crop, and immediately plowed the vines under as soon as
the crop was gathered, when he had no more trouble with insects.
{Country Gentleman, Oct. 7, 1886, p. 753.)

Brine for the Currant-worm.
I am indebted to Mrs. Lucy T. Chrisman, of Chrisman, Va., for the
communication of the following method of protection from the cur-
rant-worm, Nematus ventricosus Klug.

I have for three seasons gotten the better of the currant and goose-
berry-worm by sprinkling the bush thoroughly, so as to wet each
worm and the eggs under the leaves, with brine. It requires a pretty

[15] Report of the State Entomologist. 157

strong briue to kill the worms — so strong as to kill the bush also
unless it be washed off at once by a good wetting with pure water,
when no harm is done to the foliage.

This method, if effectual, would be desirable for use against the
second brood of worms that makes its appearance in July, if there is
fear that the fruit might be dangerous for use from the application of
hellebore.

Saltpetre not a Preventive of Cabbage-fly Attack.

In the Second Bejwrt on the Insects of New York, 1885, page 28, in
consideration of statements quoted from agricultui-al journals of the
complete efficacy of a solution of saltpetre in protecting from cut-
worms and insects attacking squash and cucumber vines, it was
recommended that experiments with this solution be made upon our
smaller root insects, such as the radish, cabbage and onion maggots.

At my request, Mr. E. S. Goff, of the N. Y. Agricultural Experiment
Station, has kindly made exj^eriments with it upon the most injurious
of the above insects, viz., the cabbage-maggot, with the following
results:

I dissolved one pound of saltpetre in two gallons of water and
poured about a gill of the solution around each plant, leaving alter-
nate rows untreated. This was done on the first indication that the
plants were infested, which was on May thirty-first. The application
was repeated on June fourth, tenth and sixteenth. On June eigh-
teenth, twenty-nine of the treated plants and twenty-six of those not
treated were examined. On the former 124 maggots were found, and
on the latter twenty-five. The treated row was the outside of the plat,
which may account for its having been infested more than the others.
I have frequently noticed that outside rows are more injured by inju-
rious insects than the others. The experiment proved conclusively that
nitrate of potash used in the strength and manner described, is not
destructive of the maggot, as I repeatedly found the young, appar-
ently just hatched, on the treated plants, as well as of all other stages
of development.

In order to see if a stronger solution would avail, solutions of vary-
ing degrees of strength were tried, uj) to saturation, but the larvse
were able to endure the strongest.

We also tried the effect of mixing aii'-slacked lime with the soil at
the time of setting the plants, but with no better success.

In view of the above experiments, it is not probable that the value
of the saltpetre solution as a preventive of cut-worm injur3% would be
sustained by experiments as carefully conducted as were those of
Mr. Goff. Its insecticidal properties, if it possesses any, have
evidently been overstated.

158 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [16]

Preventives of Cabbage-fly Attack.
The "cabbage-maggot" — the larva of the cabbage-fly, Anthomyia
brassiccB, has proved a difficult insect to control. Various remedies
and preventives have been given and suggested, none of which have
been found to serve the desired purpose of affording entire immunity
from its injuries in all localities. As the injury done to the plant is
beneath the surface of the ground, it is evident that the efficacy of
the proposed remedy may be materially affected by the character and
condition of the soil in which it is employed. Several of the methods
that have been found successful in preventing or lessening the losses
from this great pest, or that promise success, will therefore be
mentioned.

1. Tobacco dust, to be procui-ed fi'om tobacco factories, sprinkled
freely over the young plants, is said to prevent the deposit of the
eggs by the fly.

2. Mr. Peter Henderson claims that he has been able to prevent the
ravages in his sample grounds where all the varieties of cabbages and
cauliflowers are tested, by preparing the ground with a dressing of
150 bushels of oyster-shell lime to the acre. In one year when this
had been neglected, and a formidable attack was made upon the
jDlants about the middle of May, it was at once arrested, by scraping
the soil from the stem of each plant, dusting lime around it and draw-
ing up the ground again to the stem. In addition a handful of guano
was dusted around every five or six plants. Strong roots were made
above the wounds from the maggots, and the crop was saved. The
lime preventive was the result of fifteen years emploj^ment in success-
ful cabbage culture. Where the oyster-shell lime is not attainable,
its equivalent in stone-lime may be quite as efficient. {Rural New
Yorker, June 27, 1886, p. 433.)

3. When gas-lime can be obtained as a refuse fi-om gas-works, if
worked into the ground at a moderate depth after its exposure for a
proper time, it will effectually prevent the ojDerations of the maggot.

4. Ammoniacal liquor, another refuse from gas manufacture —
diluted with twice its volume of water and poured around the infested
plants in sufficient quantity to reach the roots, will kill the attacking
larvae. It will be a fine fertilizer, also.

5. A contributor to the New England Homedead has given this
remedy: "Take green burdock leaves and stalks, run them through a
hay-cutter, put them in a kettle or tub, and mash them with an old ax
or mall, adding water and pounding them to a pulp. Let it stand over
night. Have the decoction strong, and when you see tlie first sign of

[17] Report of the State Entomologist. 159

the maggot, use it, and you will find it a dead shot for the maggot.
Apply it with a sprinkler, taking off the nose, and pour the solution
along the rows. I seldom have to apply it a second time." The same
remedy is recommended for the onion-worm, and it has, to my certain
knowledge, been jDroved effectual against the attack of the white-grub
on strawberry plants.

6. A strong decoction of common tansy, where it is abundant,
would probably be about as serviceable as the burdock.

7. A preventive of attack that has been used in England with good
result, is, dipping the plants in a puddle of cow-dung or night soil,
so as to smear the roots and stems well up to the leaves with the
mixture.

8. Another English preventive is to dip the stems in thick soot and
water. It appears to imj^art a bitterness to the plants that the mag-
gots do not relish, and it is also found to ward off attack from grubs
and cut-worms.

9. Hellebore gives promise of being as useful against the cabbage
(and onion and radish) maggot, as it has proved in protecting
tobacco j)lauts from cut-worms. In the latter case, the young plants
were dipped before setting out, in a solution of white hellebore in
water — one-fourth of a pound in ten quarts of water. A gentleman in
West Meriden, Conn., on June twenty-second, set 3,000 tobacco j^lants,
and on the following morning he took from a row of 180 plants 214 cut-
worms. On June twenty-fourth, he set out over 2,000 plants treated
with the hellebore as above, of which he subsequently found but one
plant eaten and that but slightly.

10. Avoid the use of fresh barnyard manure on cabbage ground, as
that is believed to invite deposit of the eggs of the fly and to offer
protection to the maggot.

Other remedies and preventives are mentioned in the First Rqiort
on the Insects of New Yo7'k, 1882 (p. 190), in which an extended notice
of the insect is given.

Beans for Repelling the Striped Cucumber Beetle.
The recommendation has often been made of planting beans in each
hill with the cucumber seed, to repel the strij^ed beetle. A wi'iter in
the New York Tribune has given his method of growing beans and
cucumbers on the same ground, at first solely with the object of
economizing space and labor by getting two crops from the same
ground, but which gave the additional result of freedom from the
beetle attack. The ground was marked three feet apart each way
with a corn plow, and butter beans and cucumbers or melons were
3

160 FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON TEE StATE MuSEUM. [18]

planted alternately in one row, and in the next all beans, thus making
the melons six feet apart each way. The string beans were out of the
way in time for the melons to occupy the ground. Previous to adopt-
ing this method, it had been found necessary to go the rounds every
morning before sunrise and kill the beetles, and even then they could
not be kept under control.

Gas-lime for the Woolly-aphis.
It appears from Bulletin No. 55 of the University Experiment
Station at San Francisco, Cal., that the experiments made with gas-
lime for destroying the woolly-
aphis of the apple tree,
Schizoneura lanigera (Hausm.),
the root form of which
is represented in Fig. 2, have
shown the value of this insec-
ticide for the destruction of a
pest, hitherto almost beyond

our control. In the experi-
PiG. 2. —The apple-root plant-louse, Sghi- , i i . /■

zoNEUEA lanigeea; «. the knotted root; f^andc, ^^^nts made about four years
wingless and winged larval forms. ^gO, an application of ten

pounds of the lime to a tree had killed the aphis infesting the
roots, but at the same time, some of the trees standing on
shallow soil had been killed by the application, and the general
results were therefore reported as not satisfactory, the more so, as the
aphis was subsequently seen descending to the roots. Since that time
it has been found that only the badly located or weak trees had been
killed, and that the aphis had not reinfested the roots, but existed
only at the surface of the ground. Later experiments with the gas-
lime differently applied, gave very satisfactory results, in entirely
arresting the aphis attack, without injury to the trees. Instead of
removing the soil and putting the gas-lime in close contact with the
tree, as done the first time to the corrosion of the bark, about a
shovelful and a half (two or three pounds) in a dry state were dis-
tributed over the surface in a radius of four feet, trusting to the rain
to carry it into the soil. A few shovelfuls of fresh ashes were piled
close about the trunk to prevent the aphis from congregating on the
crown.

How TO Kill the Apple-tree Aphis.

A correspondent had asked for an effectual cure for green lice or
aphides on the leaves of apple-trees. He had used kerosene, tobacco
and strong soap-wash, each of which had killed the lice, but others
appeared very soon in apparently greater numbers than at first,

[191

Report of the State Entomologist.

161

Answer was returned that it was not difficult to kill the apple-tree
aphis, Aphis mali Fabr., shown in Fig. 3, and to arrest the attack,
if the means be used at the j^roper
time, with proper apparatus, and
in the right manner, as herewith
given :

1. The proper time to attack the

aphis is early in the spring, before

the trees are in leaf. Later, many

of the insects will be so protected

in the folds and curls of the leaves

,, , , , T .• , 1 Fig. 3.— Apple-tree aphis, Aphis mali;

that the applications can not reach winged and wingless forms.

them, and contact with the insecticides is essential to their destruc-
tion, since they can not be killed by poisoning the foliage of the tree,
as their food consists only of its sap. The best time to reach the pest
is during the late autumn or winter, when, if the leafless trees be
thoroughly sprayed with a kerosene emulsion, the eggs will be killed.
The emulsion may be made by violently agitating (through the use of
a force-pump or otherwise) until in a homogeneous mass, two gallons
of kerosene to one gallon of a hot soap solution, made by dissolving
half a pound of common soap in one gallon of water. For use, dilute
with nine parts of water — a quart of the emulsion to nine quarts of
water, or in the same proportion.

The.best time to kill the aphis, if it has been neglected in the egg
stage, is just after its hatching, while still gathered upon the unopened
buds and portions of twigs adjoining. Without the work of preparing
the kerosene emulsion, which involves considerable labor, most if not
all may be killed at this time by spraying with strong soap-suds or a
tobacco solution, say half a pound of tobacco to a gallon of boiling
water. As these solutions often fail to kill the old. matured aphis,
and as it matures in about ten or twelve days after hashing, a second
si^raying, and a third if found to be necessary, should follow at about
a week's interval.

2. The p7-oper ajyparatus to be used is a force-pump of sufficient power
(no farmer or fruit-grower can afford to be without this implement),
and a nozzle which will distribute the liquid in a fine spray or mist.
There are a number of nozzles which will accomjilish this which have
been made for use in large orchards. Among these, the most popular
ones are the ^ixon Climax nozzles, made by the Nixon Nozzle Company,
at Dayton, Ohio; the Boss nozzle, and the Graduating Spray nozzle. The
Hallowell Brass Company, of Lowell, Mass., have recently put upon
the market an a^toniizer and a nozzle which promises very efficient

162 Forty-second Report on the State Museu3i. [20]

work. Suitable pumps may be bad of tbe Field Force Pump Com-
pany, of Lockport, N. Y. ; Goulds Manufacturing Company, at Seneca
Falls, N. Y. ; Rumsey & Company, also of Seneca Falls, and P. C. Lewis,
of Catskill, N. Y. Each of tbe above firms will readily send illustrated
circulars giving style and prices of their pumps and spraying appara-
tus from which selection may be made.

3. The right manner of applying the insecticide, when employed
against plant-lice, is, that it shall be made to reach every insect. This
is not essential when the canker-worm and other caterpillars which
feed by means of cutting jaws upon the poisoned foliage are to be
killed. The finer the spray can be delivered from the nozzle, the
more effective is it against the aphis. Other advantages of fine
spraying are, economy in the material used, and, in the case of arsen-
ites, less danger of poisoning stock that may enter the orchard before
heavy rains have occurred, by the dripping of the liquid from the
trees upon the grass. If London purple be used instead of Paris
green (with which it is equally effective) of a dilution of one pound to
150 gallons of water, and the spraying be discontinued as soon as the
trees commence to drip, danger in this direction will be very little,
if any.

Tobacco Dust fob Aphis Attack.

Mr. Peter Henderson, the experienced and well-known horticultur-
ist of Jersey City Heights, N. J., has lately published his method of
dealing with the plant-lice or Aphides that are so injurious to roses,
grapevines, chrysanthemums, and hundreds of other species of plants
cultivated both in the open air and under glass. While the antidote
used by him is not new, his method of application may not be gener-
ally known. It is as follows:

"A certain remedy is to apply tobacco dust with a bellows when the
leaves are wet, at/least once a week — twice is better. We have used
this as a prevei^ve remedy for many years with the most excellent
results on all plants subject to aphis.

" The main reason why remedies fail is owing to the fact that they
are rarely long enough persisted in. One or two applications may
check the trouble, but will check it only. My rule for these pests is
prevention, which need never fail, if the remedy is steadily applied.

" In our new practice every kind of plant that we know to be liable
to be attacked by aphis is dusted over with tobacco dust twice each
week from June to October. Of course at such times as the roses or
chrysanthemums are in fiower, or when the fruit of grapes is ripening,
it must not be used, but these conditions only occur for a short sea-
son, and there is no necessity for using the dust in winter, as then

[21] Report of the State Entomologist. 163

fumigation with tobacco stems kills the aphis." {Popular Gardening,
for December, 1887, iii, p. 50.)

"We have omitted from the above the references to prevention of
mildew, by mixing one part of black or virgin sulphur to nine parts
of the tobacco dust.

A Lime "Wash for Bark-lice.
The following application has been recommended for the destruc-
tion and removal of scale insects infesting fruit trees. The materials
named are certainly sufficiently j)owerful to accomplish the purpose,
and the omission of one or two of the number would not, it would
seem, impair the efficacy of the wash. It is as follows:

Slake stone lime, as for whitewash, and to two-thirds of a bucket-
ful add one pint of gas-tar, one pound of whale-oil soap dissolved in
hot water, one pound of common soft soap, one pound of potash or one
pint of strong lye from wood ashes, and also clay or loam enough to
make the wash of i^roper thickness to be applied with a whitewash
brush.

It is also claimed for the above that it is an effectual remedy and
preventive of the peach-tree borer, if the earth be removed from the
collar of the tree and thoroughly applied about the base; also, that if
the trunks of apple trees are coated with it, it will prevent the
operation of the striped apple-tree borer.

INJURIOUS HYMENOPTERA.

Nematus Erichsonii Hartig.

The Larch Saw-fiy.
(Ord. Hymenoptera : Fam. Tenthredinidje.)

Hartig : Die Familien der Blattwespen und Holzwespen, 1837, p. 187, No. 9

(original descr.) ; in Stett. Ent. Zeit., i, 1840, p. 22.
Ratzeburg : Forstinsekten, iii, 1844, p. 121, pi. 3, f. 4.
Hagen: in Canad. Entomol., xiii, 1881, p. 37 (identified in XJ. S.) ; in Kept.

Comm. Agricul. for 1883, p. 141-2.
Packard : in Kept. Comm. Agricul. for 1883, p. 138, pi. 3, f. 1, pi. 13, figs.

1-4 (history, tiabits, descr.) ; Bull. No. 3, Div. Entomol. — U S. Dept.

Agricul., 1883, p. 29 (in Maine); in Kept. Coram. Agricul. for 1884,

p. 377 (operations); in Amer. Nat., xviii, 1884, pp. 293-296, figs. ; in

Rept. Comm. Agricul. for 1885, p. 321 (operations) ; in Bull. 13, Div.

Ent.— U. S. Dept. Agricul., 1887, p. 20; Entomology for Beginners,

1888, p. 166, f. 207.
Fletcher: in Canad. Entomol., 1884, p. 215 (distribution in Canada; in

Eept. Min. Agricul. for 1884, p. 215 (distrib.) ; in 15th Rept. Ent.

Soc. Ont., 1885, p. 22 (ravages of), pp. 72-77; Rept. Entomol. for

1885, p. 28 ; id. for 1887, p. 35.
Fyles: in 14th Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont., 1884, p. 17 (in Canada); in Canad.

Entomol., xv, 1884, p. 216.
Provancher: Addit. Faun. Hymenop. Can., 1885, p. 5, f . 1 ; in Nat. Canad.,

XV, 1885, pp. 45-53, figs. 8-11 (general notice).
Harrington: in Canad. Entomol., xxiii, 1886, p. 39.
Lintner: in Entomolog. Amer., iii, 1887, p. 121 (in N. Y.) ; 4th Rept. Ins.

N. Y., 1888, p. 16; in 18th Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont., 1888, p. 32.
Jack: in 17th Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont., 1887, p. 16.
Cresson : Synop. Hymenop. N. Amer., 1887, p. 158.
Saunders : in 18th Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont., 1888, p. 31 (in Nova Scotia and New

Brunswicli).

The larch saw-fly is a recently introduced pest, having been
brought from Europe, it is believed, into Massachusetts not long prior
to the year 1880 on some European larches. It has displayed a dis-
pdsition for rapid distribution, as it has Avithin the decade spread
and carried its ravages over a large part of New England, Canada,
and the State of New York. It will in the near future probably
extend its range over all that portion of the country where its food-
plant, the larch, occurs. Originally feeding in Germany on the Larix

[23]

Report of the State Entomologist.

165

Eumpcea, it seems to have found our native species, Larix Americana,
commonly known as the tamarack or hackmatack, particularly
adapted to its tastes, as shown in the havoc which it inflicts in the
tamarack swamps of New York and New England.

The insect is illustrated in Fig. 4 For details of life-history, and
its description, reference may be made to the writings of Dr. Packard
in the reports of the Commissioner of Agriculture, above cited. For

Fig. 4.— The larch saw-fly, Nematus Eeichsonh, in natural size and enlarged, and the
larch worm of different ages, in natural size. (From Packard.)

the present it will suffice to say that the parent saw-fly emerging
from her cocoon in the month of May, probably not long thereafter
resorts to the larches and inserts its oval, cylindrical eggs, according
to Dr. Packard, in two rows of incisions in the tei-minal shoot or one
of the side shoots, causing a twisting and deformity therein from the
presence and growth of the eggs. The larvrc, hatching in June,
mature raj^idly, " in from five to seven days, or not more than ten,"
when they descend from the trees and inclose themselves within their
elongate oval cocoons beneath moss or other convenient shelter.
This occurs the last of June or in early July, in New York. They
remain unchanged within the cocoon during the winter and assume
the pupal form the following spring, as is the habit of many of the
TenthredinidcB.

166 Forty-second Report ON THE State MusEU3i. [24]

The Insect in Europe.
Eatzeburg, in his celebrated work on Forest Insects, notices the
occurrence of this insect in Germany and in other parts of Europe.
It had apjDeared on the larch in the Hartz mountains and in the plains
of Holstein, in sufficient numbers to attract the attention of forestry
officers, and it was feared that it might become injurious. According
to Dr. Hagen, it had only been observed as obnoxious to the larch
twice before 1840, and was very rare in Europe. It was not among
the extensive collections of European insects brought thence by him
to the Cambridge Museum.

Its Appearance in the United States.

In the year 1880, Professor C. S. Sargent, Director of the Arnold
Arboretum at Brookline, Mass., discovered larvae feeding upon some
European larches, Larix Earojxea growing in the vicinity. They were
submitted to Dr. Hagen, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at
Cambridge, and identified by him, from the description and figures
of Ratzeburg, as Nematus Erichsonii Hartig. This is the first record of
the appearance of this saw-fly in this country, which soon thereafter
developed destructive powers entirely foreign to its European
character.

Its Spread throughout New England.

It is reported as having been injurious to larches in the State of
Maine, in 1881, and in 1882 its operations were observed by Dr. Packard,
during the month of August, in the vicinity of Brunswick, Me., as
detailed in his "First Report on the Destruction of Evergreen Forests
in Northern New England," loc. cit. The same year, it also appeared
in New Hampshire.

Its Occurrence in New York,

The following year (1883) about July twenty-fifth and early in
August the effects of the insect were observed at Horicon and Pot-
tersville, Warren county, and at Schroon lake in Essex county. ' By the
first of August the trees had been defoliated. The region affected
was very extensive, covering many square miles in different swamps.
It was also reported " from Schroon lake to North Elba and about
Mount Marcy." (Packard.)

During the years 1884, 1885, and 188G, the same attack upon the
larches, or tamaracks, as they are more generally called, was observed
by State Botanist Peck, in several of the counties of Northern New
York. The notes kindly given me of the place, time and degree of
injury wrought, were intrusted to a friend for his use and have been
unfortunately lost, so that the details can not now be put on record.

[25J Report of the State Entomologist, 167

In St. Lawrence county. — June 29, 1887, larvse of this species were
received for name from Dr. E. L. Sturtevant of the State Agricultural
Experiment Station, which had been sent to him by Mr. E. Phelps of
De Kalb Junction. When the package was opened the following day,
one of the larvae had already inclosed itself in its cocoon. It is
believed that this is the earliest recorded date of larval maturity.
The following notice taken from the St. Lawrence Republican of July
27, 1887, will give some idea of the immense number in which the
"worm" made its appearance:

Mr. David Page of Jerusalem Corners, in this town, has given us an
account of a remarkable pest of worms which recently infested his
premises. Tliere are three larch or tamarack trees growing in his
door yard. About July seventh, very soon after the extremely ^ot
weather set in, a few worms appeared upon them, feeding upon the
leaves. The next day they had doubled in number, and in a day or
two had become a countless host, completely covering the trees, so
that the end of the finger could not be placed even on the trunk of
one of them without touching one or more of the worms. They also
covered apple and maple trees and shrubbery, and the grass
beneath, but ate nothing, so far as could be discovered, except the
leaves of the tamaracks. They swarmed upon the house and piazza,
and it became necessary to sweep them from the latter every few min-
utes. They accumulated in little windrows along by the house. The
countless hordes of worms became an object of great curiosity and
interest to j^eople of the neighborhood, and Mr. Page and his family
became really alarmed as to the result of this invasion ; but in scarcely
a week from the time of their first appearance they disappeared as
rapidly as they had come, and in a day or two none of them were to
be found. The tamaracks were left as bare as in winter, but no other
signs of damage were visible. Whether the worms had gone into the
grounder what had become of them seems not to have been ascertained.

In Otsego county. — Other examples of the larva and two of the
cocoons were received by the State Entomologist, July ninth, from
Rev. Henry U. Swinnerton, of Cherry Valley. He has kindly fur-
nished, on request, some observations made by him, extracts from
which are herewith given, as showing interesting habits of migration,
etc. of the larvae, when occurring on isolated trees. Under date of
July ninth, he wrote:

I send you specimens of a worm that has appeared in considerable
numbers on a larch tree on the lawn of Mr. Lansing, my neighbor.
They began dropping off in a pattering shower, and are migrating
towards some maples not far off.

Additional particulars of the migration were furnished under date

of July twelfth :

The larch saw-fly worm seems to have disappeared, and within a
very limited distance from the tree from which they started. They
crept in an easterly direction diagonally toward the street, about

168 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [26]

thirty feet from the tree. Several maples in the track were invaded.
Salt was strewn on the flagstones to kill them, but many reached the
maples outside. I do not find that a single one crossed the road.
Where they disappeared to I can not imagine.

I know of but four larches about the village — two of them fine,
good-sized trees. Of two smaller ones, one quite small, had some of
the worms upon it, and the foliage shows that it had been eaten, but
only a little. The other is embowered among maples, and does not
seem to show any injury. But the two large trees are very much
strij)ped, only a few of the lower branches retaining any foliage.
The second of them is on Miss Roseboom's place. * * * *
In this case also, the worms crept in an easterly direction, going up a
pine, some hemlocks, and a horse chestnut — " millions of them," as I
am told.

I had a man climb both the larch and a maple at Mr Lansing's
in search of the saw-flies, but he could find hardly one. We then
began to discover apparently dead ones, then a few living ones.
But it seemed surprising that so few should be discoverable. Further
search revealed more living ones just beneath the ground and among
the moss at the roots of the tree, especially under the larch. Finally
we were led to conclude that the brown cocoons, of which there
seemed to be a great number, must belong to them. I inclose the
whole collection in a box and send it to you. * * * *
It was only last Thursday (July seventh), that the worm was first
observed.

A diagram of a portion of the village accompanied the above com- .
munication, showing streets, residences, the location of the trees, direc-
tion of the migrations, etc. — evincing the interest excited by the
appearance and movements of the new visitor.

In Schoharie county. — The following paragraph from the Country
Gentleman of July 14, 1887, refers, without doubt, to the operations of
the larch saw-fly larva.

The tamarack trees in this section are infested with multitudes of
rather small, green worms with black heads, which are stripping them
of their foliage. — Sharon Centre, N. Y., July 8, 1887.

Personal Observations in Hamilton County.
During a visit to the southern portion of the Adirondack region,
July fourteenth to August fifth, the opportunity was offered of making
a few observations on this insect. The season at this time was too far
advanced to note the attack either at its commencement or its height.
All of the larches within sight of the stage route from Newton's
Corners, at the foot of Lake Pleasant, to Sageville at its head, a dis-
tance of four miles, had been almost entirely stripped at the earliest
date above named. The trees of this species of which there are
many, in some places it being the prevailing growth, could be recog-
nized at the greatest distance from which they could be seen by their

[27] Report of tee State Entomologist. 169

nakedness, appearing as if dead, which undoubtedly some of them
were, as the result of previous defoliation. The elevation above tide
of Lake Pleasant is 1,800 feet.

No information could be obtained of residents of the time when the
injury to the larches had first been noticed. To many it seemed quite
new when their attention was at this time called to it, although it
might probably have been observed during the two or three preced-
ing summers.

Very few of the larvse were to be found on the trees on the nineteenth
July, and as most of these were apparently but about half-grown and
of a pale green color, as if recently molted, it is not improbable that
they weQ:-e belated, sickly, or parasitized individuals which were des-
tined not to attain maturity.

Not all of the larches in the vicinity had been wholly stripped. A
large one of eighteen inches in diameter at three feet from the ground
and reaching upward to a height of at least seventy feet, standing
alone in a pasture lot, and throwing out long and thick branches, had
its foliage less than one-half eaten. From a large number of larches
of a moderate height — of fifteen feet and under — that were entirely
free from harm, it appeared that the younger trees were not sought
by the parent saw-fly for oviposition. Whenever they had been eaten,
they were in the immediate vicinity of larger trees, which, having
been stripped, the migrants from them, in their search for food, may
have been able to ascend, with difficulty, in small numbers, such of
the smaller ones as chanced to be in their way. The tips of these
small larches, gave no evidence of oviposition in them.

Cocoons. — Cocoons, in some instances only, were found underneath
the trees where search was made for them, but not at all commensu-
rate with the immense number of larvse that had evidently been
present. Is it the habit of the larva to wander from the feeding-
ground to some distance in search of a favorable place for pupation ?
Do they leave the tree for the purpose at about the same time, after
the habit of some of the Lepidoptera, as, Datana niinistra and (Ede-
masia concinna; and if so, is this the explanation of the " migrations "
previously mentioned? Most of the cocoons collected were taken from
underneath moss growing around the borders and in cavities of rocks.
A large proportion — about ten percent — had been eaten into at
one end and the larva consumed.

Parasites and Enemies. — From the number of ants that were noticed
in association with the cocoons, it was thought that the credit for this
destruction might be due to them. With so active an enemy travers-

170 FoRTT-SEcoND Report ON THE State Museum. [28]

ing the soil in every direction, but few of the larvse could be expected
to survive the winter.

A Podisus pupa (one of the large plant-bugs) was taken July nine-
teenth from the trunk of a tree feeding on one of the saw-fly worms.
It was subsequently fed in confinement on Nematus and Haltica himar-
ginata larvte to the imago stage, which it assumed July thirtieth, when it
proved to be Podisus modestus Dallas. In fastening upon its prey, in
almost every instance observed its proboscis was inserted near the
anal end of the larva. Full-grown forms of both species were fear-
lessly seized and firmly held by it until their fluids were exhausted.
The larvse collected were remarkably free from parasitic attack. A
single small white cocoon, apparently of a Microgaster, was obtained
from a half-grown example.

Larvce failed to viature. — Although rather large collections were
made of the cocoons (several hundred) at Sageville, not one of them
gave the imago the following spring, although they were carefully
secluded from light and given a damp atmosj)here from water evapor-
ated underneath the breeding-case during most of the autumn and
winter. Failing to disclose the imago in due time, a nvimber of the
cocoons were opened, when each was found to contain the shriveled
remains of the larva — none having reached the pupal stage.

The Hibernated Insect from Cherry Valley, N. Y.

In consideration of the above failure to obtain examples of the
perfect insect for the State collection, request was made of the Rev.
Mr. Swinnerton, of Cherry Valley, for some hibernated cocoons, if
procurable, from underneath the infested larches of last year. A
number were received, on May 1, 1888, which, upon opening a few,
disclosed the living insect in its pupal stage. On May eighth, four of
the saw-flies emerged, and the following day, eighteen others — all of
which, except one, were females. No others appearing, the remaining
cocoons were oj)ened for examination, and gave a half-dozen dead
matured females, and from one within a slight inner cocoon, the pale
yellow-green pupa of a large ichneumon fly, believed to be a Pimpla,
was taken, and cared for, but failed to develop.

That additional males, and knowledge of the relative proportion of
the sexes, and perhaps other parasites, might be obtained, request
was made of Mr. Swinnerton for another sending of cocoons, if not
too late for finding them with living pupae. The larger number were
reported open at one end and empty. Of the few that were received
on the eighteenth of May, twenty had given out the insect when

[29] Report of the State Entomologist. 171

examined on the twenty-third, four on June first, and six others by
the eighth of June — the latest date of emergence.

Di)iparity of sexes. — Of fifty-eight examples of the fly examined,
only one was of the male sex. Is it possible that the cocoons were
not received in season (May fii'st) to sdcure the males, which ordinarily
are the first to make their apj)earance ? Still, in rearing, in July, 1888,
from the larvte collected on or about a poplar {Populus vionilifera) a
number of the poplar saw-fly, Aulacomerus lutescens Lintn., a marked
disparity in sexes was also observed, although not so great as in the
larch saw-fly, above. Of fifty-two examples of this species reared,
only six were males. It is easy to cai'ry through to its perfect stage
the first brood of this insect, and the conditions, therefore, attending
it within doors should so nearly approach those in nature that the
results should be almost the same.

Injuries from the Insect.

In August, the larches observed in the Lake Pleasant region which,
during the preceding month had been entirely denuded, had com-
menced to put forth new leaves. This was probably the second year's
defoliation of many of the trees. It is doubtful whether they would
be able to survive the repetition of the injury for another year. In
Maine and Canada, where the insect has prevailed quite generally
since 1884, the larches over large areas have been killed, and it is the
opinion of foresters that the entire loss of the foliage in early sum-
mer, for three consecutive years, proves fatal with very few exceptions.

The addition to our list of insect pests of one which threatens the
entire destruction of a tree so valuable as the larch, can not be
regarded otherwise than in the light of a serious calamity. It would
appear, at the present, that this evil is destined to become more gen-
eral than the destruction of the spruce (the timber of which is of so
great economic importance) in many localities in northern New York,
for the latter, as yet, is but a local (?)disease, and may therefore prove,
when satisfactorily accounted for, to be the result of purely local
causes. There is hardly a doubt but that the range of this new pest
will be almost co-extensive with that of the larch, viz., over a large
portion of the northern United States and the adjoining British
possessions, even into the Arctic region.*

♦Northern Newfoundland and Labrador to the eastern shores of Hudson bay, Cape
Churchill, and northwest to tho southern shores of the Great Bear lake and the valley
of the Mackenzie river within the Arctic circle: south through the northern States to
northern Pennsylvania, northern Indiana and Illinois, and central Minnesota
(Sargent's Report on the Forests of North Ame)-ica.)

172 FoRTT-SECOND Report ON THE State Museum. [30]

The wood of the lai'ch is given by Prof. Sargent as "heavy,
hard, very strong, durable in contact with the soil ; preferred
and largely used for the upper knees of vessels, for ship timbers,
fence posts, telegraph poles, railway ties, etc." L' Abbe Provancher,
in his notice of the larch saw-fly" above cited, in which he regards it
as threatening the entire disappearance of this precious tree of the
Canadian forests, since from the first notice of the insect in America
in 1880, it had already in the year 1885 spread with such remarkable
rapidity and destructiveness, that " from Halifax to Ottawa, and per-
haps even beyond, there is not to be seen in July and August a single
larch having its foliage intact " — has written as follows of this tree
and its value :

It is known that this tree grows in wet or marshy lands, where the
soil ordinarily is of poor quality. Among its roots, which it sends
out horizontally at a moderate distance from the surface of the
ground, there is always to be found, on one side or the other, one that
is much larger than the others. It is often said that this tree has but
a single root, the others being onl}'- ramifications of it. As this root
forms a right angle with the trvmk, and as the wood is very strong,
very slightly brittle, and almost free from decay, it is the prized
source for the elbows and knees that enter into naval constructions.
In addition to its being an excellent fuel, this wood is also desirable
for a multitude of uses, as for boat-bottoms, joists for buildings,
fence posts, etc. The larch forms also a very handsome ornamental
tree; its elliptical cones of about an inch in length, of a beautiful
purplish-violet shade, and ordinarily a great number on the same
tree, give a charming efifect, when in June they join themselves to the
delicate foliage, simulating fringes or sparkling bouquets of so lively
a green that the sun seems powerless to change it. And besides the
graceful picture that it presents, the tree perfumes all its surround-
ings with a resinous odor which is most agreeable.

Remedies.
When the larch occurs as isolated trees or in groups of moderate
extent, it is an easy task to save its foliage from destruction by the
saw-fly larva. The attack of its hosts is quickly noticeable, and if they
are then shaken or beaten from the branches they may be crushed
under foot or with a roller. Of those that may escape very few will
succeed in ascending the trunk, since, although the Nematus larva is
bountifully provided with legs, having twenty, while most of the
caterpillars of butterflies and moths have but sixteen, yet these
organs are not developed to the extent of making them suitable for
easy climbing. Or, the worms may be killed by sjDraying the foliage
with Paris green or London purple in water, according to directions
so often given.

[31] Report of the State Entomologist. 173

When large areas of the larch are infested, as tamarack swamps, it
will be useless to attempt to compete with the enemy. Its destruction
through any applications that might be made would be altogether too
costly to warrant the outlay required. The best that could be done
in such cases would be to fell the trees as soon as it is noticed that
they are dead or doomed, and before decay has impaired their vakie,
and use them for some of the many purposes for which the timber is
available.

Nematus salicis-pomum Walsh.

The Willow-apple Gall Saw-fly.

(Ord. Hyjienopteea : Faiji. Tentheedinid^.)

Walsh: in Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., vi, 1866, pp. 255-256 (description of gall,

larva, imago, etc.).
Norton: in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, i, 1867, p. 216-218 (description of larva

and imago).
Walsh-Riley: in Amer. Entomol., ii, 1869, pp. 45-49, f. 30 (general

account).
Cresson : Synop. Hymenop. Amer., 1887, p. 159 (cited).

The galls of this tenth redinid were observed June twenty-seventh,
at West Albany, N. Y., on willow, Salix cordata. Several of them had
been eaten into, making an irregular funnel-like cavity. One that
was opened for examination had the interior wholly consumed and con-
tained, instead of the Nematus larvpe, four small white, legless grubs,
which were probably those of a " guest-beetle," named by Mr. Walsh,
from its appropriating the gall of another insect, AnthonomiLs
sycophanta ; another, which had been but partly eaten, contained one
of these larviB. The eaten galls were more rosy-cheeked than the
others. None of the larvaj were carried to maturity, their failure to
mature being, doubtless, the result of the galls having been collected
so early.

An extended account of this willow-apple gall (with illustration),
and of the three guest-insects that usurp its shelter and its food, is to
be found in the American Entomologist (loc. cit. sup.). In it, Mr.
Walsh states that the eggs of N. salicis pomum are deposited in a slit
of the willow leaf toward the end of April. The larva attains
maturity during the last of July ; it pupates within the gall, where it,
hibernates, and the winged insect emerges in April — from the six-
teenth to the twenty-fifth, as in large numbers, reared.

INJURIOUS LEPIDOPTERA, ETC.

Darapsa Myron (Cramer).
The Green Chrajyevine Sphinx.

(Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. SpHiNGiDiE.)

Sphinx Myron Cramer: Pap. Exot., iii, 1782, pi. 247, f. C.

Sphinx pampinaty^ix Sm.-Abb. : Lep. Ins. Geo., i, 1797, p. 55, pi. 28.

Otus Myron Hubner: Verz. Schmett., 1816, p. 112, No. 1524.

Otus Cnotus HuBN. : Zutr. 3d Hund., 1823, p. 23, figs. 321, 322.

? Smerinthus Myron: St, Farg.-Serv. : in Encyc. Method., x, 1823, p. 441.

Every X Myron Boisduval : in Sp. Gen. Heteroc, i, 1836, p. 209.

C/iterocampa pcfmpiuairia? Harris : in Sill. Journ., xxxvi, 1839, p. 301.

Bcirapsa Myron Walker: List Lep. Br. Mus., Pt. viii, 1856, p. 183.

Ampelophaga Myron Grote: in Canad. Entomol., xviii, 1886, p. 132.

Above are given the various names under which this common and
injurious insect appears in our literature.* Of these, the name
bestowed upon it by Dx*. Harris was expressive of the appearance and
habits of the caterpillar choerocampa, meaning, in the Greek, "the hog
caterpillar," and suggested by the fancied resemblance of its front
segments to the head and snout of a hog (see Fig. 5), dind pampinatrix
signifying, in the Latin, " a vine-pruner." Scientific names should,
whenever possible, indicate some feature, character, habit, or peculiarity
of the object or cr.eature to which they are applied, and it is, there-
fore, to be regretted that the one selected by Dr. Harris for this
insect could not have been retained, but in obedience to the law of
priority, the specific name given to it by Cramer fifty years before
must be substituted for it, although a mere chance-chosen proper
name. The six dii^ferent genera to which it has been referred since
Cramer's time illustrates the lamentable want of fixity in generic
appellations — an evil which we will have to endure so long as there
are those among us who are seemingly goaded by an irresistible
impulse to cut to pieces the old genera, and to endeavor to give
vitality to new. It is a sore evil, fettering science, and tending to
impede its progress instead of aiding in its advance. Favored above

* Other bibliography of the species is omitted in consideration of its extent.

[33] Report of the State Entomologist. 175

many is he, who, as he scans these long lists of uncalled-for, short-
lived, often still-born genera, can exultingly say : " I thank God that
I baptized none of you !"

A Common Insect.

Darapsa Myron (as we prefer to call it for the present) has a dis-
tribution over a large portion of the United States, being found in all
the region east of the Mississippi river, in some of the States west
thereof, and in Canada. The caterpillar occurs oftener on the grape
than any other of the Sphinges having the same food-j)lant, viz.,
Thyreus Abbotii Swainson, Deilephila lineata (Fabr.), D. chamcenerii
Harris, PHilamj^elus Pandorus (Hiibner), and P. achemon (Drury). It
is made the more conspicuous by the parasitization to which it is
peculiarly liable, and when in this condition its larval existence is
considerably prolonged — not maturing and pupating as it otherwise
would.* For these reasons it frequently comes under the observation
of the grape-grower, exciting his curiosity, and causing it to be sent
to the entomologist for information regarding it. The following
notice will meet some of these inquiries.

The insect may be readily identified from the description and figures
herewith j^resented.

Description of the Caterpillar.

Young Larva. — After its first molting it measures one-half inch in
length. It is of a light green color, with the usual oblique lateral
bands of the Sphingidee running into a yellow subdorsal line. Along
the body dorsally is a series of triangular yellow spots, which, on the
sixth and seventh segments, are centered with orange. The caudal
horn is green, straight, and two-tenths of an inch long ; it continues
to be straight through following moltings until after the last — the
fourth molt, when it assumes the usual curved form.

Mature Larm.— The head is small, oval, pale gi-een, with numerous
yellow granules and four yellow perpendicular lines. The body
is swollen on the third and fourth segments, tapering rapidly thence
to the head. Its color is yellowish-green, speckled with numerous
pale yellow dots. The seven oblique lateral bands cross the

* " It is one of those remarkable and not easily explained facts which often confront
the student of Nature, that, while one of these hog-caterpillars in its normal and healthy
condition may he starved to death in two or three days, another, that is writliin« with
its body full of parasites, will live without food for as many weeks. Indeed, I have
known one to rent three weeks without food in a semi-paralyzed condition, and, after
the parasitic flies had all escaped from their cocoons, it would raise itself and make a
desperate effort to regain its strength by nibbling at a leaf which was offered to it."
(Kiley.)

176

Forty-second Report on the State Museum.

[34]

•^^.

'//'///.

spiracles and connect above with a white stripe which borders a
dark green subdorsal line extending from the lateral stripes of

the head nearly horizon-
tally to the tenth segment
where it curves ujjward
to the caudal horn; on
the three anterior seg-
ments the subdorsal line
is bordered beneath with
yellow. Usually on the
back are five or six pale
green or yellow spots of
which the base of each
rests on the anterior por-
tion of the segment, and

the apex on the posterior,
Fig. 5.— The grapevine hog-caterpillar, Daeapsa ■, . -.i . ,^

Mteon, having withm them a

lozenge-shaped dull rose-red spot resting on the anterior margin.
The spiracles are orange colored, with a white spot at each end. The
caudal horn is curved, one-fourth of an inch long, bluish-green, granu-
lated in black in front and in yellow behind, and with a yellow tip.
Length of caterpillar, two inches.

A short time before its pupation, the color changes to a dull rose
throughout, with the white lateral and the subdorsal bordering bands
of a clearer rose. Previous to this change of color, I have observed
the caterpillar to pass with its mouth over the entire surface of its
body and of its horn even to the tip, applying to it a coating of what
seemed a glutinous matter — the operation consuming about two
hours. *

Its Injuries.

Although often a serious annoyance in vineyards, it does not in its
general behavior merit the bad reputation given to it by Dr. Harris.
He says of it: "Not content with eating the leaves only, it stops at
every cluster of fruit and, either from stupidity or disappointment,
nips off the stalks of the half-grown grapes and allows them to fall
to the ground untasted. I have gathered under a single vine above
a quart of unripe grapes thus detached during one night by these
caterpillars."

* Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, iii, 1864, p. 663.

[35] Report of the State Untomologist. 177

Usually Destroyed by a Parasite.
No effectual method is known by which to protect the grapevine
from these caterpillars, and resort must therefore usually be had to hand-
picking. But in collecting and destroying them care should be taken
to save from destruction those which have attached to their body a
large number of small oval white objects re-
sembling eggs (see Fig. 6) and generally
mistaken for them. They are not eggs but
the pupal-cases of the parasite — the natural Fig. 6— Caterpillar of Dak-
enemy of this caterpillar. So faithful is it ^^^^ Myeon bearing the co-
, -, • . ,1 . J. <. ,1 , .n eoous of the Microeaster

to its mission that very few oi the caterpillars parasite.

escape its persistent search and reach maturity. Perhaj)s nine out of
ten are destroyed by it. The parasite is a small four-winged fly,
belonging to the parasitic family of Braconidce, and is probably
Apanteles congregatus (Say).* Having discovered one of the cater-
pillars, it pierces its body in numerous places, depositing an
egg in each wound. These in due time hatch out into grubs
within the caterpillar, where they feed upon its interior,
instinctively avoiding the consumption of the vital parts that their food
may continue to be suitable for them. Usually after the last molting
of their host, while to all outward appearance it is uninjured and
thriving, although careful observation may have shown it to have
refrained from feeding for several days, all at once a host of little
heads may be seen eating their way through the skin of its back
and sides. Within an hour's time the entire brood of grubs — a hun-
dred or more it may be in number, have wriggled outwardly, and
with their terminal segment fastened to the body by a few silken
threads spun for the purpose, commence building about them their
small firm, egg-like, snow-white cocoons, which, securely attached
and standing on end are usually so numerous as to cover all of the
upper part of the body and the sides of their victim. In two or three
hours, they are all inclosed. f In about a week, the grubs have com-
pleted their rapid transformations, when a neatly fitted lid is jiushed
open at the top of each little cocoon, pressed to one side, and the

* I have had the same parasite from larvae of Thy7-eus Ahhotii, Philampelua Fandoi-us,
and Suhinx kahnim— the last not a grapevine feeder.

t For an interesting account and graphic illustration of the peculiar manner in which
these Microgaster cocoons are spun on the body of Philampelus (and probably on D.
Myron also), see an article in the American Naturalist for 1878, vol. xii, pp. 568-660, by Mr.
J. P. Marshall.

178 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [36]

perfected parasite escapes. I have had them emerge as early as
the twenty-fourth of August. The victimized caterpillar, now in a
flaccid, shriveled condition, lives for a few days, without food or motion,
and dies.

Insect Friends and Foes.

The above history should furnish an argument in favor of such a
diffusion of entomological knowledge as may enable the agriculturist,
fruit-grower and floz'ist, to discriminate between his insect friends and
foes. If, from ignorance, one should crush under foot one of these
parasitized creatures believing it to be a ravenous caterpillar bearing
hundreds of its eggs(!) upon its back, thinking thereby to check its
increase (and this procedure we fear is the rule that prevails), he has
taken the best possible means of promoting its multiplication by
destroying the natural enemy whose special mission it is to prey
upon it.

Pupation.

The larvae that are so fortunate as to escape parasitic attack spin
closely together a few leaves on the surface of the ground, within
which they change to pupse in three or four days.

The pupa is from one inch to an inch and two-tenths long and
about one-third of an inch broad. It is without the jDrojecting tongue-
case of man} of the sphinges. Its pale brown color is a distinguishing
feature. The head-case is rounded, depressed, black-dotted and with
a black crescent over the eye. The wing-cases are lighter brown, with
numerous roundish, black, irregularly spaced spots on the nervures
and a cluster near the base. The leg-cases and tongue-case are also irreg-
ularly dotted with similar spots, while the antennae-cases are without
them. The segments are dark brown at the incisures and are covered
with numerous small indentations, of which some are black — those
of the last two segments more conspicuous. The first sj^iracle has a
black spot posterior to it, while the others are surrounded by black.
The terminal spine is one-tenth of an inch long, curved, smooth, shin-
ing black, and minutely bifid.

The Moth.
The moth appears abroad from the middle of June to August. Mr.
Saunders, in his "Insects Injurious to Fruits," represents it as
double-brooded, but it is doubtful if it is so at the north. For
some reason the imago develops very unequally, for, from larvae col-
lected at the same time and with their pupation under identical

[37] Report of the State Entomologist. 179

conditions, I have noted a difference of between three and four
months in the time of the emergence of the moths — in one instance
104 days. But not infrequently, as occasionally in Macrosila quinque-
viaculata and other one-
brooded Spliingidce,HOTae of ^
the earliest larvse complete
their transformations dur-
ing the same summer, and
appear abroad on the wing,
but at too late a season
for a second brood of larvae
to mature and attain pupa-
tion. Thus Dr. Harris Fig- 7.— The green grapevine moth, Darapsa Mykon.
reports {Entomological Correapondence, page 283), that two matured
larvae taken by him on July thirty-first, entered the earth on August
third, pupated on August sixth and seventh, and gave out the imago
on August twenty-ninth.

The moth is so well pictured in the figure that it need only be
added that the head and thorax are olive-green; the abdomen of a
dull green, shaded with reddish; the front-wings greenish-gray,
banded and shaded with olive-green; the hind- wings rust-colored,
with some green at the internal angle.

Remedy.
The caterpillars of this species have never proved so abundant but
that their depredations could be controlled by picking them from the
leaves upon which they are feeding and crushing them under foot.
In addition to the grapevine, it feeds also on the Virginia creeper,
Ampelopsis quinquefolia.

Alypia octomaculata and Eudryas grata.

The Eight-spotted Forester and the Beautiful Woodnymph.
(Ord. Lepidopteea: Fam. ?Zyg^nid^,)

Sesia 8 macnlata Fabricius : Spec, Ins., 11, 1781, p. 155, No. 8 ; Ent. Syst.,

ill, pt. i, 1793, p. 381, No. 8.*
Zygcena S maculata Fabkicius : Mant. Ins., ii, 1787, p. 106, No. 51.
Sphinx octomaculata Smith- Abbot. Lep. Ins. Geo., 1, 1797, p. 87, pi. 44.
Agarista octomaculata Latreille : Encyc. Method., ix, 1819, p. 803, No. 3.—

Boisduval: Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg.,xii, 1809, p. 68.— Melsheimer: in

Harr. Entomolog. Corr., 1869, p. 116.

* The locality given by Fabricius for this insect, " India," would seem to be an errone-
ous one.

180 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [38]

Alypia octomaculata Hubner: Zutr., 22, 1818, f. 119.— Harris: Entomolog.
Corr,, 1869, p. 285-6 (larva in different stages).— Stretch : Zyg.-
Bomb. N. A., 1873, p. 6, pi, 1, f. 7.— Eiley : 6th Eept. Ins. Mo., 1874,
pp. 94-96, f. 25.— Saunders: Ins. Inj. Fruits, 1883, p. 262-3, f. 272.—
Etal.

Bombyx grata Fabricius : Ent. Syst., iii, Pt. i, 1793, p. 457, No. 158.

Eudi'ij as grata Boisdtjval: Spec. Gen. Lep., i, 1836, p. 14. — Harris: Ins.
Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 427, pi. 6, f. 8.— Stretch : Zyg.-Bomb. N. A., 1873,
p. 147, pi. 7, f. 1.— BiLEy: Gth Eept. Ins. Mo., 1874, pp. 88-90, figs.
22, 23.— -Saunders : Ins. Inj. Fruits, 1883, pp. 258-261, figs. 268-270.—
Etal.

The caterpillars of the two species of moths above named occur on
the grapevine and Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia), and are
often referred to, and have been frequently written of, as " the blue
caterpillars of the vine." Although they bear so strong a resem-
blance to one another as not to be distinguished apart by the ordinary
observer, and with difficulty by the entomologist,* yet the perfect
insects differ almost as widely in their general appearance as it is possi-
ble for moths to do. It is often of much importance that the winged form
of insects which are injurious in their larval stage should be generally
known, in order that, when seen abroad, they may be recognized as the
precursors of the injuries which are to follow in their train, and either
be captured for destruction or driven away from the plants that they
infest, or insecticidal application made that will arrest the career of
their young as soon as they emerge from the egg. Such knowledge
should be of particular service in preventing the attack of the eight-
spotted Forester, which is often disastrous to the grapevine, and most
annoying to one who has been watching and admiring the vigorous
growth of the graceful Ampelopsis in its upward climb, and finds too
late that further progress for the season has been arrested by the
unnoticed eating away of almost every one of the most thrifty and
tallest tips. Its moth is often to be seen as a conspicuous object from
its peculiar coloring, flying at all hours of the day, unlike most of the
moths, and hovering with a motion that attracts the eye, over the
foliage upon which it alights from time to time to deposit an egg.

The Moths,
The figures given of the two moths will serve for their ready recog-
nition if in connection therewith their marked colors are mentioned.
Both pairs of wings and the fringes of Alypia octomaculata are

* In writing of A. octomaculata larva, Dr. Melsheimer has remarked : " It resembles the
larva of Eudryas grata in its colorings and markings so much that before I was acquainted
with its manners, I have frequently taken the one for the other, and was not aware of
confounding them until the moths were disclosed." (Ilarris Entomolog. Corr., 1869, p. 116.)

[39]

Report of the State Entomologist.

181

Fig. 8.— The eight-spotted Forester,
Alypia octomaculata ; a, the cater-
pillar; h, an oniarged segment of the
tibiae same ; c, the female moth.

velvety-black ; on the front pair, between tlie two spots before and
below, and sometimes above the inner one and behind the outer, are
lines or spots of violet-colored scales
of a rich metallic lustre; the two spots
of the front wings are pale yellow, and
those of the hind pair, white. The
thorax and abdomen are black, the for-
mer with a small yellow spot just behind
the head, and yellow shoulder-covers
shading paler toward their tip; the
abdomen is marked with a small yellow
tuft medially on its basal segment, and
in the male with a few whitish hairs on
the middle of each segment and a tri-
angular-shaped white tuft on the seg-
ment before the last. The
(shanks) of the anterior and middle pairs of legs are clothed with long,
deep orange-colored hairs. In the male, in front of the anterior
legs, are two rather long, yellowish-white tufts.

In Eudryas grata, the anterior wings are pure white within. The
stripe extending half-way across their front and the broad band
crossing the outer margin are rusty-brown, bordered with olive-
green; the band is traversed by waved
lines of violet-colored scales of a metal-
lic lustre; on the middle of the inner
margin is a large triangular spot of
olive-green. The posterior wings are
dull yellow, with their hinder margin
bordered with brown. The head is
black. The thorax is crested with Fig. 9.-The beautiful woodnymph.

, , , . , T -il 11 1 EUDEYAS GRATA.

black, interspersed with pearl-colored

scales; the shoulder-covers are white. The abdomen is yellow, with

a row of black spots centrally and on its sides.

The Alypia Caterpillar.
The Alypia caterpillar has frequently proved a serious pest in cer-
tain parts of New York city in almost entirely stripping the grape-
vines of their leaves, and continuing the injury for several years in
succession. In some localities — in Albany and elsewhere, it is becom-
ing, or has already become, quite injurious to the ^mpelopns in eating
off its terminal shoots and thus arresting its extension. It may be
readily recognized from the representation given of it in Fig. 8, at a
and h, and the following statement of its principal colorational featurep.
The head is yellowish, with about eight black dots on each side. The

182 FORTY-SECOXB REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [40J

collar on the first segment is j^ale orange, dotted with black. The second
and third segments have a transverse series of black dots, but without an
orange band; the other segments have each a broad, central, orange
band, with four narrow black bands on each side, counting those that
border the orange. From each of the black dots shown in the enlarge-
ment, a long white hair is given out, which is longer than represented
in the figure. Below the line of the stigmata (breathing-pores) is a
series of white spots on segments four to nine, just behind the orange
band ; a large white spot rests on the incisure of the tenth and elev-
enth segments. The legs are orange at their base, and black exter-
nally and at their tip, except the anal pair, which are orange dotted
with black.

The caterpillar may be found upon the Ampelopsis from the first of
June until the first of August — its long continuance making it quite
difficult to control its operations either by hand-picking or by insecti-

cidal applications.

The Flight of Alypia.

The moth is a day-flier, and has, of late years, become very com-
mon in Washington park, Albany, where almost every year it may be
seen flitting abundantly about the blossoms of Deutzia gracilis, upon
which it delights to feed. Not unfrequently from ten to fifteen of the
prettily and conspicuously marked creatures may be seen hovering
over or momentarily alighting upon a single plant. It flies as early
as 9 o'clock in the morning and continues until 6 p. m., or later. Com-
mencing to appear as early as the middle of May, it remains until
the middle of June. I have also observed it, in the same locality,
flying abundantly, on May twenty-eighth, about the flowers of the
bush-honeysuckle, Diermlla Japonica.

The Eudryas Caterpillar.
Both the caterpillar and the imago of Eudryas grata are rare; the

former is so seldom met with that
collectors experience difficulty in
procuring specimens from which
they may rear the beautiful moth
for their cabinets. The caterpillar,
a, in Fig.lO, is characterized by three

black bands on each side of the cen-
FiG. 10— EuDKYAS GEATA ; a, the caterpil- , , , -,•,■,«.■,

lar in natural size; h, its fifth segment ^^^^ Orange band, instead of the
enlarged; c, its collar; d, markings of the four in A. octomaculata ; an absence
hump ontheeleventhsegment;p, an upper of ^^^ j^^^^^^ series of white spots,
view of the egg ; and /, a side view, each ^ '

enlarged from the natural size shown and the presence of a jDrominent
beside them. hump on the eleventh segment.

Other features of it are shown in the figure, as also enlarged views of
the e^g from which it is developed.

[41] Report of tee State Entomologist. 183

Those who may desire further information of these two insects, and
of two other species, of which the larvae resemble them closely, are
referred to an article in Professor Kiley's sixth Missouri report,
entitled " The Blue Caterpillars of the Vine," in which corrections are
made of confounding of larvps in pz-eceding reports; and to one con-
tained in my " Entomological Contributions, No. 3 " (Twenty-sixth
Annual Eeport on the New York State Museum of Natural History,
1874), entitled "On the Larva of Eudryas unio and Allied Forms."

Remedies.

Where the vines are not very large the conspicuously marked cater-
pillars of either of these two species can be easily discovered upon
the leaves when they have attained a sufficient size to be of material
damage. If those which can be reached from the ground or by the
aid of a ladder, be gathered and destroyed the ravages will be greatly
lessened. If the extent of the vine is too great for hand-picking, or
the operation proves disagreeable from the green liquid that the
Alypia caterpillar commonly ejects when handled, I would recommend,
as the most economical and safest method of dealing with the cater-
pillars, showering while they are still young with hot water by means
of a garden hose attached to the hot-water faucet of the kitchen, if
accessible. The water, partly cooled by its passage through the air,
will probably not retain sufficient heat to injure the plants, but quite
enough to kill the caterpillars which it reaches, for as a rule the
lepidopterous larvae can not endure any great degree of heat. If
insecticides need to be used, pyrethrum water or a kerosene emulsion
would be efficient.

When nearly mature, numbers of the Alypia caterpillar can be made
to drop to the ground if the vines that they infest be suddenly shaken
or brushed, when they can be gathered and killed. Droj^ping them in
a can containing a little kerosene is a convenient method of killing
them, as well as all other hand-j)icked insects.

Phobetron pithecium (Sm.-Abb.).

The Hag-Moth Caterpillar.
(Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. Bombycid^.)

Phnlcena pithecium Smith-Abbot: Nat. Hist. Lep. Ins. Geo., ii, 1797, p. 147,

pi. 74.
Ecnoynidea pithecium Duncan: in Nat. Lib.— Entomol.,vii,1841,pp. 183-186,

pi. 21, f. 3 9,4 larva.
Limacodesvithecinm Harris : Eept. Ins, Mass., 1841, p. 304; Ins. New Eng.,

1852, p. 324; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 421, figs. 208, 209; Entomolog.

Corr., 1869, p. 244-5.
6

184 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [42]

Limacodes pithecium. Fitch : in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc. for 1856, x\*,

p. 381 ; 3d Eept. (3d-5th) Ins. N. Y., 1859, p. 63, No. 85.
Limacodes pithecium. Mokeis: Synop. Lep. N. A., 1862, p. 127.
Pfiobetrum pithecium Packard: in Proc. Ent. Soc, Phil., iii, 1864, p. 340;

Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 290; Ins. Inj.For.-Sh. Trees,— in Bull. No.7,

U. S. Ent. Commis., 1881, p. 47.
Limacodes pithicium. Eiley: in Amer. Entomol., ii, 1870, pp. 25, 340, f. 209;

5th Eept. Ins. Mo., 1873, p. 126 (stinging power).
Fhobeiron pithecium. Lintner : Ent. Contrib. No. Ill — in 26th Eept. N.

Y. St. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1874, p. 149 (on hazel) ; in Count. Gent., xlvii,

1882, p. 745 (general notice); id., liii, 1888, p. 725.
Phobetron pithecium. Saunders : Ins. Inj. Fruits, 1883, p. 112, f. Ill (habits,

food-plants, etc.).
Phobetronpitheciam. Dimmock, A. K. : in Psyche, 1885^ p. 280 (bibliography).
Phobetronpithecium. Hubbard : Ins. Affect. Orange, 1885, p. 142-3, fie:s. 62-3.

Perhaps the strangest, queerest looking caterpillar that is to be
found among all of the known Lepidoptera of the United States, is
the one named above as " the hag-moth caterpillar," and (imper-
fectly) illustrated in Fig. 11. It never fails to enlist attention and
excite curiosity when for the first time its motion attracting the eye
shows it to be a living creature; but its wonderful mimicry of bits of
dead and curled or eroded leaves is usually the cause of its being
passed over without observation. Its peculiar shriveled appearance
together with its dark color, is thought by Dr. Harris, to have sug-
gested to Sir J. E. Smith, who first described it in the beautiful and
costly volumes on the " Barer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia/' the
specific name of pithecium, the meaning of w^hich is a shriveled and
monkey-faced old woman. And from the same characters, undoubt-
edly, the common name that it bears of the hag-moth caterpillar
has been drawn.

Description of the Caterpillar.

It belongs to a group of Bombycid caterpillars which, from their

slug-like form and gliding motion, without apparent feet, are known

as " slug caterpillars," and scientifically as Cochlidice. Indeed, some

of the species, but for their bright and often varied

colors and the broad spines that they bear, would

.J naturally be mistaken for slugs. Pithecium is

^^^jg^ about an inch in length, apparently headless as seen

from above, thick-bodied, of the form shown in the

figure, of a dark brown color, and clothed with a

Fig. 11.- The hag- velvet-like down over the low tubercles which the
moth caterpillar.PHO" .
BETRON PITHECIUM. I'liigs bcar. Projectiug from each side are four

long, tapering, flattened, curling, velvety appendages, such as might

suggest a miniature octopus. Of these, the pair near the front, on

[43] Report of the State Entomologist. 185

the middle and near the end, are nearly as long as the body, while
the terminal pair are about one-third as long. There are also other
shorter ones intermediate to these. These appendages* are strongly
constricted at their base and so slightly attached to the body that
they are easily broken off. They are always cast off, together with
a number of other subtriangular smaller ones, before the construc-
tion of the cocoon, and ordinarily several of them will be found
woven fast to the outside of the cocoon.

It is strange that while the peculiar and interesting larval form is
not a rarity in some portions of the United States, no detailed
description has been given of it from which the number, form and
location of these aj^pendages may be learned. The figures that we have
do not supply the want; they disagree in structural features, and in
one we are presented with thirteen distinct segments, exclusive of the
head, with a probable fourteenth. Dr. Fitch states that " the sides of
its body are prolonged in eleven, tooth-like processes." In the
absence of specimens of the larva to compare with this representa-
tion, I will quote from notes made by me on two examj^les
received by mail which were in the larval stage when sent. " The
box contained two cocoons (the caterpillars having spun up en route)
and fifteen of the velvety arms (some are frequently lost during
growth). Besjdes these, there were also fifteen subtriangular velvety
pieces which had been borne upon the more prominent lateral tuber-
cles, of which there are probably four on each side."

Its Stinging Power.
The caterpillar is named by Eiley in a list of thirteen, mostly
Gochlidice, whose spines have an urticating power.f A few others
possessing this power have since been added to the list, as exceptions
to the rule that caterpillars may be handled with impunity and with-
out fear of their stinging, biting, poisoning or inflicting any other
harm, notwithstanding the strong jaws, liquid secretions, bristling
spines, and formidable horns with which they are provided as if for
both defense and offense. The almost universal fear or dislike of
caterpillars is unreasonable — is not natural and would not prevail
but for erroneous and culpable teaching in childhood. Careless habit,
or undeveloped powers, of observation fail to note the jointed legs
with which most caterpillars are provided, and they are therefore
relegated to the class of creeping or crawling things — so closely

*No suitable name has been found for them. Fitch designates them as " tooth-like
processes ;" Harris as " flattened teeth ;" Hubbard as " fleshy hooks."
\ Fifth Report of the Insects of Missouri, 1873, p, 126.

186 Fgrtt-second Report on the State Museum. [44]

associated in many minds with snakes; hence, children in infancy are
taught that everything that creeps must be avoided, and every snake,
however beautiful, innocent, and in movement the embodiment of
grace, must be killed. Such ignorance is to be deplored. It, results
in the overlooking of much that is worthy of admiration and study,
tends to the develoj)ment of cruelty towards the lower forms in nature,
and is often the occasion of much unnecessary fear and alarm. For
examjDle: A newspaper account that obtained wide circulation not long
ago, and was doubtless believed by many, made of one of our harmless
caterpillars, the common tomato-worm (of which hundreds have been
handled by me, without having experienced even the slightest nip
from their jaws), a creature more venomous and more to be dreaded
than the rattlesnake. If disturbed, it would inflict a mortal sting
with the horn on its tail, and it was capable of ejecting a venom to a
distance of several feet, which was certain death to whomever it struck.

I have no personal knowledge of the stinging power of the hag-
moth caterpillar. It certainly can not exist to any great extent, for it
is unprovided with such urticating spines as are found in Lagoa cris-
pata, and are so conspicuous in Eyperchiria lo and Hemileuca Maia.
I do not recall any spines or hairs that would serve the purpose, but
Mr. Hubbard, who is more familiar with it, states that they occur
among the feathery brown hairs with which the "fleshy hooks" (arms)
are clothed, as longer, black, stinging hairs.

Miss Emily L. Morton, of New Windsor, N. Y., who probably has
had more experience with the caterpillar than anyone else, has written
in reply to inquiry made : " Although I have handled dozens of them
every year, for some time past, in all stages and of all ages, I have
never yet discovered any indications of a power to sting — such as is
possessed by Lagoa crispata (in my experience the very worst of all
stinging insects), Empretia stimulea, or even the somewhat painful
though only momentary sting of Euclea querceti or Parasa Ghloris."
The testimony of Mr. Herman Strecker is to the same effect ; he has
written of it : " This little worm has a Victor-Hugo devil-fish sort of
look, but can not sting, and is perfectly harmless."

Its Degree of Abundance.
The caterpillar does not often come under notice of the field col-
lector, and from the comparatively few examples of the moths that
are to be found in our collections, it may properly be regarded as a
rare insect in the northern States. Dr. Harris records an instance in
which, on the testimony of an agricultural friend, " a swarm of these
caterpillars appeared on a cherry tree and nearly stripped it of its

[45] Report of the State Entomologist. 187

leaves," but as it is not stated that the caterpillar was identified by
Dr. Harris, it is not at all improbable that some other larva may have
been mistaken for it, although its remarkable appearance should j)re-
vent its being confounded with any othex*. Mr. Hubbard seems to
have met with it in abundance in the orange groves of Florida and to
have had favorable opportunities for observing its habits, for he
informs us that he found it to display "the extreme of instinctive
sagacity in a device to which it frequently resorts when unable to find a
suitable place in which to weave its cocoon, in making itself more
satisfactory surroundings by killing the leaves, upon which, after they
have become dry, it places its cocoon." Mr. Hubbard states: " Several
of these caterpillars unite together, and, selecting a long and vigor-
ous immature shoot or leader of the orange tree, they kill it by cutting
into its base until it wilts and bends over. The leaves, in drying,
turn a light tan-color, which harmonize most perfectly with the hairy
locks of the caterpillar covering the cocoon." The above notes
of habit are apparently based on observations made upon numbers
of the cateri^illar, and would almost indicate a social disposition
never observed in the northern States.

Food-plants of the Larva.
I have had the larva, on different occasions, feeding on the apple,
crab-apple, and pear. One example was found by me, at Bath, near
Albany, feeding on hazel, Gorylus Amei^icana. Dr. Harris states that
it occurs on forest trees, cherry trees, and apple trees in New England,
from July to September. According to Mrs. Dimmock, it is often
found on the white birch, Betula alha. Abbott gives jiersimmon [Z^/o.s-
pyros Virginiand] and the various kinds of oaks as its food. Other
food-plants given for it are plum, wild cherry, white and red oak,
and orange. To these, MS. notes of Miss Morton, kindly submitted
to me, add, sugar-maple {Aver ^accharinum), ash, witch-hazel {Hama-
raelis Virginica), and chestnut (Castanea). Larvre had been reared
by her from eggs found on chestnut and sugar-maple. Those from
the former grew more rapidly and attained larger size.

The Cocoon.
This caterpillar shows a disposition to spin itself up in its cocoon
at any time after its last molting, under the provocation of a tempo-
rary withdrawal from, or an imperfect condition of, its food, or pos-
sibly from confinement and exclusion from light. In almost every
instance in which it has been sent to me by mail, it had either inclosed
itself in its cocoon when received, or proceeded to do so the day

188 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [46]

thereafter. This peculiarity has been noticed in Actias Luna and
others of our Bombycids, and in Aglia tau of Europe.* If shared by
man}^ of the Gochlidice, it may be the explanation of the failure that
so generally attends the efforts to rear their larvae to the imago stage.
The cocoon is oval and parchment-like, as are those of Euclea,
Empretia, and Limacodes, which are more frequently met with. In
nature, it is said to be formed usually between leaves. Confined in
a box, it is quite as often attached to the sides as to the leaves
that may be therein. The one fed by me on hazel spun its
cocoon on the surface of some damp sand, fastened to the twig stand-
ing therein. The outside of the cocoon was covered with grains of
sand, and in its uj^per portion were interwoven some of
the long arms which have been described as characteristic
of the larva. It was broadly oval, slightly flattened on
the sides, measuring three-tenths of an inch by four-
coon of the tenths, being about the form and size shown in the
hag-moth accompanying figure, although described by Mr.
Phobetkon Hubbard as "almost spherical — bullet-shaped." Com-
piTHEciuM. pared with Empretia stimulea Clemens, it is less elon-
gated, for in that we have the proportion of 0.82 to 0.50 in.

The attachment of several of the hairy arras of the caterpillar to its
cocoon, which is usually a feature of it, is probably the result of the
chance projection of the arms through the meshes of the frame-work of
the cocoon, the difficulty of withdrawing them with the threads clasp-
ing their contracted base, and the ease with which they would be torn
off in the contortions of the caterpillar in its close quarters, seemingly
so disproportionate to its size. This dismemberment of its ornamental
appendages, so often remarked upon by writers, would, therefore,
appear to be involuntary and a necessity, rather than intentional,
and for any purpose that it might serve in the economy of the
insect.

The cocoon, in giving out its moth, opens by a circular lid in one
end, made for the purpose by the larva during the construction of the
cocoon. With no example at hand for examination, I am not able to
state whether the lid displays even an approach to the remarkable
ingenuity shown by the Lagoa crispata larva in the building up of the
lid of its cocoon with hinge and an inner guard to protect from out-
ward pressure, f

* Entomological Goniributions, No. Ill— Twentu-sixth Uept. N. Y. St. Mas. Nat IlisL, 1874,
p. 153.

t Entomological Contributions, No. II, 1872, p. 38— 'Twenty-fourth Rept. N. Y. St. Mus. Nat.
Hist., 1872, p. 142.

[4:7] Report ot the State Entomologist. 189

Description of the Moth.
Female. — The front wings are narrower than in most of the Gochli-
dice, prolonged apically, and with rounded angles. They are yellowish-
brown medially (nearly reaching to the costal
margin), and outwardly forming a wavy band
of five flexures which is bordered within by a
similar band of a darker shade, and without

by a narrow dark brown lunulated band which

, . , . - , Fia. 13. — The female

begins on the costa near its outer third, and hag-moth, Phobktron

following the curve of the wing approaches nearer pithecium.
the outer margin as it proceeds, is bent sharply inward beneath the
cell, and thence descends in a perpendicular line to the inner margin.
A similar toothed line crosses the wing just within its middle. (These
lines have not been very well shown in the figure; they are not
uniformly developed in all examples of the moth.) A large rounded,
pale, yellowish-brown spot, which is darker within, rests on the inner
margin beyond its middle. A dark brown shade-band runs near
the outer margin. At the outer end of the cell is a small black
spot. The basal portion of the wing is dark brown with some fuscous
lines.

The hind wings are somewhat broader than the front pair, pointed
at the apex, and so short as not to reach the end of the abdomen.
The fringes of both pairs of wings are spotted with dark brown. The
legs are hairy and tufted; the tibiae (shanks) of the middle pair bear
a conspicuous tuft of long pale yellow hairs. Antennae simple.
Expanse of wings, about one inch.

Male. — The front wings are narrower than in the other sex and less
rounded at the angles. The colors are similar but darker, limited
almost to the inner margin, the rest being thinly-scaled
or transparent. The hind wings with their acute
angles are almost rhomboidal in shape; their anterior
half is transparent. The antennae are broadly bipecti-
nated. The abdomen bears a terminal tuft of FiG.i4.-Themale
ochreous hairs. Expanse of wings about three-fourths ^eon pithecium.
of an inch.

The abdomen of my only example is apparently brown, but it is
greased, and the entire moth is in too poor condition, from injuries
incurred in its breeding-cage, for accurate description. Miss Morton,
who has been favored with the privilege of seeing many of the males
flying around the cage of confined females, describes the abdomen of
the male as steel-blue, like that of the blue-bottle fly.

190 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [48]

But liittle Published of the Insect.
As almost nothing has been published on the history and habits of
this interesting- insect and knowing that Miss Morton had given
particular attention to the Cochlidice and had been very success-
ful in rearing them, I requested, if not desired for publication by
herself, that she would permit me to introduce in the present notice,
such notes as she might be able to give upon this insect. In response,
she has very kindly communicated the following interesting and
valuable contribution :

Life-history and Habits, as Observed by Miss Morton.

The egg. — "The eggs of the Limacodes bear no resemblance to any
other species of Heterocera with which I am acquainted. Most of
them would be invisible on a leaf as they are perfectly transparent.
Even on white paper, the ova of Parasa fraterna are most difficult to
find, and only by holding them against the light, a slight, shiny appear-
ance is to be observed like a minute drop of dew.

" The eggs of P. pithecium are very flat, nearly an ellipse though
slightly truncate at one end. When newly laid they are like tiny
droj)s of transparent gelatine, of a pale brownish color, becoming
darker with age and the development of the embryo larva. In ten
days the eggs usually produce their larvae, but if the nights are cool
they develop more slowly, requiring twelve and sometimes fourteen
days to reach maturity.

T/ie larv(s. — " Of the young larvee I know but little, as the only
year in which I was successful in rearing them, I took no notes,
and for the past three years, although the eggs developed, all of the
larvEG died without emerging. From memory, those that I reared
looked, on hatching, exactly like the mature larva in miniature, having
the same brown cimeter-shaped processes covered with a soft fur-like
clothing, but with the processes shorter in proportion to their size
and less curved. They are of very slow growth, eggs hatching in
the middle of July taking until the last of September and even into
October before the larvas made their cocoons. They did not fully
mature until the nights became cold and the leaves changed on the
chestnuts, which seemed to be their favorite food-plant.

The cocoon. — " The cocoon is of a dark chocolate-brown, with the
usual 'lid ' of all the Limacodes. The furry appendages of the larva
are fastened to the outside of the cocoon, but adhere to it so slightly
that they soon drop off unless handled very carefully.

The moth. — " In emerging, the moth leaves its transparent pupal-
case projecting half-way from the cocoon. It seems to be very regular

[49] Report of the State Entomologist. 191

in the season of its making its ai^pearance from the pupa, for in three
consecutive years it occurred on the third and fifth of July. The moths
escape from the cocoons quite early in the morning. The males take
wing and seek their mates from about 9.30 to 10.30 a. m. The mating
ordinarily continues for three hours, although sometimes prolonged
until the evening. The female begins to fly and deposit her eggs
between 8.30 and 9 in the evening, placing them singly (in confine-
ment), or more rarely in groups of four to eight. Abroad, seldom
more than two eggs are placed on a leaf.

Habits of flight. — " Pithecium is the only Limacodes known tome
which seeks its mate in broad daylight and bright sunshine. If the
day is rainy the male will not fly. I do not know whether the great
difference between the sexes has been noticed by observers, or the
very strong resemblance that the male presents to a blue-bottle
fly. When on the wing seeking its mate, its steel-blue abdomen and
semi-transparent wings, together with the buzzing noise that it makes,
would almost lead anyone to take it for a ' blue-bottle ' unless
acquainted with its habits. On warm and bright days the males will
at times be seen swarming, to the number of fifteen or twenty, about
the cage of a newly emerged female placed out of doors, coming sud-
denly, circling and buzzing around it, and as suddenly darting away
with a swiftness that the e3'e can not follow."

To the above notes of Miss Morton, I would add: The eggs of F.
pithecium (some of last year that failed to develop their larvie were
kindly sent to me) are the most remarkable looking objects of all the
insect eggs that I have ever seen. Certainly no one unacquainted
with them and meeting with them abi-oad, and not seeing them
deposited by the moth (perhaps not even then) would suspect their
nature. They are simply minute, flattened discs, showing no elevation
as viewed from above, but only a slight circular depression within.
When examined obliquely or against the light, the dei:)ressed line is
seen to define the outline of the young larva curved so that the head
and tail nearly touch, and occupying about one-half of the diameter
of the egg. The greatest thickness of the egg is about one-half that
of the thin sheet of paper to which they are attached. In size they
hardly exceed an ordinary "fly-si^eck," measuring in the longest
diameter 0.075 of an inch. Their color is a pale yellow-brown.
Certainly, the egg is as peculiar, extraordinarj', and as ludicrous as
is the larva.

The statement of Miss Morton that the cocoons of pithecium are
made the last of September or even in October is confirmatory of the
7

192 FOETY'-SECOND REPORT ON TEE STATE MuSEUM. [50]

remarks made on page 188 on an apjmrent habit of the larva of
inclosing itself in its cocoon prematurely, under certain conditions.
Examples sent to me by mail, and, of course, subjected to unnatural
treatment in their boxing, etc., have made their cocoons as early as in
August. My notes — all the dates bearing on this point that I have —
show the following, which will be seen to be quite in contrast with
Miss Morton's experience with her carefully matured larvse :

Larva, August 4, on pear; cocoon made August G.

Larva, August 22, on apple; cocoon made Avigust 24.

Larva, September 2, on hazel; cocoon made September 16.

Larva, September 3, on pear (fruit); cocoon made September 5.

Larva, September 4, on crab-apple; cocoon made September 7.

Larva, September 9, on pear; cocoon made September 12.

Parasites.
Miss Morton has sent me a Tachina fly which she has bred from
pithecium which I can not separate from unnamed examples in my
collection, marked " bred from Limacodes sp ?" The slug caterjnllars
are apparently very liable to Tachina attack. Miss Morton feelingly
remarks, in Avriting of the example sent: "It looks to me like all the
grey Dipterse infesting the Limacodes which so often render a sum-
mer's hard work abortive by their emergence from the empty skin of
the mature larva just as it is about to form its cocoon."

Anisota senatoria (Sm.-Abb.).

The Yellow-striijed Oak Caterpillar : The Senatorial Oak Moth.

(Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. BoMBYCiciE.)

Smith-Abbot: Lepidop. Ins. Geo., ii, 1797, p. 113, pi. 57 (larva, pupa, ^ &

Q imago). As Phakena.
Hubner: Verz. Schmett., 1816, p. 193, No. 1979 (as Anisota).
Harris: An. -PI. Mass., 1835, p. 72; Rept. Ins. Mass., 1841, p. 292 ; Ins. New

Eng.. 1852, p. 312; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 405-6, f. 198 (larva), 199

(pupa), 200 (9 imago); Entomolog. Corr., 1869, p. 298, pi. 2, f. 9

(larva), pi. 4. f. 12 (pupa). As Drijocninpa.
Walker: Cat. Lep. Brit. Mus., 1855, Pt. VI.
Fitch: 5th Rept. Ins. N. Y. (3d. -5th Repts.), 1859, p. 43.
Morris: Synop. Lep. N. Amer., 1862, p. 231.
Packard : in Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila., iii, 1864, p. 385 ; in Bull. No. 7, U. S. Ent.

Comm., 1881, p. 45 (habits, etc.).
Grote: in Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila., iii. 1864, p. 93 (restores Anisota Hubner);

in Proc. Amer. Philosoph. Soc, xiv, 1874, p. 260 (place in classif.).
Walsh: in Pract. Entomol., ii, 1866, p. 7 (in Wisconsin).
Glover : in Rept. Comra. Agricul. for 1870, p. 83, f. 43 (larva).

[51] Report of the State Entomologist. 193

Boisduval: in Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg., xv, 1871-2, p. 87, pi. 3, f. 5 of larva

{Adolecephala).
Lintner: Ent. Contrib., No. II, 1872, p. 51-2; and in 24th Rept. N. Y. St.

Mus. N. H., 1872, p. 155-6 (larval notes).
Treat : in Amer. Agricul., xxxiii, 187i, p. 'i\.\ (habits).
French : in 7th Rept. Ins. 111., 1878, p. 19G (brief description) ; in 10th Rept.

do., 1881, p. 120 (larva described).
CoQUiLLETT : in 10th Rept. Ins. 111., 1881, p. 161 (larva described).
Clarkson : in Papilio, ii, 1882, p. 188 (abundance in Columbia Co.).
Claypole: in Canad. Entomol,, xv, 1883, p. 36 (abundance in Penn.).
DiMMOCK, A. K. : in Psyche, iv, 1885, p. 275 (bibliography and food-plants).

The caterpillar of this species, although it may not claim high rank
in a list of our insect enemies as the cause of serious harm and
pecuniary loss, yet, it at times presents itself to our notice in such
vast numbers, and its defoliation of the trees that it infests is so
marked and startling-, that it is not strange that fears are ofttimes
entertained lest its ravages should extend to other vegetation which
would at once transform it into a formidable pest. To meet the
inquiries that are from time to time made of its habits, and the
information that is desired of it, the following somewhat extended
account has been prepared, from notes made several years ago and
from published notices in scattered works, many of which are named
in the bibliography above given.

The Egg-laying.

The large and conspicuous moth, which will be noticed hereafter,
was observed by me at Center, N. Y. (now Karner), July 7, 1869,
depositing its eggs on the under surface of oak leaves, distributing
them over the surface in large patches, in a single layer, in close con-
tact with one another. A leaf of Quercus prinoides of ordinary size
was plucked, which had one-half of its surface covered with the eggs.
From a count of a portion of the deposit, and an estimate of the
remainder, the number of eggs was 500. This may be accepted as
the ordinary number from a single moth — usually placed in separate
patches on a leaf, or on two or more leaves.

The female, doubtless, oviposits soon after emerging from the
pupa. Her abdomen is so greatly distended with her burden of eggs
that she is unfitted for flight and almost helpless. On one occasion
my attention was drawn to some commotion in the sand of a roadway
at Center, not recognized at the distance, when, on aj^proaching
nearer, it was seen to be a female senatoria, which was being knocked
and rolled helplessly and ludicrously about in the ardor with which
a half-dozen males flying above and around her were striving for her
possession.

194 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [52]

Larval Stages.*

Fwst stage. — Larvto from eggs collected on July seventh batched on
the eleventh. The head of the newly -hatched larva, after assuming
its proper color, is glossy black and of an oval form. The body is
pale yellow-green, with a few short hairs; on the second segment are
two smooth, straight, subcylindrical, black horns, arising from a green
base, and with a slight enlargement at their apex, where they give out
two black diverging settc of the length of two-thirds that of the
horn.

The young larvaa feed in company, and occupy both surfaces of
the leaf, the entire substance of which they consume, except the
veins and veiulets, leaving frequently a very good skeleton of the
leaf.

Tlhe first molting occurred on the eighteenth and nineteenth of July.
At this stage the body is obscure green with seven fuscous lines, of
which the dorsal and stigmatal ones are narrow; the subdorsal and
lateral ones broader, having in them a row of short spines. The collar
(on first segment) centrally and the anal segment shining black.
Legs black; prolegs with a black sj)ot outwardly.

Second molt. — July twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth. Length of
larva, 0.37 of an inch. Head and collar glossy black. Horns slightly
spinose, enlarged at the tip, and usually with apical spines. The
abdominal stripes are black, with yellow-brown intermediately, show-
ing a broad stigmatal sti'ipe. The terminal segment is spinose and
glossy black.

Third Molt. — August fourth and fifth. Length, 0.60 of an inch.
The larva is glossy black, with eight yellow stripes, of which the
lower one is geminated by a crescent on the central portion of each
segment inclosing a spinule; ventrally, from the fifth segment, is a
yellow-green intei-rupted stripe. The horns are slightly taj^eriug,
clubbed at their tips, a d 0.20 of an inch long. The legs and pro-
legs are black.

Fourth Molt. — Extending from August fourteenth to sixteenth.
Immediately following the molting, the head, collar, horns, anal
shield and plates, and legs, are flavescent; in a few hours they became
shining black. The horns are but slightly enlarged at their tip, being
less so thau previous to this molt. The body is covered with
numerous shining, minute, elevated points of the color of the ground
on which they are placed.

* From my Entomoloqwal Contributions, No, II {loc. cit.), of wbjch a few copies only were
published.

[53] Report of the State Entomologist. 195

The Mature Caterpillar.

The larva when full-grown is two inches long and about the thick-
ness of a lead pencil, cylindric, and of a coal-black color in stripes
alternating with orange-yellow, as follows : Along the middle of the
back is a black strijie, with
a yellow one of the same
width on each side of it.
Outside of these is a

broader black stripe fol- -r, ,, mu ,i . • , t * -n *
1 IT T, ^ liG. 15.— The yollow-striped oak catorpillar, Anisota

lowed by a yellow one on senatokia.

each side of the back, slightly broader than the two middle ones.
Below these is another black strijie still wider than the one above,
and below this along the sides are two yellow stripes with a black one
between them in which the breathing-pores are placed. The upper
of these last two yellow stripes is somewhat wavy and less smooth
than those on the back, and the lower one is often widened on the fore
part of each segment, or sends off a branch downward and backward
[not shown in the figure]. Below this is an oblong yellow sjDot on
each segment, which is sometimes lengthened to unite its anterior end
to the yellow stripe. The under side is black with a yellow stripe
along the middle, which is more or less interrupted. The legs and
prolegs are black. The yellow stripes are not prolonged on the pos-
terior and two anterior rings, but are here often replaced by small
yellow si^ots. The head is black. The skin is tough and leathery,
with numerous small, elevated, smooth grains, of which two on the fore
part of each segment, placed in the yellow stripes, are larger and are
sometimes elevated into small prickle-like points, and two others, simi-
lar to these, also occur posteriorly on each segment, but placed further
apart. In addition to these, there are six larger, black, shining, coni-
cal prickles in a transverse row around the middle of each ring, some
of which are occasionally forked at their tips into two sharp points.
On the second ring in place of the two upper prickles, are two black
curved cylindrical horns, eqtialing two of the rings in length and
usually standing obliquely upwards and forwards, their tii>.s blunt
and shining. The last segment is rough from several prickle-like
points of different sizes. (Fitch, in Fifth Rejwrt Insects of New York,
[third to fifth reports] p. 43-44.)

Abundance of the Caterpillar in New York.
Dr. Fitch, writing of it, states : " The latter part of August, 1858,
I observed them in greater numbers than I had ever before seen, in
the cemetery at Saratoga Springs, where they had stripped most of
the oaks of their leaves, and were then descended from the trees,
probably in search of food elsewhere, as few of them appeared to be
grown to their full size. They were everywhere crawling sluggishly
about upon the surface of the dry, sandy soil, and up the sides of
the monuments. In the paths, the dresses of the ladies sweeping
over them, these worms frequently adhered to and crawled up them,
to the great annoyance of everyone and the alarm of the more
timorous."

196 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [54]

In former years, they were found annually in great abundance at
Center, N. Y. This locality was their metropolis until within a few
years past, since which time the fires that have repeatedly swept
over it have banished the superabundance of insect life that for so
long- a time made it perhaps the most noted insect hunting-ground of
the northern United States. In the more favorable years for its mul-
tiplication, it abounded so excessively that all of the smaller oaks
which were so numerous there, occurring in extended areas to the
exclusion of other shrubs or trees, were, during the month of August,
as effectually defoliated as if they had been swept by fire.

Dr. James Eights, a distinguished naturalist, for many years a resi-
dent of Albany, has informed me that on one occasion he observed on
the line of the railroad between Albany and Schenectady, a species of
caterpillar so exceedingly abundant on and about the railroad track,
that the numbers crushed by the passage of the trains caused the slip-
ping of the wheels of the engines to such an extent as to necessitate the
sanding of the rails before the train could proceed. A notice of the
interesting incident was communicated by him to one of the journals
of the day, in which some account of the caterpillar was given.
Although, from the number of years that had elapsed since the event
he was not able to indicate positively the species, he believed it to
have been A. senatoria, and the locality of its occurrence, in the vicinity
of Center.

Mr. F. Clarkson has recorded (loc. cit.) a remarkable prevalence of
the caterpillar at Livingston, Columbia county, N. Y., in the year 1882.
It appeared in the latter part of June, and before the middle of
August the larvae had consumed all the leaves of the young oaks, and
had visited many of the older trees standing in lawns and on the bor-
ders of forests.

Elsewhere than in New York, it has been reported as fearfully
numerous along the Michigan Central railroad. " For three years the
oaks near Kalamazoo have been entirely denuded of their leaves, and
nearly all the trees first attacked have died." {Report of the Commis-
sioner of Agriculture for 1869, p. 536.)

At New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, in 1882, according to Prof. Clay-
pole {loc. cit.), great ravages were wrought by it in the forests. He
states : " I have seen hillsides that looked as if fire had passed over
them, in consequence of the destruction of the foliage by millions of
the species. In the woods they could be found crawling over almost
every square foot of ground, and lying dead by dozens in every pool
of water. The sound of their falling frass was like a slight shower
of rain. Farmers tell me that they had never known them so abun-
dant before within their recollection."

[55] Report of tee State Entomologist. 197

Its Food-plants.

The caterpillar was believed to feed exclusively ou the different
species of oak, until recently, when Mrs. A. K. Dimmock, of Cambridge,
Mass., lias added white birch {Betula alba) to its short list of food-
plants. To what extent it was observed to feed thereon is not stated
(see loc. cit.). Messrs. Walsh-Riley have recorded an instance in which
the eggs of the moth were laid on raspberry leaves {Amer. Entomol.,
ii, 1869, 13. 2G), but it was probably under the constraint of inability
to reach an oak for oviposition, and it is doubtful if the larva; when
hatched would have fed on the raspberry.

Dr. Harris states that in Massachusetts they live on the white and

red oaks [^QuercuH alba and Q. rubra]. Professor Claypole observed the

white oak to be untouched by them at New Bloomfield, Pa., and their

food to be almost exclusively the foliage of the black-oak {Quercus

Hnctoria), the scarlet-oak {Q. coccinea), and the bear or scrub-oak {Q.

ihcifolia). In my own observations at Center, they have usually

occurred on the dwarf chestnut-oak {Q. jjrinoides) and on the black

scrub-oak {Q. ihcifolia).

Its Distribution.

Although originally described from specimens collected in Georgia,
it is far less abundant in the southern States than in the northern.*
Its eastern range is apparently from Canada to Georgia. To the
westward it is reported in published lists from Wisconsin (Walsh),
Missouri (Riley), Kansas (rare. Snow), and California.

It seems to be rather a local insect. Dr. Fitch mentions the fact
that he had never met with it at Salem, Washington county, where he
resided, while it was very abundant only twenty-five miles distant.
In my collections, extending over many years, it has never been seen
by me in abundance in any other locality than at Center.

Stinging Powers.

This caterpillar is another of the few that are capable of inflicting
a sting when handled. It is not as severe, however, as those of the
Cochlidke. According to Dr. Fitch, its prickles, if they haj^pen to pene-
trate the skin, produce a stinging sensation like that of nettles and a
slight redness of the spot ; both these symptoms, however, lasting
but a short time, as in the case of nettle stings.

It is not included in the list of stinging larva by Prof. Riley, referred
to on page 185, although mention is there made of the sting of Anisota
stigma, on the authority of Dr. Fitch.

*Prof. Geo. F. Atkinson, entomoIoKist of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment
Station, at Columbia, represents this species as by far the most common Anisota in
middle North Carolina. A. ruhieunda is there frequently met witli in broods on the maple,
and twice he had found broods of A. stigma (Bull. No. 4, Jan., 1889, So. Gar. Agr. Exper.
St., pp. 87-8.)

198 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [56J

I have no recollection of having felt the sting of either this species
or Dryocampa ruhicunda. With the other Anisotas I am not familiar,
they being rare in the State of New York.

Natural Enemies.

As would seem to be indicated by the remarkable number in which
this insect often occurs, its known enemies are but few. Its formid-
able spines doubtless serve to protect it from destruction by insectivor-
ous birds, although Professor A. J. Cook names two species that are
known to eat it, viz., the robin and the blue jay [Merula migratoria and
Gijanocitta cristata]. {American Naturalist, viii., 1874, p. 368.)

Of insect parasites, I only find recorded, Limneria fugitiva Say — a
common parasite of the Bombycidce. In its parasitism of the young
larva of senatoria, in making its cocoon it uses the body-wall of its
host, which it eats through and fastens to a twig of the tree on
which the larvoe are feeding (Atkinson). From some of the parasit-
ized larvae, Professor Atkinson had obtained examples of a species of
Hemiteles, but he could not determine whether it was a primary para-
site on A. senatoria or a secondary one on Limneria fugitiva.

Another ichneumon parasite, reared from the caterpillar, is in my
collection, undetermined, but unfortunately can not be found at the
present for identification.

Description of the Moth.

The female has the thorax, abdomen, and wings of a bright ochreous-
yellow color. Its front wings are freckled with blackish dots; a large
white spot rests on the lower part of the cross-vein of the cell near
the upper middle of the wing; and a faint purplish stripe runs,
slightl}^ waved, from just before the apex to the outer third of the inner
margin. The hind wings are much smaller, angulated apically, a
brighter ochreous toward their hind margin, and a straight purplish
band traversing them behind their middle. Its antennse are short
and simple. Expanse of wings about two and one-half inches.

The male is much smaller in size, being about one inch and a half
in spread. It is of a darker color; its front wings are triangular,
feebly dotted with black, the white spot quite distinct, the purple
traversing line inconspicuous especially toward its middle, where the
wing is somewhat translucent. The hind wings are rhomboidal, with
the purple line only indicated. The antennse are broadly pectinated
for more than one-half their length.

Summary of Life-history.
The moth may appear abroad in the State of New York for ovipo-
sition as early as the second week in June. On June sixteenth I have
seen examples in coitu and females depositing their eggs.

[57] Report of tee State Entomologist. 199

The eggs hatch in from a week to ten da3'S. The young caterpillars
feed together in swarms, and, according to Harris, "have their regular
times for eating and for rest, and when they have finished their meals
they cluster closely together along the twigs and branches; if dis-
turbed they raise the forepart of their body and shake the head to
signify their displeasure." They undergo four meltings, and their
five stages seem to average about nine days each.

During the latter j)art of July and in August the defoliation of the
oaks that they cause is noticed. An oviposition extending over three
or four weeks will naturally give varied degrees of growth of
the larvre met with abroad. Thus, notes made by me in 1869 show on
August twentieth, larvse quite small, some passing through their
fourth molt, and others in their last stage; August twenty-seventh,
full-grown larv?e; September eighth, matured larvse on their travels
prior to pupation; September fourteenth, still abundant; thirtieth,
a few seen; the locality was not visited in October.

The larger number probably enter the ground for pupation during
the second and third weeks of September. They bury to a depth of
three or four inches, where they shape a small and simple cell in
which to undergo their change to pupaj.*

When the time for the last stage in the series of transformations

has arrived, the pupa, aided by the circlet of spines or teeth with

which the front of each of its free-moving segments is provided, and

by a strong bifid anal sf)ine, forces itself to the surface and partly out

of the ground, where it is held while the moth bursts its case and

emerges. The females are at once attended by the males that have

preceded and are awaiting them, and the pairing usually occurs in the

grass beneath the oaks, according to Mr. Clarkson, before there is

time to ascend the trunks. Soon thereafter the eggs are laid, as before

described, on the lower surface of the leaves of the terminal twigs of

the branches nearest the ground, seldom exceeding an elevation of

ten or twelve feet.

Associated Species.

The two other species of Anisota, viz., stigma Fabr. and pellucida

Sm.-Abb.,f also feed on the oaks, but they never occur in injurious num-

* It is of interest in this connection to mention that Aiiisota Jleilighrodti Harvey
(Ganad. Entomol, ix, 1877, p. 110), since referred, by Grote, with f>ifoto?- Harris, hisecta
Lintn., etc., to the genus Sphmoicarnpa, has a pupation above ground in a double cocoon
like that of Ceo'opia and Promethea, but net-liko instead of solid, and attached to the
mesquite (Entomolugica Americana, i, 1885, p. 60).

t Mr. Grote, in his last Check List, and in a list of Ceratocampadce, etc., published in
1874, has cited pellucida as a synonym of Viroiniensis of Drury. I do not know why this
reference was made, and believe that it has not been aceoptod by those entomologists,
at least, who are unwilling to abandon a name, particularly when expressive and char-
acteristic, as in this instance, which has been in general use for more than a century,
unless the necessity for so doing is clear and unquestionable, and not simply resting
on probabilities.

200 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [58]

bers. Dryocampa rubicunda (Fabr.), often cited as Anisota, altliougb
having some other food-plants, is usually found on the maples {Acer
dasycarpum and A. saccharinmn), which it occasionally despoils of
nearly all their foliage, particularly in some of the western States. It
will, however, in confinement feed on oak leaves.

Remedies.

It will not often be necessary to resort to means for protection from
the injuries of this insect, as the oaks that they feed upon in prefer-
ence, and on which they occur in the largest numbers, are those that
ordinarily occupy sandy tracts (as at Karner, N. Y.) or other unpro-
ductive places. When, however, their attack is made upon oaks that
are valued for ornament or shade, it may be arrested by spraying the
foliage with London purj)le in water.

Mr. Clarkson believes that its multiplication may be restrained by
destroying the moths on their first appearance while among the grass
beneath the oaks where their larvie abounded the preceding yeai', and
by trimming off the lower branches of the trees so that the foliage can
not be easily reached by the heavy-bodied females, for oviposition.

Another remedy that has been recommended, for a similar larval
attack, is to dig a trench, around an infested tree, of about a foot in
depth, with its outer wall sloping inward, into which the caterpillars
as they leave the tree for pupation will collect, and where they can be
conveniently destroyed by crushing or by SiH'inkling with kerosene.
A trench with the two walls sloping upward toward one another would
be a still more effectual trap.

Agrotis saucia (Hiibner).

Larva: The Variegated Gut-worm. Moth: Tlie Unarmed Rustic.

(Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. Noctuid^.)

Hubner: Samml. Europ. Schmett., 1796, 378 (Nocttia); Verzeich. Bek.

Schmett., 1816, 227 {Peridroma).
Treitschke: Schmett. Eur., v., 1825, p. 149 (Agrotis).
Harris: Ins. New Engl., 1852, p. 344 (moth described); Ins. Inj. Veg.,

1862, p. 444 (A. inermis).
Guen]6e: Spec. Gen. Lep.— Noct., i, 1852, p. 271 (remarks on larva).
Stainton : Man. Brit. Moths, i, 1857, p. 224 (brief descriptions of moth and

larva).
Boisduval: in Ann. Soc. Ent. France, ser. 3, vii, 1859, Bull., p. 102 (ravages

in tobacco plantations in Algiers).
Riley: 1st Ann. Rept. Ins. Mo., 1869, pp. 72-74, pi. 1, figs. 1-4 (descriptions

and life-history, as A. inermis); 3d id., 1871, p. 129 (parasite from);

in Rept. Comm. Agricul. for 1884, p. 297-8, pi. 3, flgs. 1, 2 (notes on

eggs and larva).

[59]

Report of the State Entomologist.

201

Speyer: Europ.-amer. Verwantschaften, in Stett. Ent. Zeit, 1870, p. 107;

id., 1875, p. 134.
Grote: List. Noct. N. A., in Bull. Buff. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1873, p. 135

(identical with A. inermis Harris); id., ii, 1874, p. 11; id., 1875, pp.

308, 314; in Gth Kept. Peab. Acad. Sci., 1874, p. 22 (Eur. and Amer.);

in Bull. G.-G. Surv, Terr., vi. No. 1, 1881, p. 163.
MotiRisoN: in Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xvii, 1875 (in Texas, and

identical with ^. Ortonll Pack.).
French: in Trans. 111. Hort. Soc, xi, 1877, pp. 192-194 (habits, etc.); in 7th

Kept. Ins. 111., 1878, pp. 94-5, 211-213 (description, habits, food-
plants, etc.),
Lintner: Ent. Contrib., IV (in 30th Kept. N. Y. St. Mus. Nat. Hist.), 1878,

p. 45 (dates of collection), p. 53 (in Patagonia); in 44th Kept. N. Y,

St. Agr. Soc. for 1884, pp. 62, 63, 64 (food-plants), 68; in 39th Ann.

Kept. [N. Y.] St. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1886, pp. 94, 95; in Trans. N. Y.

St. Agricul. Soc. for 1888, pp. 71, 74, 75, 79, 85; Bull. N. Y. St. Mus.

Nat. Hist., No. 6, 1888, pp. 8, 11, 12, 16, 22, figs. 11, 21. .
Marten : in 10th Kept. Ins. 111., 1881, p. 134 (description and habits of larva).

From Mr. P. Barry, of the Mount Hope Nurseries at Eochester,
N. Y., some apple twigs, containing an egg-deposit from which the
larvtc were emerging, were received on May seventh. The eggs had
been sent to him for name, from Centralia, Kansas.

The Eggs.
The twigs were quite small, not exceeding one-sixth of an inch in
diameter. The eggs were closely and symmetri-
cally arranged, in a single layer, in regular rows
joined to one another, forming an unbroken patch.
In one example there were seven rows of about
sixty eggs in each, extending over about an inch
and a half of the twig. The eggs, upon the point
of hatching, were of a lavender color. They were
round, with about forty sharjD and prominent
longitudinal ribs, which were connected some-
what irregulai-ly with numerous transverse lines.
In Figure 16, at a, one is shown in enlargement,
and at h, a twig with one of the egg-deposits is

represented. „

i^ . . , , ... „ , , FiG.16.— a, an eee of
Desmng to learn more of the occurrence or the ageotis saucia great-
eggs, I addressed a request for the information ly enlarged; h, eggs
-,;.- . ^, -1 ,. T P /-^l 1 T 77- of the same deposited
to Mr. A. Oberndorf, Jr., of Centralia, Kansas, ^^^^^ ^ ^^^,j^, na.xnrB.\

from whom the eggs had been sent to Mr. Barry, size.

The following communication was sent in reply, under date of May

twentieth :

Up to the seventeenth inst. I have found the eggs on the txdgs
and bodies and branches of young apple, pear, and peach trees, but

202 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [60]

have found none on old or bearing trees. I found the eggs in
batches, on twigs, in narrow strips from one inch to three inches
long, and about three-sixteenths of an inch broad; on branches, in
broader strij)s from one inch to two and one-half inches long and
from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch broad; on the bodies of
trees, usually about in this shape and size,* and the eggs as close
together as possible. I destroyed evei-y nest that I could find, but
concluded last Sunday to leave two nests in a little tree to see what
they would do after being hatched. On Monday one-half of the
cluster had changed from a light tan to a slate color, and yesterday
evening that portion had hatched, and a number of little caterpillars,
about one-eighth of an inch long, were wriggling about, but were
gradually being carried away by the wind.

Larval Transformations and Habits.

First stage. — Some of the eggs had hatched when received from
Mr. Barry, ai^d the caterpillars presented the following appearance:

The head was black, the body green with indistinct lines, and
a few scattered hairs. They had but three pairs of prolegs, and
consequently looped in walking, after the manner of the Geomelridce.
In dropping from the twig, they hung suspended by a thread that
they gave forth. When disturbed they would often twist the head
and several segments over the back, holding to the surface upon
which the}^ rested by the last two pairs of prolegs.

Grass was offered them of which they readily ate and with apparent
relish. Some tips of apple twigs being given them, a few fed spar-
ingly thereon, eating small holes into one surface of the unfold-
ing leaves, but much the larger portion continued their feeding upon
the grass.

Second stage. — Upon the fourteenth of May some of the caterpillars
were observed to have undergone their first molting, and to have
acquired in the operation an additional pair of prolegs. They were
cylindrical, of a length of 0.2 inch, the head somewhat cordate with
black setiferous spots; body with a pale dorsal line, two similar
lateral ones, and a broad stigmatal stripe; the anterior pair of
trapezoidal spots are black, elevated, and bear, as do the other setifer-
ous spots, a stout black hair. The hinder part of the body slopes
downward to the anal prolegs. There are now four j)airs of prolegs.

Third stage. — Several of the larvit; had undergone their second
molting on the morning of May eighteenth. They had now five pairs
of prolegs (the normal number belonging to the Nocluidas), and
presented the following features:

Head dull yellowish, pale on the side, mottled, with two broad
fuscous lines in front running fi-om the summit of the head to the

* Referring to a rectangular figure given of about one inch by threo-fourtlis, not con-
tinuously straight-lined on one of its longer sides.

[61] Report of the State Entomologist. 203

palpi, curving toward one another and connecting mesially like an X
(see this feature represented in the adult head at 6, in Figure 17);
last joint of the palpi black. Body cylindrical, bearing short black
hairs on the setiferous spots, brown, shading darker toward the
broad substigmatal yellow-brown stripe, a subdorsal black line
shaded with yellow beneath, and a yellowish dorsal line accentuated
into yellow spots on the summit of each segment, especially upon
the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth (not counting the head as one);
on top of the eleventh segment, a v-shaped black patch; beneath pale
brown with delicate mottlings. Prolegs pale, semitranslucent. The
setiferous spots are elevated and shining black. The larval length
at about the end of this stage, is 0.55 inch.

The distinctive markings of this stage, are the pale lateral stripe,
the fuscous dorsum (paler in many examples) and the dorsal line of
yellow markings — the anterior ones of which are either rounded or
lozenge-shaped and the following ones becoming elongated into lines.

During this stage and onward to maturity, the brood was fed on
plantain leaves {Plantago major), for which they manifested a great
fondness. They were not easily disturbed in their feeding when
brought under observation. When removed by hand to fresh leaves
they simply curled up in the usual cut-worm manner, without showing
any alarm.

Fourth stage. — The third molting commenced on May twenty-first,
and was completed in about two days. Their length at the end of the
stage was 0.8 inch. The lines of the head are shining black, broader
comj)aratively than before, and yellowish on the sides. Body, general
coloring as before; about six conspicuous yellow dorsal spots, a black
subdorsal line somewhat broken, with yellow beneath; resting on the
line of the spiracles, a broad black band broken into crescents having
the spiracles in one tip. The stripe beneath this is greenish with yel-
lowish dots and beneath this, over the legs, greenish with whitish
dots; a triangular black spot on the top of the eleventh segment and
a yellowish patch behind it.

Fifth stage. — The fourth and last larval molt commenced on the
twenty-fifth of May and was completed by the brood, 150 in number,
on the twenty-eighth. Of larvsie fully matured on the thirtieth, the
following are the prominent features:

Maximum length, l.G inch; average length of six examples, 1.46
inch, breadth, 0.25 inch. Colors not so bright or so contrasting as
in previous stages — the prevailing shade being a sordid brown. The
conspicuous features are: The yellow dorsal spots on the hinder jjart
of segments two to seven inclusive, consisting of three or four trans-

S04

FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM.

[62]

verse markings on the obscure annulets; the dorsal black patch on
the eleventh segment; an interrupted subdorsal black line consisting
of a black streak on the posterior half of each segment; the stig-
matal line of black crescents and the substigmatal line of a yellowish,
approaching orange, color. The spiracles are small and black. One
of the paler colored lai'vse is represented at a in Figure 17.

At maturity. — By the thirtieth of May, many of the larvse had ceased
feeding and had evidently matured. The following day they were
transferred to a box of earth upon which a layer of plantain leaves
had been placed. When examination was next made on the third of
June, a little feeding had been done. Four-fifths of the larvfe were
found above ground, and the rest had buried themselves at different
depths — some just beneath the surface, showing a slight contraction
in length, indicating progress toward puj^ation. A few that had been
transferred to a separate box with food, were still feeding on June
fourth.

The Pupa. — On the fifth of June, three newly-disclosed pupse were
found beneath leaves on the surface of the ground — at first of a
dull pale yellowish color, but later becoming mahogany-brown. The
anterior segments following the rounded head-parts are cylindrical
for the extent of the wing-covers, while the remaining six free
segments rapidly diminish in size to the anal tip, which is armed with
a single short, black, curved spine. The anterior margin of the
segments is brown and closely punctated. Length, 0.7 inch ;
greatest breadth, 0.2 inch.

27ie Moth. — The first moths — eight in number — emerged from
their puj)0e on the twenty-fourth of June, and on the following day
eighteen others made their appearance. The duration of their pupal

stage would thence have been
twenty days, and their larval
stage twenty-eight days. The
last of the moths, 150 in all,
were given out on June thirtieth.
The species proved to be ver^-
easy to rear, unlike most of the
cut-worms — hardly any fatality
attending any of the several
transformations. The moths
displayed a remarkable absence
of timidity on being disturbed.
With hardly any motion beyond
the necessary readjustment of
their legs, they could be lifted from the ground upon which they rested

#

^

"■ Fig. 17.— AiiKOTis saucia — a, larva; h and c,
head and a middle joint of the same enlarged ;
d, the moth.

[63] Report of the State Entomologist. 205

oi- from the sides of the box to which they were attached, by slii)ping a
piece of paper underneath them, from which they could be quietly
dropped iu the cyanide bottle. If alarmed, they attempted escape by
running rather than flight.

The form, size and general appearance of the moth are shown in
Figure 17. Its general ground color is a uniform brownish-graj^, but
individuals differ greatly in color, a large number being found having
the costal region of the forewings nearly black while the rest of the
wing is yellowish-brown. Others have the front of the wings blackish,
gradually shading into the usual brownish-gray. A variety is men-
tioned by Eiley in which the costal region is of a dull golden-buff
color, but this does not ajDpear in the large brood reared bj me, nor
have I met with it in ample collections of the species abroad.

An Injurious Species.
The variegated cut-worm is regarded as one of the most injurious
of its class, from its numbers, its great voracity and the broad range
of its food. It apparently will attack almost any field-croi^ that it
may find convenient for its operations, and when these are not at hand,
it as readily feeds on grasses and weeds. In cold-frames, it has been
quite destructive to lettuce. In conservatories it has been very inju-
rious to smilax, Myrsiphyllum asparagoides, eating off the softer j^arts
and especially the tops of the plants. In its attack on cabbage, it
has imitated the habits of some of the boring species, by penetrating
directly into the head. In Kansas, in 1885, it was very injurious to
clover and timothy in Johnson, Meade and Douglass counties — in the
latter stripping off the leaves of the clover and cutting off the heads
of timothy early in June (Professor Snow, in Eejjt. Kansas St. Bd. of
Agriculture for June 1885, p. 6).

Its Food-plants.
In confinement it has been fed on knot grass, corn, leaves of peach,
apple, strawberry, willow, eupatorium, tips of grapevine, plantain, etc.
Kaltenbach states that in Europe it feeds on Stellaria [chickweed],
Litorella, Plantago [plantain], and Rumex [dock, sorrel]. Kouast credits
it with feeding on roots of grains, under the lucernes and trefoils,
Gentranlhus ruber, Flantago, Rumex, Daucus [carrot], and Garduus. He
quotes Milliere as saying that it does not eat roots but only leaves.

A Double-brooded Species.
Professor Riley remarks (p. 298 of Rept. Gomm. Agricxd. for 1881)
that his St. Louis notes (given) of eggs of the species hatched from
April ninth to May twenty -fourth, and moths emerged from June fifth to
July fifth, " indicate at least two anniial generations, with a possi-
bility of three." In my collections at sugar, at Schenectady, N. Y., in

206 Forty-second Report on the State Museu3i. [64]

1875, the first brood had entirely disappeared at my commencement
on July second. The first individual of the second brood was taken
on September seventh, and others following oil the ninth, eleventh,
thirteenth, fifteenth, twentieth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth, October second,
fourth, tenth, nineteenth, and twenty-second — on each evening except
seven, when the collections were made {Entomolog. Gontrih., IV, p. 45).
The following year, 1876, the fii'st brood was evidently delayed in the
time of its appearance, as it was taken only between July eighteenth
and August third. No collections at sugar were made during the
autumn, and I have, therefore, no record of the appearance of the
second brood of that year.

Its Geographical Distribution.
It is a species of very broad distribution, being found throughout
most of Europe; in Canada and British Columbia; in the United States
from the Atlantic to the Pacific; in South America, in Colombia, Brazil
and Patagonia; and in the Madeira and Teneriffe islands.

Remedies.
The remedies for attack of this species of cut-worm, as indicated
by what has been above given of its life-history and habits, should
be, in general, such as give best promise of killing the larvte when
concealed during the day under leaves, or just beneath the surface of
the ground when no better shelter is offered. Large numbers may
be easily destroyed by poisoning them with prepared baits of their
favorite foods when they come abroad to feed at night during the
month of May, and crushing the pupie by thorough plowing Avhile
buried at a moderate depth in the ground during late May or early
June, or, as more practicable, toward the latter part of August. For
remarks upon these methods, and for other remedies and preventives
available against cut- worms as a class, see Bulletin No. 6 of the N. Y.
State Museum of Natural History, on "Cut- worms," lately published;
and the same in the Tranmctions of the N Y. State Agricultural Society,
vol. xxxiv, for the years 1883-1886.

Mamestra picta Harris.

The Zebra Cabbage Caferjnllar.

(Ord. Lepidoptera : Fam. Ngctuid.e.)

Harris: Ins. N. Engl., 1852, p. 350-1; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 451-2, f. 223
(larva), f. 224 (pupa) ; Entomolog. Corr., 1869, p. 317-18 (larval descrip-
tion and dates).

Guenee: Sp. Gen. Lep., v.— Noct. i, 1852, p. 344, pi. 5, f. 8 (as Ceramica
exusta— moth described).

.65]

Report of the State Entomologist.

207

Walsh: in Pract. Entomol., ii, 1866, p. 21 (immunity to frosts, etc.)

Riley : 2d Kept. Ins. Mo., 1870, p. 112, f. 82 a (larva), h (imago); in Kept.
Comm. Agricul.'for 1883, p. 124-5, pi. 1, figs. 3, 3a, pi. 12, figs. 2a, 2b
{Cer'amica — description, habits and transformations).

Lintner: in 26th Kept. N. Y. St. Mus. N. H. for 1872 — Ent. Contrib., Ill,
1874, p. 137-8 {Ce7-amica — larval description and habits) ; 2d Eept.
Ins. N. Y., 1885, p. 1-2 (on beets); 4th Kept, do., 1888, p. 16 (on cur-
rant) ; Bull. N. Y. St. Mus. N. H., No. 6, 1888, p. 21, f. 24.

Grote : in Bull. Buff. Soc. Nat. Sci. — ListNoct., 1874, pp. 22, 123 {Cer arnica) ;
Check List N. A. Moths, 1882, p. 26, No. 343 {Mamestra).

Thomas: 6th Kept. Ins. 111. [1877], p. 60; 9th Eept. do., 1880, p. 51-2
(Ceramica).

French : in 7th Eept. Ins. 111., 1878, p. 226 (Ceramica).

Coquillett: in 10th Eept. Ins. 111., 1881, p. 185, figs, a, b (Ceramica).

Packard: in Amer. Nat., xviii, 1884, p. 1266-7 (larval stages described).

Caulfield : in Canad. EutomoL, xvi, 1884, p. 122-3 (Ophion parasite).

Weed : in Bull. 111. St. Lab. N. H., iii, 1887, p. 2 (Microplitis parasite).

This conspicuously mai'ked caterpillar, shown, together with the

moth produced by it in

Figure 18, which is so

injurious to many kinds

of vegetation, has often

been described and figured

in its mature form, but

only a few brief notes of

its earlier stages have been

given. Examples sent by

Mr. George T. Powell,

from Ghent, N. Y., June 8,

1887, found feeding in

company on a currant

bush, enable me to sup-

i .^ T /. • Fig. 18.— BIamestka picta, showing the moth and

ply the deficiency. i^^ caterpillar.

The Young- Larva,
The larvse were 0.35 inch in length, and cylindrical in form. The
head is pale red, and nearly as broad as the body. The body is
traversed dorsally by a bluish-white mesial stripe, excei^t as it is
interrupted at the incisures on the posterior segments by the coales-
cing of the two well-defined black stripes that, commencing on the
white collar of the first segment, elsewhere border it. Below this is a
distinct bright yellow subdorsal stripe, broader than the black one
above it, in which, on the hinderpart of each segment, is a small,
black setiferous tubercle— its seta a little longer than the breadth of
the stripe ; these tubercles, on the posterior segments, are merged

9

208 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [G6]

into the black stripes above. Next below is a broad, black, lateral
stripe, traversed by an irregular white one, which is contracted on
each segment so as to leave thereon a large rounded black spot
united with the lower margin of the black stripe. The stigmatal
stripe, next in order, is yellow, somewhat narrower than the subdorsal
yellow one, bearing a row of black setiferous tubercles, similar to
those in the superior yellow stripe, of which the anterior ones are
merged in the black above. Below this, and centrally, the body is
blackish, paler mesially. The legs and prolegs are reddish, the latter
•with a black patch outwardly.

The larvae, at this time, have molted twice — possibly three times.

From the above details, it will be seen that the caterpillar is marked
with seven distinct stripes, viz., three black ones (a dorsal and two
lateral) and four yellow ones (two subdorsal and two stigmatal).

The Nearly Mature Larva.
In the stage previous to the last molt, the broad, dorsal black
stripe is traversed medially by a narrow white line, and is marked on
the hinderpart of segments three to nine with two small white dots.
The broad, black lateral band consists of the black runic markings,
with white interspaces, characteristic of the last stages of this larva.

A Peculiar Parasitic Attack.
In this stage sis of the caterpillars disclosed a parasitic attack. In
each instance, underneath the last segment of the larva, and usually
placed transversely to it, an elongated brown cocoon, about twice as
long as broad, was found attached.* Its formation was not observed.
The diameter of the cocoon about equals that of the caterpillar. The
parasitic larva may have emerged through the anus, as no rupture in
the skin was observed. The cocoons were formed June twenty-second
to June twentj^-sixth. The cocoon and the insects emerging there-
from (date not known) are identical with those subsequently described
by Mr. Clarence M. Weed {loc. cit.), of the Ohio Agricultural Ex^Deri-
ment Station, as Microplitia mamestrai.

Transformations .

On the twenty-seventh of June the larvae had matured and entered
the ground for pupation. The moths emerged August eleventh to
eighteenth, and deposited eggs, the earliest of which hatched August
twentieth.

It will be observed, from the above, that there are two broods of
this insect each year — the first of which appears abroad in the
winged state about the latter part of May, and deposits the eggs for

* Mr. Weed found the cocoons " fastened transversely between the anal prolegs."

[671 Report of tee State Entomologist. 209

the summer brood. The caterpillars from these, feeding through
June, produce their moths in August. From these, again, we have
the caterpillars which are so destructive to autumnal crops in
September and October, which pupate in the latter month, and pass
the winter in that stage.

The larvae obtained from the eggs on August twentieth enable me
to give their features at an earlier stage than that previously given.

When just from the egg, they measure one-twelfth of an inch in
length. The head is black, and the flesh-colored body bears rows
of rounded, black, setiferous s^Dots — the superior four of which on
each segment form the " trapezoidal spots." The hairs are black.
The larva loops in walking, as only six of the prolegs are employed
in locomotion.

Food-plants.

In addition to the list of food-plants of this caterpillar (apparently
rather a general feeder on garden crops) given by Professor Riley,
viz., cabbage, turnip, beet, spinach, strawberry, asparagus, honey-
suckle, mignonette, asters, lamb's quarters {Ghenopodium album),
may be added from my own observations, sweet pea, field pea, currant,
and buckwheat.

On July 3, 1884, Mr. Goff sent from the Agricultural Experiment
Station at Oeneva, larvae of from three-eighths to one-half inch long,
which may have undergone two molts, that were infesting, to a serious
extent, peas and cabbage on the station grounds. For mention of a
severe attack by the caterpillars on a mangold crop, in St. Lawrence
Co., N. Y., in 1883, see my 2d report.

Remedies.

It is comparatively easy to deal with this insect while in its early
stages when it is of social nature and feeds in companies. At this
time the leaves containing them may be plucked and crushed by
the foot.

Later, they may perhaps be best destroyed by pyrethrum powder,
to which they are quite susceptible, as shown by the following
experiments made:

Undiluted pyrethrum was scattered over five larv£c, less than half-
grown. They were very soon in violent convulsions, squirming and
twisting as if in great agony and discharging a green li(i[uicl from the
mouth. In a half hour's time they were unable to turn from one side
to the other, and only gave contractile movements. In three-fourths
of an hour motion had neai'ly ceased. In one hour and a half they
were motionless and seemingly dead.

210 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [68]

Pyrethrum of the dilution of one part to five of flour was slightly
dusted through a sieve over five larvse. In three minutes time, they
had ceased traveling and were violently squirming. In fifteen minutes
time, they were barely able to turn themselves over. In one-half
hour they showed no more motion than did those which had been
treated with unmixed pyrethrum after the lapse of an hour. The
experiment clearly showed that the diluted powder was not only quite
as efficient as the undiluted, but even more rapid in its effect.

Mamestra grandis {Boisd.).
A Poplar-feeding Cut-worm.

(Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. Noctuid^.)

Haclena grandis Boisduval: Gen. Ind. Eur. Lepidop., 18i0, p. 950.

Hadena grandis Guenee: in Ann. Soc. Ent. France — Noct. Eur. Ind. me-
thod., 18il, p. 2U; Spec. Gen. Lep., vi.— Noct, ii, 1852, p. 105, pi. 8,
f. 10.

Mamestra grandis Grote: List Noct. N. A., in Bull. Buff. Soc. N. S., il,
1874, p. 12.

An irregularly rounded cluster of the eggs of this cut-worm was
taken at Center, N. Y. (Karner), on the 14th of June, 1887, on the
leaf of a poplar, Fopulus tremuloides. They were not identified at the
time, nor even later when the larvse had been reared from them, nor
until the moths were obtained the following winter.

Eggs of other of the cut-worm moths have been taken from various
trees. As there is no record of the larvse of such species feeding upon
the leaves where the eggs occur, we may presume that immediately
upon hatching, the young larvse drop to the ground ancl commence
to feed upon the tender blades of grass. It is possible, howevei*, that
some of the species may creep at night from their hiding places — in
crevices in the bark of the tree in their younger stages, and in the
ground when more advanced — to feed upon the leaves unobserved, as
Agrotis Cochranii and others of the " climbing cut-worms " are known
to do. That this may be their habit seems plausible from the food
upon which this family of 3f. grandis was reared. Their cut-worm
nature not being suspected from their egg or larval features, poplar
was supposed to be their natural food-plant and it was accordingly
given them immediately upon their hatching. It was readily accepted,
and continued thereafter to be eaten with apparent relish. They even
consented to a transfer to other species than P. tremuloides, when, hav-

[69] Report of the State Entomologist, 211

ing been carried with me in the Adirondack mountains, that particu-
lar specie of poplar, at times, could not conveniently be obtained.

The following is the account of the successive stages of Mamedra
grandis as observed by me :

The egg. — The egg is round, ribbed with about twenty-four lines
and punctured in the intermediate depressions. Color, a pale purple,
an elongate deep purple dash at the apex, and a purple band near the
summit not entire. The colors were probably the result of the larva
partly showing through the translucent shell, as the hatching was
near at hand, and the empty egg-shells were left nearly colorless.

Larva in first stage. — The larvae were hatched on the fifteenth of
June. They were quite small, slender, elongated, with long legs and
numerous black spots from which long hairs proceeded. They are
very active in their movements. When ready for their molting, they
are of a pale, watery-green color, with three pale (whitish) stripes on
each side; between the two lower is a dusky stigmatal stripe. The
black, setiferous, trapezoidal spots are quite distinguishable, and of
these the two anterior ones of the central segments, are about one-
half as far apart as the hinder pair. Length when fixed for molting,
0.3 inch. Four pairs of prolegs are used in walking in this stage.

Second larval stage. — The first molting was on June twenty-second.
The head is flat, pale brown, with a few dark spots. The body, blu-
ish-green; a narrow, whitish, dorsal line; two lateral lines, then a dark
stigmatal one, having a white stripe below. Ventral region pale
green. The fifth pair of prolegs are partly developed, but not
employed in locomotion, as the larva still loops.

Third stage. — Commencement of second molting not noticed, but
was on or about the twenty-seventh of June. General color, darker
green; a whitish dorsal stripe, a similar lateral one, a broad dark
green stigmatal one, below which is a pale green stripe,
bordered on each side with white. Head, brown, flat, bilobed, with
numerous hairs. Body tapering anteriorly from the eleventh seg-
ment; the setiferous spots with comparatively shorter hairs. Of the
five pairs of prolegs, the anterior pair is used in walking, but as
they are shorter than the others, the larva still has a looping gait. It
feeds principally at night; when disturbed, it coils up and bends its
head on one side. At this stage, it eats holes in the body of the leaf
and not from the edge as before. Length when in readiness for its
next molt, 0.7 inch.

Fourth stage. — Molted on or about July second. Color, pale brown,
a whitish dorsal line, two obscure lateral ones, and a stigmatal and

212 Forty-second Report on the State Mushuii. [70]

substigmatal whitish one. Head nearly as large as the first segment,
pale brown with two darker lines down its front and paler reticula-
tions on the sides. Body cylindrical. All of the prolegs are fully
developed and there is no looping in walking.

Fifth stage. — On July ninth the larva; were observed in their fourth
and last molting. At maturity, they measure when at rest 1.5 inch,
and are nearly cylindrical in form; when extended in motion they are
two inches long with the body tapering quite regularly from the
eleventh segment to the head. The head is bilobed above, flattened
in front, brown, with darker brown reticulations. The body is an
obscure pale brown, with indistinct dark brown mottlings, smooth,
except the usual setiform spots, each with a short white hair; trape-
zoidal spots dark brown and inconspicuous — the anterior pair con-
tiguous. Beneath, paler; legs unicolored.

The larvoe were fed on poplar leaves to maturity.
Pupation. — First change to the pupa on July twenty-first — the last
on July thirtieth — about thirty in all. Most of the larvse declined to
enter the ground that was given them, but pupated on the surface.
After their pupation they were covered lightly with earth. A few
buried two or three inches in the ground, where they made rude
cocoons of earth by spinning together the surrounding soil in walls
of about one-fourth of an inch in thickness.

Disclosure of the Imago. — The pupse were kept during the winter in a
warm room, having a temperature of 70° Fahr. and above. Although
the breeding-case in which they were placed was supplied underneath
its wire floor with an evaporating pan to furnish needed moisture,

very few moths were disclosed. The
first emerged in January, 1888 — three
examples prior to January twenty-first.
A second and third examj)le followed
during the month, and four others in
February; and although the puiDffl
Fig. 19.— Mamestea GEANDis. seemed in good condition for months
thereafter, and some occasionally worked their way to the surface
when covered only with a thin layer of earth, no other examples of
the moth were obtained. The moth bears such a general resemblance
to Hadena Arctica (Boisd.), that it was at first mistaken for it. It is
represented in Fig. 19.

Distribution.

Mamestra grandis has rarely occurred among the large collections of
Noctuidce made in the vicinity of Albany during the years 1877 and
1878 by Messrs. Meske, Hill, Bailey, Chatfield, and others. It is

[71] Retort of the State Entomologist. 21S

recorded as having been taken rarely in Ohio and Illinois. Beyond
this, but little is known of its distribution in the United States. It is
said to occur in the circumpolar regions of Europe. Boisdaval received
examjDles of it from Greenland and Lapland.

Penthina nimbatana (Clemens).
The Rose-leaf Tijer.

(Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. ToRTiuciniE.)

Clemens : in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1860, p. 364 (Antithesia).
Walker: in Cat. Lep. Heteroc. Br. Mus., xxviii, 1863, p. 374 {Penthina

coyitrarlana).
Zeller: Beitr. Keunt. nordamer. Nachtf., iii, 1875, p. 57, pi. 8, f. 13.
Fernald : Cat. Tortric. N. Amer., 1882, p. 31, No. 187.
Coquillett : in 11th Eept. Ins. 111., 1882, p. 12 (reference to); in Papilio,

iii, 1883, p. 101 (larval features and habits).
Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlviii, 1883, p. 169 (in a green-house).

Caterpillars of this moth were received from Scarsdale, Westchester
Co., N. Y., on February seventh, with a statement that they had just
made their appearance in a green-house and were injuring the foliage.
Some method of destroying them was desired.

They are of small size, as are most of the family of Tortricidw to
which they belong, not much exceeding one-half inch in length, slender,
and nearly cylindrical. They are of an apple-green color, of a trans-
parency that permits the pulsation of the dorsal vessel (correspond-
ing to a heart) to be seen through the skin, and are traversed by a
dark dorsal line. The twelve segments of the body are well defined,
each bearing several small tubercles or papilloc which give out a small
white hair — the four on the back (the trapezoidal spots) being the
most conspicuous. The head is flat and shining black, with some
whitish hairs, and the collar (upper part of the first segment) is also
shining black. The three pairs of legs are black; the prolegs green.

This species was named and described by Dr. Clemens as Antithesia
nimbatana, in I860, and was later referred to the genus Penthina. It
is a common species in the vicinity of Albany.

Mr. D. W. Coquillett states {loc. cit.) that he has found the cater-
pillar of this species to be " utterly indistinguishable from a black-
headed variety of Caccecia rosaceaiia (Harris)." I have not compared
the two, but the moths are so exceedingly unlike that their larvae
certainly should show differential features. From my recollection of
the larva of P. nimbatana, its green is more yellowish and clearer than

214 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [72]

is ever seen in examples of P. rosaceana. A number of the pupa-
cases of both species are contained in the State collection, awaiting
study which will undoubtedly show marked difference in them.

Food-habits.

With me the insect has shown a decided preference for some
clumps of one of the commoner roses, not very double, which grow in
clusters on the same stem, and entirely avoiding some of the choicer
kinds. This same preference has been observed and mentioned to
me by others. The explanation may, perhaps, be that this particular
rose is apparently not very far removed from the wild rose, Rosa
hlanda, which, according to Mr. Coquillett, it infests, and from which
he has bred it.

This is the first time that the insect has been reported in green-
houses.

Life-history and Habits.

The jDarent moth, shown in its natural size in Fig. 20, comes from
its pupa about the middle of April in ordinary seasons, in the
State of New York, for the deposit of its eggs. They are laid at
night, and presumably on the terminal leaves of rose bushes, just
as they are pushing out from the buds. The eggs
have not been observed, nor the moth in its oviposition,
^^^^P^" at this season of the year. The caterpillar soon hatches,
^ ^ and at once commences to bind together the margins

FIG. 20.— o o ^^^ surfaces of the folded leaf. I have found it thus
the rose-leaf tyer.

Penthina nimba- located on the last day of April, measuring one-eighth
T^NA. Qf ajj inch in length. With its increasing size, the

single leaf, partly eaten and opened out in its rapid growth, is aban-
doned by the caterpillar, which then selects another habitation, and a
more commodious one, between the surfaces of two leaves fastened
together. This, in turn, at a more advanced stage of growth, is
deserted for still more ample quarters among several of the terminal
leaves of a tip. Within the shelter thus provided for itself, it feeds
upon its immediate surroundings and is never seen abroad. Its
growth is rapid, and at its successive moltings the papillae and the
hairs proceeding from them become more conspicuous. Immediately
after its molting, and for a while thereafter, its head and collar are
green, assuming slowly their normal black and shining color.

By the last week of May the larvse have matured, ceased feeding,
and, it would seem, have dropped to the ground, to undergo their
transformations among the dead leaves, as I have not been able to
find their pupae among the folded or fastened leaves of the bush.
When reared in confinement they have transformed within a folded

[73] Report of the State Entomologist. 215

leaf which the caterpillar had first lined with a coating of silk. The
period of pupation is about nine or ten days. The moth of the sec-
ond brood has been observed abroad by me as early as June second.
Eggs are laid for the next brood, and the renewed
operations of the caterpillar upon the bushes are
soon to be seen, extending into July. It is possible
that there may be a third brood, as the transform-
ations among the Tortricidce may be quite rapid — the ^i«- 2i.-Front wing
pupal stage in some being limited to five days. I f^faVg e d.^'lMtoi
have seen the moths flying in my garden as late as July Zelier.)
twenty-fifth — the latest period at which I have been able to pursue my
observations upon it. From June second to the last days of July, and
probably into August, would be too long a time for moths of the
second brood to be seen abroad. It would be more in accordance with
what is known of other Tortricids if a third brood made its
appearance about the middle of July.

Remedies.
The presence of this caterpillar on a rose bush may be detected at
a glance by the tied leaves at the tip of a stem, when it is only neces-
sary to give the little bunch a slight pinch, and its occupant is at once
destroyed. As it is seldom so numerous as to call for insecticidal
applications to the entire bush, which would require to be very
thoroughly applied in order to reach its food, this will be found the
most convenient and efficient method of destroying the pest. It is
the method that I have adopted in my own gai'den, where it is an
annual visitant, and where its pretty, broad-winged and conspicuously
marked moth is often to be seen by day during the months of June
and July, resting upon the leaves, or if disturbed, flying quickly for
a yard or two to a fence-board or other convenient resting j^lace, and
presenting much, in the pose of its wings, the appearance of some of
the smaller Noctuidce.

Incur varia acerifoliella (Fitch).
The Maple-leaf Gutter.

(Ord. Lepidoptera : Fam. TiNEiDiE.)

Ornix acerifoliella Fitch : in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc. for 1855, xv,

185G, pp. 501-505; 1st and 2ud Repts. lus. N. Y., 185G, pp. 2G9-273, pi,

4, figs. 5-7; in Count. Gent., xiv, 1859, p. 225.
Incurvaria acerifoliella Clemens : in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., January,

1860, p. l; in Tiueina of N, Amer,, 1872, p, 90 (fig. of wings and brief

description).

10

216 Forty-second Report on tee State MusEmr. [74]

Ornix acerifoliella. Eeed: in Eept. Ent. Soc. Ont. for 1872, p. 42-3.—
Lintner: in Count. Gent., xxxix, 1874, p. 631.

Tinea irklella Chambers: in Canad. Ent., v, 1873, p. 86.

Inourvaria irklella Chambers: in Canad. Ent., xi, 1879, p. 146; in Bull.
U. S. G.-G. Surv. Terr., iv, 1878, p. 151.

Inourvaria acerifoliella. Chambers : in Bull. U. S. G.-G. Surv. Terr., iv, 1878,
p. 151 (references).— Packard : in Bull. No. 7, U. S. Ent. Commis.,
1881, p. 114 (habits and description).— Walsingham : in Trans.
Amer. Ent. Soc, x, 1882, p. 172; in Insect Life, i, 1888, p. 147.—
Lintner: 1st Eept. Ins. N. Y., 1882, p. 308 (mention).— Fletcher :
Eept. Entomol. for 1885, p. 31-2 (severe injuries); id. for 1887, p, 38
(mention) ; in Trans. Ottawa Field Nat. Club, ii, 1887, p. 353-4
(injuries).

This little Tineid, for some unknown reason, is remarkably local
having been reported from only a few localities in the United States
and Canada; yet when it makes its ai^pearance, it is usually so destruc-
tive to the foliage of the trees that it attacks, and its operations are
of such a peculiar character as to impart much interest to them.

The following communication, received from a correspondent resid-
ing at Pittsford, Vt., tells the story of a demonstration made by it at
that place :

Inclosed I send you some leaves from the sugar maple, upon which
you will find a small worm covered with portions of the leaf
which lie has cut out and appropriated for a house ; he carries it
about and feeds upon the leaf until it is all consumed but the
fiber. Nearly all the hard maple trees in our forests are as brown and
look as dead as though fire had been through them. "We have never
seen anything of the kind here before, and I would like to know
where they came from and what their future will be. They touch no
other tree but the hard maple; not even the soft maple. Any light in
regard to the insect will be thankfully received.

The Leaf-case of the Caterpillar.

The leaves sent with the above present a curious appearance and
would naturally arrest attention and provoke inquiry. In one of them
are no less than twenty-two round (or more correctly, subelliptical)
holes, of from one-tenth to four-tenths of an inch in diameter, while
several of the pieces, neatly cut out from the holes, are fastened to
the upper surface of the leaf. A large portion of the surface has been
eaten away in such a manner as to leave frequently circular patches
of green untouched surface, corresponding in size and form to the
excised pieces of leaf.

Upon inserting the point of a needle under the edge of one of these
pieces, it is found to be attached to the leaf by silken threads at dif-
ferent parts of its circumference. On raising it, underneath is seen a

[75]

Report of the State Entomologist.

217

smaller round piece, and within tbeae two, when separated, two other
pieces of smaller size, containing within them the remains of a minute
cateri^illar which had been killed, jn-obably by pressure in transit
through the mail.

W3^^

.Sw2^^ '«, r j'lj ' N

"'^ /.

Fig. 22.— The maple-leaf cutter, Incuevaeia aceeifoliella, and its
operations. ( After Fitch. )

When the leaves were received, a few of the leaf -cases which had
escaped crushing were observed in motion, as the caterpillars, with
head and front legs protruded, were dragging them over the surface
in search of fresh pasturage, as stated in the above communication.

In Fig. 22 the operations of this insect on a maple leaf, as above
described, are shown, as also two of the moths upon the leaf in their
natural size. Three of the larval cases, in different sizes, are repre-
sented on the leaf. At its left is the case of a full-gz'own larva, in
natural size, and to the right the same enlarged.

The Insect, and its Appearance in New York in 1850.
The insect which constructs for itself this singular shelter, and
inflicts the serious injury on the forest maples mentioned above, is
known as the Maple-leaf cutter. The perfect insect proceeding from
it, after its hibernation among the dead leaves on the ground in the
pupa state, is a little moth of only a third of an inch in expanse of

2] 8 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [76]

wings, belonging to the family of Tineidce, wliich comprises the

smallest forms of the LejndojDtera. It was described thirty-five years

ago by Dr. Fitch, in his First Report on the Noxious Insects of New York,

under the name of Ornix acerifoliella, where it is recorded as having

caused so serious an affection of the maples in the eastern section of

New York, in the year 1850, as to make it a common subject of

remark. The forest maples were alone affected by it; those isolated

in fields and about dwellings entirely escaped. It had been observed

for several years (perhaps ten) annually, with the return of the month

of May, in numbers in the forests, but at the time of writing (1854)

it had nearly disappeared ; for two years past not one had been seen,

and even its pupae could not be found on searching among the fallen

trees.

Its Subsequent History.

No record is found of later injuries from it in the State of New
York. In 1859 Dr. Fitch received examples of the insect with
inquiries of its habits, from North Clarendon, Vt., as appears from a
communication made by him to the Country Gentleman of October
sixth of that year. Its ravages at and in the vicinity of Pittsford,
Vt., given on page 216, were in the year 1874. Di-. Packard's only
acquaintance with the insect seems to be {loc. cit.) in maple leaves,
and cases illustrating its work received from Vermont — at what time
is not stated. Its occurrence in the State of Illinois was observed by
Miss Emily A. Smith, on forest maples, during the month of August
and thereafter increasingly until the fall of the leaves in autumn.

Its Destructiveness in Canada.

Mr. James Fletcher, Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture
of Canada, has given an account of an extraordinary occurrence of this
insect in a maple wood adjoining the grounds of the Government House
at Ottawa, in September of 1885. The maple trees, for a space of per-
haps four acres, had the foliage almost entirely consumed, and the flat,
disc-like cases of the larvse were carpeting the ground, and were also
in great numbers on the trunks of the trees. Some beech trees grow-
ing among the maples had also been attacked after the leaves of the
maple had been devoured. The attack was so severe in the skeletoniz-
ing of the leaves that the woods presented a cream-colored hue instead
of their usual green.

A similar visitation had been observed by the Rev. T. W. Fyles, of
South Quebec, in Missisquoi county, in the year 1881, particularly in
maple groves in the village of Sweetsburgh, Quebec. The foliage was
so skeletonized that it presented a brown and scorched appearance, as
if a hot blast had passed over the woodland. Myriads of the larvae

[77]

Report of the State Entomologist.

219

in their disc-like covering were to be seen on the leaves and branches
of the trees and on the undergrowth. The following season clouds of
the perfect insect would i-ise from the foliage when disturbed by the
passers-by.

Elsewhere in Canada — which, from the above accounts, would seem
to be the home of this insect, from which it, at times, extends south-
ward into Vermont and New York — it has been observed in the
London district by Mr. E. Baynes Reed, who records it {loc. cit.) as
more or less common every year in that locality, and notably in the

year 1872.

Caterpillar and Moth Described.

The larva is described by Dr. Fitch as nearly one-fourth of an inch
long at maturity ; slender, and of a flattened cylindrical form, soft
and contractile, its segments marked by slight, intervening constric-
tions. It is of a dull white; the head, which is strongly depressed,
and the three thoracic segments are pale rusty-brown ; an inter-
rupted broad, blackish stripe, more or less distinct, traverses the
middle of the back.

The moth measures 0.35 inch ac ss its forewings, which are
of a brilliant steel-blue color, or sometimes bluish-green, with

a purple reflectiouj

'iC"^!^ and without spots.

The hind wings are

7/ la ty^,^ ^ pale smoky-brown

and translucent.
Fig. 23.- Tho maple-leaf cut- ^y^^j^ ^g blue and

ter, InCUEVAKIA ACEEIFOLIELLA .

(after Fitch). purple reflections

and a pale brown fringe,
the head, between the antennae is a tuft of erect bright orange hairs.
The thorax is brilliant steel-blue, and the abdomen of a dark satiny-
brown.

Figure 23 (after Fitch) represents the moth in enlargement, and
Figure 24 (after Clemens) the neuration of its wings.

Remedies.

As the insect pupates within the leaves, and remains in them after
their fall during the winter, its numbers may be greatly reduced in
maple groves by permitting cattle or sheep to range therein, and
attracting them to the more particularly infested trees, if such there
are, by feeding salt beneath them, as suggested by Dr. Fitch.

When isolated shade trees are attacked, as they sometimes are (on
the authority of Mr. Keed), the depredations may be arrested by
spraying with Loudon purple — one pound to 200 gallons of water

^ , Fig. 24.— Neurutiou of winsj

On the crown of of the maple-leaf cutter.

220 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [78]
Hsematobia (Lyperosia) serrata Rob. Desv.

The Cow-horn Fly.

(Ord. Dipteka: Fam. Stobioxyd^.)

Hmmatohia serrata Rob. Desvoidy : Essai sur les Myodaires, 1830, p. 389, 3.
Hasmatobia serrata. Macquakt: Suites a Buffon, ii, 1835, p. 214.
Lyper'osia serrata Rondani : Dipterologife Italica3 Prodomus, v, 1862, p. 231.
Priophora serrata Rob Desv. : Hist. Nat. Dipt., 1863.
Stomoxys cornicola Williston MS. : Lintner : in Count. Gent, for Oct. 18,

1888, liii, p. 779.

Hcematobia serrata. Lintner : in Count. Gent, for Nov. 29, 1888, liii, p. 893.
Hcematobia cornicola Williston. Smith : in Count. Gent, for Aug. 8, 1889,

liv, p. 591-2 (description, figures, habits, etc.) : Bull. F. N. Jer. Agri-

cul. Col. Exp. St., 1889 (habits and remedies).
Hcematobia cornicola Williston : in Entomolog. x-^mer. for Sept., 1889, v, p.

180-1 (figure, description and notes). — Howard : in Insect Life, ii,

1889, p. 60.

"The Texas fly." Lintner: in Count. Gent, for Sept. 20, 1888, p. 705; id.

for Oct. 11, 1888, p. 759.
" The Buffalo or Texas fly." Paciflc Rural Press for Aug. 3, 1889, p. 89

(in Iowa).

Hcematobia serrata occurs in Europe, in Southern France and in Italy,
where it is reported as tormenting cattle.* Beyond this, very little, so
far as we know, has been written of it and we may therefore infer that
it has not been regarded in its native home as a particular pest.

Its introduction into this country must have been of recent date.
It seems to have been first noticed in Chester county, Penn., in the
year 1886. In the autumn of 1887, the attention of Professor Cope, of
Philadelphia, was drawn to the fly, as greatly annoying cattle and con-
gregating in large numbers on and around their horns. My attention
was called to it in the summer of 1888, through a communication sub-
mitted to me and published in the Country Gentleman of September
twentieth, as follows:

Farmers in this neighborhood are making quite a time about a small
fly that gets on their cows' horns. They say that they bore into the
horn and deposit an eg;g that hatches, and the grub burrows into
the head of the cow and produces death. They are putting tar over
the cows' heads and horns, which I do not wish to do. They call it
the Texas fly. Please answer in your valuable paper if there is any
danger, or whether it is all moonshine. H. F. A., Hamilton Square, N. J.

Reply was made to the above of ignorance of any insect having the
habits above described and a doubt of the existence of such. That
an injury of this nature might be inflicted was within the range of
possibility, but if the fly existed in Texas, or elsewhere in the United

[79] Report of the State Entomologist. 221

States, or in other countries, it would have been known long ago to
scientists. The story as told, therefore, of the Texas fly, need not be
credited, and it does not seem advisable to make the application of tar
to protect from injuries which probably do not occur.

The publication of the above called forth the following communica-
tion, contained in the Country Gentleman of October 11, 1888, which
gave us the first definite information regarding the habits of the new
insect, and was also accompanied with specimens of the same:

Eds. Countky Gentleman. — The small cow-fly referred to by your
correspondent, on page 705, first attracted general attention in Chester
county, Penn., in 188G. How long they may have been present in
lesser numbers we do not know, but in that year they caused general
comment by their habit of congregating on the horns of cattle, seem-
ing at the first glance like a mass of tar, extending some three or four
inches on the upper surface of the horn. Examination would soon
show that they were not confined to the horns or head, but attacking
the animal generally — neglecting, however, the legs and feet, where
the ordinary fly is particularly troublesome. Thej especially feed
on the shoulders and at the root of the tail — our cattle generally
having a sore sjjot on the hairless skin on each side of the tail.
They are, as will be seen by the sample mailed, about one-half as
large as the ordinary fly, and quite like them in appearance. They
avoid horses entirely, and appear to have largely reduced the number
of their predecessors. They do not bite the milkers as the others did,
and their several bites do not appear to annoy the cattle nearly as
much as the old ones; but they are much more persistent, and come
early in sjDriug, long before "fly-time." For want of abetter name,
our farmers are calling them Texan flies.

It is generally affirmed that they cling to the cow and bite all night.
From my own observations, I doubt their feeding then.

It would be of considerable interest to learn how much of our
country the fl}'^ has appeared in, and when it was first observed. Your
readers can give us the information, no doubt.*

J. L. B.

Kennett Square, Chester Co., Pa.

The fly was unknown to me. It was evidently closely allied to our
well-known and common biting fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Linn.), which
appears in autumn and attacks animals and men, often entering our
houses, and from its marked resemblance to the common house fly,
not recognized as different until it inflicts a sudden, sharj), stinging
bite through the stocking or elsewhere on the leg — seldom on any
other part of the body. If captured and examined, the long, slender
and projecting proboscis with which the bite is inflicted ma}^ be
readily seen.

*No one, as yet, has given an earlier date than the above for the first appearance of

the fly, nor h.is its distribution been ascertained.

222 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [80]

Upon making inquiry of Dr. S. W. Williston, who is conceded to be
the best authority among us on American Diptera, of his knowledge
of the insect, reply was made that he had received specimens of it
from several sources during the past year, and that it was a new
species of Stomoxys which he would soon describe under the name of
cornicolay^

Previous to this, it seems to have excited considerable attention
throughout the State of New Jersey during the year 1887, and was
accordingly made the subject of inquiry and remark at the Annual
Meeting of the State Board of Agriculture held at Trenton on the 3d
of February, 1888. The principal statements of interest made, were,
that it appeared at different localities about the same time, viz., in the
early morning before daylight. It was particularly fond of fastening
itself on the udders of the cows, or where the skin of the animal is
the thinnest. When the animal is lying down it settles on the thin
skin behind the shoulder-blades. It often collected about the horns,
and this spot would be covered with its excx-eta. It followed the
cattle into the stall where it annoyed them both in the morning and
evening. It had not been seen on horses or mules — only on cattle.
Specimens of it had been sent to the Department at Washington, and
it was learned from the Entomologist that it had not been seen by him
before, and could not at present be named.f

Identical with an European Species.
Although new to all of our entomologists, it did not seem wise to
accept it as a species that had long been with us and chanced to have
remained undetected until it suddenly developed a new and peculiar
habit of annoyance. So many of our more noted insect pests have,
through the daily intercommunications of commerce been transferred
from Europe to our shores, that it was quite probable that this also
had a similar origin — the more so since the Diptera could be so easily
carried on shipboard. A number of examples of the fly were therefore
obtained and sent to Baron Osten Sacken of Heitlelberg, Germany,
whose special study of the Diptera during the past forty years, both in
this country and in Europe have given him the highest rank among the
Dipterologists of the world. He kindly returned answer that the
insect, althoiigh a true Stomoxyd, and allied to Stomoxys calcitrans, was
easily distinguishable from it in the following characters : 1. Its smaller
size and more uniformly grayish-brown color. 2. Its long pali:)i,
nearly as long as the horny, porrect proboscis. 3. The structure of
the hind tarsi in the male, the two long basal joints of which show a

* Soe Country Gentleman of October 18, 1888, p. 779, where the proposed specific name
is erroneously given as ceroicola.
t Fifteenth Aim. Eept. N. J. State Board of Agriculture, 1888, p. 163.

[81] Report of the State Entomologist. 223

triangular projection which makes the edge of the tarsus appear
serrate; hence its specific name. It was the Hcematohia {Lyperosia
Kond.) serrata of Rob. Desvoidy.

The determination of the specific name had been made by his
friend, Mr. F. Kowarz, to whom some of the specimens were sent, in
consideration of his superior knowledge of EurojDean Dijitera. He
had written that " the most careful comparison has not disclosed any
differences between the Amei'ican and the European specimens of
this fly."

European Bibliography of the Fly.

Baron Osten Sacken, with his accustomed kindness, also com-
municated the European bibliography of the insect herewith given,
together with the following remarks upon the generic terms employed
therein, which will be appreciated by the scientific student :

As there are several other species of Hcematohia in existence,
Rondani formed the genus Lyperosia (Prodr., etc., i. p. 92, 185G) for
those of them which have the arista beset with hairs on the upper
side only, and the end of the first longitudinal vein opposite the small
cross-vein. In the remaining Hsematobifu the arista shows some few
hairs on the under side also, and the first longitudinal vein reaches
beyond the small cross-vein.

The genus Priophora was proposed by R. Desvoidy (in his posthu-
mous work, Hist. Nat. Dipt., etc., 1863) for H. serrata, on account of
the structure of the hind tarsi in the male. Robineau [Desvoidy] did
not know of Rondani's publication ; nevertheless Friojjhora and
Lyperosia are not synonyms, and are based on different characters,
viz., Priophora on the male hind tarsi, Lyperosia on the mode of hairi-
ness of the arista and on the venation; Priophora, in Robineau, con-
tains the single species serrata ; while Rondani's Lyperosia contains
serrata and irritans.

Doubt Expressed of its Introduction.
Prof. J. B. Smith, of the New Jersey Agricultural Exi:)eriment Sta-
tion, in a recent publication on the fly {loc. cit.), expresses his belief
that it is not an introduced species, and that there is no real reason
for supposing it to be other than an American form which abnormal
circumstances have raised to the rank of a temporary pest. It is but
just to Prof. Smith to state that the opinion was expressed, and the
MS. name of H. cornicola given it by Dr. Willistou, accepted svithout
the knowledge of the positive identification of the fly with the H.
serr^ata of Europe, from the examples sent by me for comparison, as
above stated. It is also learned from Dr. Williston, that his quite
recent publication of Hcematobia cornicola new sp., was also made in
ignorance of the above determination — since unhesitatingly accepted
by him,

11

224 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. . [82]

The Fly Illustrated.
Those who desire a description of the fly may find it in the Country
Gentleman or in Entomologica Americana, as cited. As preferable to a
detailed description for the use of the agriculturist or stock grower,
the illustration by Prof. Smith, given in the above places, is herewith
presented.

Fig. 25.— The Cow-horn fly, HtEMATobia. serkata: «, the egg; /j, the imago or perfect
insect; c, head of the same seen from its side, showing the proboscis at rest; d, mouth-
parts, showing the long palpi and the proboscis with its lancets thrown out.

Life-history and Habits.

The interest excited by the sudden advent in great abundance of a
new pest, together with the greatly exaggerated reports of the char-
acter and amount of injury it would inflict upon the cattle interests
of the country, have drawn the earnest attention of some of our
entomologists and others to it, but as yet we are without a published
life-history of it. It is now generally known, however, that the fly
does not deposit its eggs on the animal, the grubs from which bore
into the horns and penetrate the brain, as at first believed, but that
it oviposits largely, if not altogether, in fresh cow-droppings.

The QQg,, of a deep brown color and larger than that of the common
house-fly, has been described by Prof. Smith, and Mr. L. A. Howard
has given the entire period of development of the insect from the egg
through the larval and puj)al stages to the perfect fly, as only twelve
days. A knowledge of this fact satisfactorily accounts for the
rapidity of multiplication of the insect seen after its first appearance
in the month of May.

Mr. E. Boder, of Freehold, N. J., who has apparently given close
attention to the fly, has kindly furnished me some of his observations,
from which I extract :

[83] Report of the State Entomologist. 225

" In my observation in a pasture-field this morning I found a lot of
horn-fly eggs on manure dropped last night and this a. m. — only on
droppings that were in the shade. The eggs were scattered over the
top and not buried in the manure as those of other cow-flies, and
which, I think, prefer the sun."

A number of the eggs thus found were sent me on different occa-
sions, upon their bedding, but they could not be recognized when
received, nor were larvae from them found within. Two other species
of Muscidce were obtained from the masses, about fifteen days after
reception, but no examples of the horn-fl3\ Others have experienced
the same difiiculty in attemj)ts to rear the species.

Some other statements of habits, etc., contained in Mr. Boder's
letters, are these :

Not one in fifty of the flies appear to be blood-suckers, judging from
their actions by daytime, and, also, by crushing them fresh from the
cow. Those that are blood-suckers also bite at night the cattle that
are left out all night. For the past month (August), a portion of the
flies have come to stall with the cows that are stalled all night.

It may be prejudice, but from my view, our common cow-fly [Stomoxys
calcitrans], for biting, beats this new pest twenty to one in worrying
the cows.

The fly subsists on the loose, soft part of the horn, near the head,
and also, apparently, on the hair or dandruff, or both. [We can not
imagine what operation of the fly has been mistaken for this feeding,
for it is known that its mouth-parts — even of the male, which probably
does not subsist on blood — are entirely unfitted for taking other than
liquid food].

Heavy rains seem to be unfavorable to the production of the fly —
perhaps through destroying its eggs. Ants and beetles of several
kinds explore every piece of the droppings favorable, and apparently
destroy milHons of the maggots.

As these pages are about being handed to the printer, the gratify-
ing information is received from Mr. Howard, of the Entomological
Division at Washington, that they have secured full notes of the
insect, have traced every stage of its life-history and have had a
number of illustrations made, which will be published either in the
Annual Report of the Entomologist, or earlier in Insect Life.

The Injury to Cattle.
The nature of the injury caused to cattle, from the attack of this fly,
and its extent, has been so ably summarized by Prof. Smith that we
copy the following from his paper cited, as best covering our present
knowledge on the subject:

When many of these flies are at the cattle, of course the pain caused
by the poisoned punctures is almost incessant; the cattle throw their
heads about, lash their tails, and in every way try to get rid of their

226 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [84]

tormentors. These, on the other hand, congregate at those points
where they can not be easily reached, and the cattle are kept in a
state of constant excitement. Judge Forsyth writes: "They live
on them day and night and never leave them. My cows have
shrunk in cream full one-half ; the milk will not make but little
more than half it did before the flies came." This is the primary
injury caused. The cows kept in a constant state of annoyance,
become poor and fall off in milk ; secondarily, the cow, to get rid of
the pests on her horns, and to allay the itching of the punctui'es at
the base, will rub her head and horns against anything convenient
to scratch, and inflammation of even a severe character may result —
possibly even to the loss of one or both horns. There is no such
thing as burrowing into the skin either by the larva or the imago,
but the facts, as I have detailed them, are bad enough, since the result
is the same, even if common observation has mistaken the actual
cause.

Its Distribution.

Thus far the fly has been observed infesting cattle in northern Vir-
ginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I have
not heard of its presence in New York, but in all probability it is to
be found in some of the southeastern counties of the State.

The statement of its presence in Iowa, made in the Pacific Rural
Press of August 3, 1889, and of the injuries inflicted by it, needs verifi-
cation — the latter, to the extent stated, of course, can not be
accepted.

The Buffalo fly, or Texan fly, an insect but half as large as the com-
mon house-fl}', has been killing off the cattle in southeastern Iowa for
some weeks past. A dispatch from Burlington states that the pests
have caused the loss of several herds in that vicinity. They attack
the cows at the base of the horns, and after a few days the horns
come off. In another day the cow dies. Many beasts are suffering
in a similar manner, and there has not been any remedy discovered
that will effectually destroy the fly.

Preventives and Remedies.

It is believed that this new pest will not prove to be a difficult insect
to control. There are several applications much less objectionable
than tar that can be used for keeping the flies from alighting on the
animal, or at least from remaining long enough to pun ct fire the skin
or be an annoyance otherwise. Crude kerosene oil, it is claimed, will
accomplish this, without harm to the animal. The Division of Entomol-
ogy at Washington has recommended the following: (1) Fish-oil
and fine tar with a little sulj)hur added; (2) tobacco dust when the
skin is not broken; (3) tallow and a small amount of carbolic acid.

Some oil mixed with " soluble phenyle " or almost any one of the
popular " sheep-dips," properly applied, should prove efficient.

[85] Report of the State Entomologist. 227

Professor Smith recommends very liiglily a tobacco-dust prepara-
tion known as X. O. Dust and manufactured by the Insecticide Manu-
facturing Co., at 10 East Camden street, Baltimore, as safe in use and
promj^t and efficient in action. He asserts: "If thoi'oughly applied
so as to get the hair well diisted, no Stomoxxjs or Hcematobia can stand
it long enough to puncture the skin of the cattle. It would mean
death to them. The powder does not lose strength by exposure."

But the best way to meet the insect, would, in all probability, be to
destroy it in its earlier stages by applying lime to the droppings. If
this be done on successive mornings, the eggs would be killed before
their hatching and entering the manure as maggots. The suggestion
of Mr. Howard is therefore valuable — to prevent the insect surviving
the winter by liming the dung in the autumn where the cattle fre-
quently stand at night. It being here that the eggs are deposited
and where by fai- the larger number of the insects will probably hiber-
nate, if the liming be done so thoroughly as to be carried or trod-
den into the droi:)pings, it certainly should destroy all the horn-flies
in its early stages that might othei'wise survive the winter.

Dynastes Tityus (Linn.).
The Spotted Horn-bug.

(Ord. Coleoptera: Fam. ScARABiEiD^.)

LiNN^us : Syst. Nat, ii, 1767, p. 5J:2, No. 5 {Scarabceus Tityus).
Fabricius: Syst. Ent., viii, 1775, p. 18; Sp. Ins., i, 1781, p. 8, No. 23 {Scara-
bceus); Ent. Syst., Pt. i, 1792, p. 10, No. 25; Syst. Eleuth., i, 1801, p.
10, No. 28 {Geotrijpes).
Say : Amer. EntomoL, i, 1821, p. 8 ; Compl.Writ., i, 1883, p. 8, i)l.i{Scaraba3Us).
Fitch: 3d Rept. Ins. N. Y. (3d-5th Kepts.), 1859, p. 49, No. 72.
Glover : in Rept. Commis. Agricul. for 1868, p. 89, f. 80.
Riley: in Amer. Entomol., ii, 1870. p. 374, f. 22-4.
Horn: in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, iii, 1870, p. 78 (var. Orantii).
LeBaron: 4th Rept. Ins. 111., 1874, p. 84, f. 38.
Thomas : 6th Rept. Ins. 111. [1877], p. 96, f. 7 (description).
Lintner: in Count. Gent, xlvii, 1882, p. 645; in id., 1, 1885, p. 623.
Dimmock: in Cassino's Stand. Nat. Hist., ii, 1884, p. 368, f. 427.
Johnson: in Bull. No. 4, Divis. Entomol., U. S. Dept Agricul., 1884, p. 78.
Henshaw: ListColeop. N. Amer., 1885, p. 93, No. 5886.
Smith : in Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., i, 1888, p. 54 (its odor).
Atkinson: Bull. No. 4, Agricul. Exp. St Univ. S. Car., 1889, p. 87 (its odor).
Webster : in Insect Life, ii, 1889, p. 89 (in Indiana).

The following communication, under date of August second, from
a gentleman at Perrowville, Va., accompanied specimens of the above-
named beetle. The reply made thereto in the Country Gentleman of

228 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [86]

August 17, 1882, has been rewritten and extended in the present notice,
in consideration of the particular interest attending the insect.

I send by mail to-day a box containing several specimens of a hideous
and most oliensive beetle which has recently begun its ravages in the
ash trees on my lawn. Will you please tell me its name and character,
and how to free our trees from its presence. The odor from these
beetles is so offensive at night that it is disagreeable to sit in the open
air. I learn that they also occur on the forest trees in our vicinity.

The beetle is the Dynastes Tityus of Linnseus, known under the
l^opular names of " the spotted-horn-bug " and the " rhinoceros
beetle " — each having reference to the large horns with which the
male is armed — these horns being, as in many other species of Gole-
optera, as notably in " the stag-beetle," a sexual feature.

An Odorous Insect.

The family of Scarabceidce, to which this beetle belongs, contains
many species which are noted for the disagreeable odor that they
emit, but none have the penetration and pungency of this. Where a
large number are congregated, the atmosphere in their vicinity
would readily become quite unpleasant to the nostrils, for even the
dead -bodies of the half-dozen sent me, although occupying a place, as
I am writing, upon an open piazza at a distance of several yards from
me, and after having been exposed to the air thi'oughout the night,
have rendered their vicinity quite intolerable to some of the unscien-
tific members of my family who have been sitting with me.

The remarkable offensiveness of this insect has often been commented
on. Among other notices of it are the following:

Mr. J. B. Smith, in a paper read before the Entomological Society of
Washington, September 2, 1886, on the peculiar odor emitted by these
beetles, stated that they had during the season develoj)ed into a veri-
table pest. In two States, Virginia and Tennessee, they had been
locally so abundant as to saturate the air with the penetrating stench.
The local boards of health, especially that at Memphis, Tenn., disin-
fected all sorts of foul and suspected localities without success, and
only by accident was the true source of the smell at last discovered.

Prof. G. F. Atkinson, Entomologist of the Agricultural Experiment
Station of South Carolina, states in Bulletin No. 4 of the station for
January 4, 1889: "In the summer of 1886 the beetle was so plentiful,
feeding on the leaves of the ash in Raleigh, N. C, as to cause a dis-
agreeable odor, which pervaded nearly the whole city. For some time
it was thought to be due to uncleanliness in certain parts of the city,
but was eventually traced to these beetles."

[87]

[Report of the State Entomologist.

229

Description.
The beetle, although " horrid " in the eyes of the gentleman commu-
nicating it, is, to the entomologist, from its size, form, and ornament-
ation, a beautiful and attractive specimen of the Coleoptera. It is,
perhaps, the largest of our
United States beetles. The
inaximum size of the males
before me (not the largest that
occurs) is two and one-half
inches in length (three and
one-half inches with legs ex-
tended), one and one-tenth inch
across the abdomen, and eight-
tenths of an inch in thickness
of body. The female has the
general form of the much
smaller grapevine beetle, Pelid-
nofa punctata. The male has
quite a different aspect, being
armed anteriorly with two stout
black horns of a half-inch or
more in length, of which the
upper is a straight projection of
thorax, curving slightly toward its
stiff yellow hairs beneath ; the lower
head curves upward to meet the other.

the thoracic horn is a black, short, sharp-pointed horn or spine
thorax and wing-cov-

ers are of a pale olive-
brown, the latter dot-
ted irregularly with
black spots of various
sizes and shapes, of
which some may be
ocellated. Beneath, Fig. 27.— Side view of the Rhinoceros beetle.

the abdomen is black. The legs are shining black, strong, and armed
with stout spines and bristles. Fig. 26 represents the male as seen
from above, and Fig. 27 as seen from the side.

Variation.— Much variation is presented in the colors and markings
of these beetles, and particularly in the females. One example in
my collection has the thorax black, while in another both the thorax
and the wing-covers are very dark brown. A male before me has the

Fig.

26. —The Rhinoceros beetle. Dynastes
TiTYUs, male,
the anterior part of the
notched tii^, and bearing
one on the crow^n of the
On each side of, and near to,
Tlie

230 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [88]

thorax of the normal color, while the elytra are dark brown,
slightly mottled with paler brown. The females have the thorax
delicately punctured (smooth in the other sex), with the wing-covers
strongly punctured.

Distribution.

This beetle is quite abundant locally, at times, in most of the South-
ern States. To the west of the Mississippi, it occurs in Arizona,
Kansas, Missouri, etc. It is found in Pennsylvania, but rarely. Dr.
Fitch, in his Third Report on the Insects of New York, notices it as
infesting the cherry (presumably in New York), but if taken within
the State, it must have been in its southern portions.

Food of the Insect.

This insect has not been numbered among our insect pests, since
its food has generally been suj^posed to be confined to decaying vege-
table matter. The larva, probably, subsists only on material of this
nature, which is a fortunate circiimstance, for from its large size,
attaining, it is said, four inches in length and a large diameter, it
would be capable of inflicting most serious injury if it burrowed within
the roots or trunks of living trees.

It has frequently been found (either as larva or imago) in cavities
of dead or dying trees, as the cherry, willow, oak, etc., buried within
the black vegetable material there accumulated.

The beetle, however, seems capable of injuries of considerable imj)or-
tance. Mr. J. W. Murrell, of Perrowville, Va., has informed me that,
on the thirtieth of June, numbers of the beetle were feeding on the
tender shoots of the spring growth of ash trees, causing the leaves to
fall and cover the ground as if a frost had passed over them.

Request made of Mr. Murrell for additional observations on the
feeding and other habits of the beetle was promptly complied with, in
the following interesting communication received from his son. Mi.
G. E. Murrell, of Cofife, Va.

Among the trees on my father's lawn are twenty of ash, to six of
which my observations have been mostly directed, as they have been
infested yearly for some time past. These are in different parts of
the lawn, between other ash trees, and are the same in health and
otherwise as those not attacked. I have first seen the beetles coming
out of the ground at the roots of the trees, with one exception, which
was four years ago, when I dug them out of a decayed fork of a mul-
berry, on which no trace of them has since been seen.

When feeding on the ash, they place themselves longitudinally on
a smooth limb, and, rising to the full extent of their legs, move their
entire body backward and forward like a plane, using several chisel-like
projections on the under-side of the head for cutting, stopping the

[89] Report of tee State Entomologist. 231

motion as soon as the alburnum is reached, and never using their
horns, so far as I can see, except for fighting. They breed below
ground, to the best of my observation.

A neighbor says that he has been troubled with them on his
tobacco, to which they are extx*emely fatal — no plant once attacked
ever surviving.

The method of feeding on the bark of the ash, as above given, is an
interesting item in the habits of the beetle, but it leaves us desirous
of further information as to whether it prefers the bark to the leaves,
and if it consumes, harmlessly, only the outer bark, or injuriously,
also, the alburnum beneath. Does the larva, in its growth within the
ground, subsist only on decaying vegetable matter, or in part on the
rootlets of the trees ?

The nature of the attack on tobacco — in what manner and to
what extent it feeds upon it — would also be of much interest toward
a fuller knowledge of this large insect.

Remedies.

When attacking, to a harmful extent, shade or ornamental trees, or

when the offensive odor becomes intolerable, the beetles may be

destroyed by the application of an arsenite to the foliage, or by jarring

or beating them from the branches and dropping them in hot water.

Oberea bimaculata (Oliv.).
The Raspberry-cane Oirdler.

(Ord. Coleoptera: Fam. Cerambycid^.)

Saperda tripnnctata Fabricius : Ent. Syst., i, pt. ii, 1792, p. 310, No. 15 ; Syst.

Eleuth., ii, 1801, p. 321.
Saperda bimaculata Olivier: Entomologie, Iv, 1795, 68, p. 21, pi. 4, f. 43.
Saperda affinis Harris: Kept. Ins. Mass., 1841, p. 91.

Oberea tripunctata Haldeman : in Trans. Amer. Philosoph. Soc, x, 1847, p. 57.
O&erea perspiciitoia Haldeman : in loc. cit. sup., p. 57.
Oberea tripunctata. LeConte: in Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1852, p. 153.
Oberea basalis LeConte: in loc. cit. sup., p. 153.
Saperda (Oberea) tripunctata Harris: Ins. New Engl., 1852, p. 100; Ins.

Inj. Veg., 1802, p. 114, f. 51.
Saperda tripunctata. Emmons: in Nat. Hist. N.Y.— Agricul., v, 1854, p. 122,

pi. 16, f . 7.
Oberea tripunctata. Glover: in Eept. Comm. Agricul. for 1863, p. 576.
Oberea tripunctata. Saunders : in Eept. Ent. Soc. Ont. for 1873, p. 8-9 ; Ins.

Inj. Fruits, 1883, p. 305-6, f. 315 (O. bimaculata).
Oberea tripunctata. Lintner: in Count. Gent., xxxix, 1874, p. 487.
12

232 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [90]

Oberea perspicillata. Eiley: 6th Kept. Ins. Mo., 1874, p. Ill (quotes

Provancher).
Oberea trij)unctata. Provanchek: Pet, Faun. Entomolog. Can., 1S77, p. 636.
Oberea btmaculata. Horn; in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, vii, 1878, pp. 46, 48.
Obei^ea btmaculata. Henshaw: List Coleop. N. Amer., 1885, p. 1U4, No. 6496.

An insect attack on the new shoots of the raspberry which is often
the occasion of inquiry, is that which attends the oviposition of the
raspberry-cane borer. The following is received from Potsdam,
N.Y.:

You will find herewith a small vial containing an insect and three
pieces of canes of Brinckle's Orange raspberry. You will see the two
rings that are made in the canes between which an egg is deposited —
usually in the center, but not always. Can you give me the name of
the creature which is causing so much mischief; and what shall we do
to prevent the destruction of our rasjjberries ?

Synonymy of the Insect.
The author of the mischief above described is a longicorn beetle
having the scientific name of Oberea bimaculala. As may be seen above,
it was given the name of Saperda bimaculata by Olivier in 1795. It had
been previously named by Fabricius as trijnmctata, from the three black
spots that its thorax frequently bears, and it was for a long time, and
until quite recently, known under the Fabrician name. When it was
found, however, that the name had been preoccupied in the same genus
by a species by Swederus occurring also in the United States, it was
necessarily abandoned for that given it somewhat later by Olivier.
Of the other specific names, that bestowed on it by Dr. LeConte,
basilis, was based on examples in which the entire basal margin of the
thorax is black; and persjncillata of Haldeman, on smaller forms
showing some other features not of specific importance.

Description of tlie Beetle.

The beetle is of a slender cylindrical form, about a half-inch in

length, with delicate antennce nearly as long as the

body and tapering slightly toward the tip. It is of

a deep black color except the forepart of the breast

and top of the thorax which are rusty-yellow. There

are two black elevated dots on the middle of the thorax

Fio. 28. — The (sometimes absent) and a third dot (usually) on its hinder

borer. "^Obbeea boi*<iei'- The wing-covers are closely punctured in the

BIMACULATA. rows, aud irregularly on the sides and tij^s — each of

the latter slightly notched and ending in two little points.

[91] Report of the State Entomologist. 233

The Cane-girdling.

The two rings referred to in the communication consist of closely
placed punctures which are made by the mandibles of the beetle
around the stem not far from its tip; the distance between the rings
ranges from half an inch to one inch. As soon as these punctures are
made — usually in the month of June — the portion of the cane above
the upper girdling commences to wither and droop, to shrivel and die,
when it is easily broken off by the wind.

It is supposed that the purpose served by the girdling is the arrest
of the circulation of the cane in the portion thus treated, to the extent
that the tender egg deposited therein may not be crushed by the
vigorous and rapid growth of the tips at just this season. A number
of insects are ajDparently endued with an instinct that leads them to
resort to some similar method for the preservation of their eggs in
cases where a provision of the kind seems to be needed.

Summary of Life-history.

The egg, which is deposited by the beetle in the cane previous to the
girdling, hatches in a few days and the grub therefrom burrows
downward into the cane, feeding meanwhile upon the pith. It may
be found full-grown a few inches down the stem about the first of
September. It passes the winter within the stem (according to Riley,
in the root beneath the surface of the ground), to emerge therefrom
as the perfect beetle the following June.

The beetle unquestionably prefers the garden raspberry for oviposi-
tion, yet it is also to be found at times on the more tender canes of the
blackberry. Professor Riley has observed its operations in cotton-
wood [^Poimlus monilifera], and identified its oviposition in the twigs
of persimmon [Diospyros Virginiana] from Saint Augustine, Florida.*
A closely related species, Oberea Schaumii, oviposits in sassafras, accord-
ing to Mr. Schwarz.

The Oberea perspicillata of Walsh and other writers is our raspberry-
cane borer under a name given it by Haldeman in 1847, as cited.

Remedy.
It is seldom that this insect appears in sufficient number to be the
occasion of serious injury. Its multiplication may be prevented by
going over the bushes at intervals of a few days, during the period of
its oviposition when the bent and wilted tips at once disclose the
attack, and breaking off the egg-bearing tips at the lower ring. If
these tips are destroyed, the unhatched eggs or the newly hatched
larvre will be destroyed with them, the larva not having at this time
passed downward into the cane.

• Bulletin No. 12. Div. of Entomoloav, U. S. Bept Aaricul, 1880, p. 31.

234 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [92]

Galeruca xanthomelsena (Sclirank).
The Elm-leaf Beetle.

(Orel. Coleoptera: Fam. CnEYSOMELiDiE.)

LiNN^us: Syst. Nat., ii, 1767, p. 600, No. 101 {Clirysomela Calmariensis.)

Fabricius: Syst. Ent.. 1775, p. 119, No. 4 {Crioceris Calmariensis); Spec.
Ins., i, 1781, p. 150, No. 6 ; Mant. Ins., i, 1787, p. 87, No. 7 ; Ent. Syst,
i, pt. ii, 1792, p. 23, No. 46 (Galleruca Calmariensis).

Schrank: Enumeratio Insectorum Austriae indigenorum, 1781, p. 78.

Olivier : Encyc. Method.— Hist. Nat. Ins., vi, 1791, p. 589 (as Galeruca cal-
mariensis).

Westwood : Introduc. Classif . Ins., 1839, p. 382 (destructiveness in Sevres).

Harris: Treat. Ins. N. Eng., 1852, p. 109; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 124 {Gale-
ruca Cal.).

Emmons: in Nat. Hist. N, Y.— Agricul., iv, 1854, p. 134, pi. 12, f. 12.

Fitch : in Trans. N. Y. St. Agr. Soc. for 1858, xviii, 1859, p. 842-3 ; 3d-5th
Kepts. Ins. N. Y. (5th Eept.), 1859, p. 62-3.

LeConte: in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, for 1865, p. 218 (features and
references).

Glover: in Eept. Commis. Agr. for 1867, p, 62 (br. ref. and fig.); id. for
1870, p. 73.

Rathvon : in Field and Forest, ii. 1876, pp. 96-98 (at Lancaster, Pa.).

Riley: in Rept. Comm. Agricul. for 1878, p. 245 (br. ref.); in Amer. Ento-
mol., iii, 1880, p. 291 (natural history, enemies, etc.); in Ann. Rept.
Comm. Agricul. for 1883, pp. 159-170, pi. 12, f . 3 (full account) ; same,
repub. as Bull. No. 6, U. S. Dept. Agricul,, Divis. of Ent., 1885;
same, in Bull. Nu. 10 id., 1887, pp. 8-22, figs. 1-6.

Fuller: in Amer. Entomol., iii, 1880, p. 3 (at Newburgh, N. Y.).

Lockwood: in Amer. Nat., xv, 1881, pp. 242-244 (hibernation); in Bull. No.
4, U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Entomol.. 1884, p. 90 (ravages at Freehold,
N. J.).

Packard: Ins. Inj. For.-Sh. Trees, in Bull. No. 7, U. S. Ent. Commis.,
1881, p. 64 (brief description).

Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlvii, 1882, p. 805; id,, 1. 1885, p. 841 (remedies,
etc.); in Canad. Entomol., xvi, 1884, p. 183 (reference) ; in Count.
Gent., Ii, 1886, p. 409 (bibliography, etc.) : Iii, 1887, pp. 421, 565, 695
(spraying for); 4th Rept. Ins. N. Y., 1888, pp. 15, 143, 161, fig. 59
(.extension of range).

Van Wagenen: in Canad. Entomol., xv, 1883, p. 160 (abundance at Cold
Spring, N. Y.).

Claekson : in Canad. Entomol., xvi, 1884, p. 124 (at Flatbush, L. I.).

Henshaw: in Cassino's Stand. Nat, Hist., ii, 1884, p. 316 (its enemies, etc.);
List Coleop. N. Amer,, 1885, p. 111, No. 6912.

Cook: in Rur. N. Yorker, xlv, 1886, p, 577 (general notice).

Dyar : in Insect Life, i, 1889, p. 285 (at Poughkeepsie).

This destructive insect pest, which within the last few years has
extended its ravages into the State of New York, entering it from the
south and spreading northward with a steady progress that threatens
to carry it to the northern borders of the State, and even beyond, is
one of the many injurious species which Europe has contributed to

[93]

Report of the State Entomologist.

235

us. Its great destructiveness wherever it has established itself
among us, is one of the many attestations to the often-made state-
ment, that by far the larger number of our more injurious insect
pests have been introduced from Europe.

Belongs to the Chrysomelidse.
It 'belongs to the Chrysomelidce, that large family of very bad
reputation on account of their leaf-eating habits. The beetle is a
small, yellow-legged, brown insect, having a broad dull-black stripe

a 2^ m ' k

J (/ O.HEIDtMAHS:

Fig. 29.- The Elm-leaf Beetle, Galeeuca xanthomeLxENA, in its different stages.
on each wing-cover toward its outer margin, and three black spots
upon the ochreous thorax. In size and general appearance it
resembles another well-known member of the family — the striped "
cucumber beetle, Diahrotica viltata (Fabr.). The insect has been so
often described in its e^Q, larval and perfect stages in the Eeports
and Bulletins of the Entomological Division of the Department of
Agriculture, that it does not seem desirable to repeat the details here.
Those who may desire detailed descriptions for the purpose of
identification or for scientific use, are referred to these publications
or to some other of those included in the bibliographical list accom-
panying this notice.

The figure above given, illustrative of the insect in its several
stages, wliich was presented in our fourth report and is herewith

236 Forty-second Report on tee State Museum. [94]

repeated, should sufl&ce for its recognition when met with upon the
elm. In it, a, shows the eggs as they are deposited in clusters
on the leaf; h, the larvae; c, the beetle in natural size; e, the eggs
enlarged;/, their sculpture under a high magnifying power; g, the
lax'va in about twice its natural size; h, a side view of the segment of
the larva; i, dorsal view of the same; j and k, the pupa and the beetle
enlarged; I, a portion of the wing-cover of the beetle enlarged.

Its European Reputation.
This species has long been known as, at times, quite injurious to
the foliage of elms in Eui'ope, but it nowhere appears to have
occasioned even an approach to the amount of harm that it has in
this country. Linnseus wrote of it over a century ago, in 1767, and
named it Ghrijsomela Galmariensis, from its occurrence in Calmaria, a
small sea-port town in Sweden.

Introduction in the United States.
It was introduced in this country, according to Glover, as early as
the year 1837, but probably several years earlier than this, for it is
recorded that in 1838 and 1839, elms in Baltimore and the vicinity
were entirely stripped of their leaves in midsummer, and when new
leaves had again put forth, these were also destroyed by a second
brood of the grubs. Such a degree of multiplication could not have
taken place in less time than sis or eight years.

Its Ravages.

It has proved very destructive in the District of Columbia, in
various portions of New Jersey, and in Pennsylvania. Later, it
made its appearance upon the elms in the State of New York, and
has wrought great havoc among them.

In 1879, it appeared in immense numbers at Newburgh, N. Y., and
almost entirely stripped the foliage from the elms that it attacked.
■ {American Entomologist, iii, 1880, p. 3.)

The Neiv York Daily Ti'ibune, of July 8, 1884, contained the following
picture of the destructions caused by this insect on Long Island:

Work of Elm-tree Beetles. — Flushing, L. I., is suffering from an
insect plague which bids fair to mar the renowned arborial beauties
of the village. A few days ago it was noticed that the leaves on sev-
eral stately trees in Main street were withering. A more careful
examination resulted in the discovery that the trees were covered from
trunk to topmost branch with little worms about half an inch long.
On the ground under the trees were thousands of dead insects which
had been blown off and trodden upon by pedestrians, making a most
disgusting sight. All the trees in every part of the village are being

[95] Report of the State Entomologist. 237

slowly ruined b}' these insects. They are what are known as elm-
tree beetles, but they do not confine their presence to elm trees. A
number of attempts have been made to destroy them, but without
success. It is said that in a communication sent to the Commissioner
of Agriculture in Washington last year by a distinguished naturalist,
he gave it as the result of his experiments that there was no means
of exterminating the beetles. All sorts of insect powders have been
used by the residents, but in vain. The village streets present such
a plague-stricken aj^pearance that the trustees will probably order
some of the trees to be cut down to prevent the pestilence from
spreading.

Mr. James Angus has written me of the ravages of the insect as
observed by him near Throggs Neck, Westchester county, N. T., on the
24th of August, 1883. A row of elm trees bordering the road had been
entirely defoliated by it. " Incredible as it may seem, there was not
a green leaf on any of the trees, excej)t that upon some limbs a
second growth had commenced. The leaves had been attacked rose-
slug fashion, and every tree looked as badly as the worst slug-eaten
rose-bush that I had ever seen." Writing the following year, under
date of May thirty-first, he stated: "I visited to-day the place Avhere
the insect was so destructive last year, and found that the elms were
eaten far worse than ever before. A gai-dener informed me that the
leaves had been stripped three times during the preceding year. He
showed me two trees that had been killed, and others of which most
of the outer limbs were dead."

Life-liistory, as Given by Glover.
The habits and transformations of this insect were concisely and
correctly given, and with such a degree of fullness as to leave but
little to be added, by Mr. Glover, Entomologist of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, in the Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture
for the year 1867 (pp. 62-G3, with figures). We therefore quote the
following from the report named:

The insect deposits its eggs in clusters upon the leaves, the worms
or larvtTc from which are hatched out in a few days, and immediately
commence to feed upon the parenchyma or soft pulpy substance of
the leaf, at first making merely small blotches, but eventually, as they
increase in size, destroying the whole leaf, leaving only the harder
part, such as the midribs and network of veins untouched, thus caus-
ing the leaves to turn brown and wither, until the whole tree assumes
the appearance of having been scorched by fire. These worms, when
fully grown and ready to change to pu]ni!, not being able to descend
by means of a silken thread, like the real caterpillar, crawl down the
trunk to the ground; and soon casting their larva skin, change into
pupre on or near the surface of the earth, at the foot of the tree they
have despoiled. Some of the worms, however, conceal themselves in

238 FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [96]

fissures of the bark, where they undergo their transformations into
the perfect beetle. These last, however, are few. and bear no com-
parison with the multitudes of the pupa3 which will be found on the
damp ground, motionless, helpless, and appearing like grains of
wheat accidentally fallen near the tree. After becoming pupae, in a
few days the skin of the back sj^lits open, and the perfect insect
crawls forth, furnished with wings, by means of which it is enabled to
fly to other trees to deposit its eggs, thus spreading the nuisance to
every elm in the neighborhood, or it may ascend the same tree and
lay the eggs for the second generation, which destroys the second
crop of leaves, frequently so enfeebling the already exhausted tree
that it is unable to recover, and eventually dies.

Hibernation of the Beetle.
«

To the above comprehensive account of Mr. Glover may be added
a few additional observations on the life-history of the insect for the
benefit of those who may desire as full a history as may be given, in
order that they may be the better prejDared to meet it in its several
stages of transformation.

The insect hibernates in the beetle stage. Members of the last
brood (in the State of New York we have two broods a year *) — those
that have survived the dangers to which they are exposed — quite
early in the season (time not definitely known) seek such sheltered
places as may offer them fitting quarters for their winter's sleep.
Many enter out-buildings and dwellings for their hibernation, for each
spring examples of the beetle, found within doors, and usually in unoc-
cupied apartments, are sent for name and other information, their
numbers having drawn attention to them as unknown guests. Mr.
Angus, of West Farms, New York, has informed me that a neighbor,
whose house was overtopped with two large elms, and had been closed
for some time during the summer, upon his return, found the beetle
in large numbers lying about everywhere. They had entered the
house through the crevices in the shingled roof, and through the
chimneys.

The time of the emergence of the beetle from its winter's retreat
will vary, of course, with the degree of forwardness of vegetation,
but it will be as early as the leaves of the elms are in condition to
receive the eggs. On the 24th of April, 1884, Mr. Angus wrote me
that it was then first making its appearance in the gai-ret of his house.

* Althoush this has been generally accepted, Kov. Mr. Hulst and Prof. J. B. Smith,
from careful observations made on the insect, as entomologists of the New Jersey
Agricultural College Experiment Station, have reached the positive conclusion that
for the last two years, at least, there has been but a single annual brood in that State.
There may be, they think, a second brood in Washington, but not in New Jersey and to
the northward.

[97] Report of the State Entomologist. 239

A week later, be could send me any number for examination if desired.
Writing again on the twenty-eighth inst., he stated, "the garrets of
all the houses in the neighborhood where there are elms are full of
them."

Oviposition.

It aj^pears that both sexes hibernate, and that their union takes
place in the spring, after they have flown to the elms and fed to a
noticable degree on the new foliage. Leaves quite badly eaten by the
hibernating beetles have been sent to me from Mr. Angus on the
twenty-third of May, and on the thirty-first the beetles were reported
as copulating and the females rapidly laying their eggs.

Pupation.
The pupation occurs in July. On the ninth of that month Mr.
Angus wrote that the larvte wei'e then pupating in "handfuls" in the
crevices of the bark at West Farms. A moderate amount of shelter
satisfies the larva, and it accordingly assumes its pupal state under
any convenient crevice offered it as between the base of the ti'ee and
the ground surrounding it, in crevices between the bricks of a side-
walk, beneath stones or any other object lying on the ground. The
beetles make their reappearance after a very brief pupation, rarely
exceeding ten days.* Riley has recorded pupation at Washington on
July twenty-ninth, which may have been of the third brood.

Remedies.

The most effectual remedy for the ravages of this insect is believed
to be spraying the foliage of the infested elms with Paris green or
London purple in water. Of these, Loudon purple has been found,
through careful experiments made, to answer the purpose the better.
Its efficiency will of course depend upon its method of application —
the apparatus used, the liquid and the time applied. A suitable force-
pump is essential to success. It should have sufficient power to carry
the liquid to a good distance and distribute it over a broad area.
The nozzle for its distribution should be an atomizer, or the finest of
the "Nixon nozzles," made at Dayton, O., or one of the several "grad-
uating spray nozzles" which are in market. The nearer the spray
can be made to approach a mist the more effectually will it be spread
over the foliage, with the least expenditure of material and with the
least injury to the leaves.

If the spray is to be applied to tall and large trees, from the ground
or from a wagon, a long rubber hose will be needed having the

♦ Seo foot-uoto on preceding page for qualification of this statement.

13

240 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [98J

nozzle at its end, and tied, for convenience of elevation, to a long
bamboo or other light rod. If the highest portion of the tree may
not be reached in this manner, a portable spraying apparatus holding
four or five gallons, such as is advertised and illustrated in some of
the agricultural journals, may be strapped upon the back, and, ascend-
ing the tree with a ladder, the spray distributed from its principal
limbs.

The proportion of London purple to be used would be one pound
to 200 gallons of water. To the above eight quarts of flour might be
advantageously added, the effect of which would be to cause the
arsenite to adhere better to the leaves and prolong its usefulness.

It is quite important that the spraying should be done early — even
before the first traces of injury to the foliage are discovered — as soon
as examination shows that the eggs of the beetle are being deposited
on the leaves, usually on the under side. They can readily be seen, as
they are of a yellow color, oblong-oval in form, and placed on end —
sometimes but two or three together, but more often in clusters of from
ten to twenty. By early spraying, a less strength of the arsenite is
needed to poison the young larva as soon as it hatches from the bq^,
and the foliage is less liable to sustain injury, as there will be at the
time no eaten and raw edges of the leaves tp absorb the poison rapidly,
aiid thereby causing greater harm.

If the spraying be properly done at the right time, it should not
be necessary to repeat it, unless a heavy rain occurs very soon there-
after. If the foliage shows continued depredations, a second spray-
ing should follow in ten days or a fortnight.

Sulphur for the Elm Beetle.*

W. H. Dodd, of Orange, N. J., says that he has demonstrated to his
satisfaction that the annual attack of the elm beetle upon elm trees
in this country can bo thwarted by an extremely simjjle and inexpen-
sive process. He addressed a meeting of interested citizens in Bloom-
field on Tuesday night, and described the jilan which he used last
year, not only upon a large elm, but upon fruit trees which were
infested with insect pests of various kinds. He says that in the early
spring he bores one-inch auger holes, five inches apart and in a circle
around the trunk of the tree, about eighteen inches from the ground,
taking care that the holes do not penetrate beyond the sap-wood of
the tree. Then he fills the holes with flowers of sulphur or powdered
brimstone, and loosely jjlugs them up. He says that the plan worked
to perfection last jeixv. His idea seemed to be that the sap took \\]}
the sulphur and carried it into the leaves, making them distasteful to
the worms which hatch out on the under side of the leaves from the
eggs deposited there by the beetles. The plan involved little trouble
or expense. — New York Sun.

* Communicated, by request, to the Country Gentleman of Marcli 15, 1888,

[99] Report of the State Entomologist. 241

Repeated experiments have failed to show any benefit from the use
of the above reputed remedy for insect attack on the foliage of fruit
or other trees. It seems to have been first announced sixty-six years
ago in the Memoirs of the [old] Nexo York Board of AgricnUu7'e (vol. ii,
page 250, by George Webster, of Albanj^ who, after having bored
holes six inches deep in his infested trees, which he filled with sul-
phur and tightly plugged, found that all the caterpillars disappeared
within a day or two thereafter. Others who tried the experiment
had the same result. This was, perhaps naturally, ascribed to the
suljDhur, when, in fact, the larvse had matured and left the trees
to find suitable places for pupation.

Mr. Dodd, the latest propagator of the old remedy, claims that the
sap takes up the sulphur, carries it into the leaves and makes them
distasteful for food. This can not be true. Sulphur can not enter
into circulation, unless it be first dissolved, and we know that it is not
dissolvable by the sap of plants or trees. Mr. Isaac Wicks, of New
York, having y)laced a quantity in some peach trees as a remedy for
the yellows, on cutting up the trees five years thereafter, found it still
remaining in the cavitiea in its original condition {Practical Ento-
mologist, i, 1865, p. 125).

Nor is thei'e any reason to believe that if the sulphur could be car-
ried into the sap, the leaves would thereby become distasteful or
injurious to the caterpillars. Among the various articles experi-
mented with in France in search of some remedy against that terrible
scourge of the vineyards, Phylloxera, sulphur was tested, but without
any effect either upon the leaf or root insects, although these are
almost microscopic and exceedingly delicate creatures.

Experiments made by Dr. Fitch prove conclusively that 8ulj)hur is
not injurious to the apple-tree tent-caterpillar. A limb of a wild
cherry tree having on it a nest of these caterpillars which were only
one- fourth of an inch long, was cut off and placed in a cup of sulphur
slightly moistened with water — a more severe test than if the
material had been inserted in the branch. A limb containing
another nest was placed beside it in a cup with water only. At
the end of nine days the caterpillars of the last-named nest
measured four-tenths of an inch long, while the others had
grown to double the size, measuring from 0.8 to 0.85 inch. The
experiment seemed to show that so far from the sulphur having
been injurious to them, it had rendered them more healthy and robust,
and accelerated their growth. (First and Second Reports on the Insects of
Nexo York, 1856, p. 203.)

242 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [100]

It seems a great pity that something as simple as the " sulj^hur

cure " can not be found available against the elm-leaf beetle, but

until such a discovery shall be made, we shall have to hold fast to

the well-tested and efficient method of spraying with Paris green or

London purple, with a suitable force-pump, and a sufficient length of

hose furnished with an atomizing nozzle; or, later, to cage the mature

larvae for destruction in a box, tarred within and on the bottom,

placed around the tree trunk, when they descend the tree for pupation

in the ground.

The Box Remedy.

The box, above mentioned, was suggested by Mr. Glover, in his
Anniial Report as Entomologist to the U. S. Department of Agricul-
ture for the year 1867:

Place around each tree a low open box or frame about a foot or
eighteen inches in height, at about the same distance from the main
trunk, its lower part sunk four or five inches below the surface of the
soil, the top capped with strips of bright tin sloping inwards and
projecting on both sides like the eaves of a house, and the upper half
of the inside boards painted every morning with coal tar or some
other viscid substance. The earth within should be covered with
cement. It being the habit of the larvse when full grown to crawl
down the trunk of the tree, they would, upon their descent, be
imprisoned within the frames, being unable to escape either by enter-
ing the ground, or crawling outside over the tar and the projecting
tin. They would therefore be compelled to change to pupoe within
the frames, where they could at any time easily be killed by hot water
or otherwise, by thousands. The frames should be made so as to be
readily taken apart and laid aside at the close of the attack, until
they are again needed.

Mr. Glover remarks that the same box might also be used for pre-
venting the female canker worm, Anisopte7'yx vernata (Peck) from
ascending the elms and fruit trees for the deposit of her eggs; but
in that case, the tar should be applied to the outside of the box.

Clastoptera obtusa (Say).

The Alder Sjnttle- Insect.

(Ord. Hemiptera: Subord. Homopteea: Fam. Gekcopiv^.)

Cercopis obtiisa Say : in Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., iv, 1825, p. 339 ; Compl.

Writ., Lee. Edit., ii, 1883, p. 256.
Clastoptera obtusa Fitch : in 4th Kept. N. Y. St. Cab. Nat. Hist., 1851, p. 53.—

Uhlek: in Cassino's Stand. Nat. Hist., ii, 1884, p. 244.— Comstock :

Introduc. Entomol., 1888, p. 178.— Pkovancher: Pet. Faun. Ent,

Can.— Hemip., 1889, p. 259.

[101] Report of the State Entomologist. 243

Its Spittle Observed.
The peculiar frotby masses of tlie secretion of a spittle-insect were
observed on June twenty-seventh, in a large clump of alders, Alnus
serrulata, at West Albany, N. Y. On every bush of even moderate size
hundreds of the masses were clinging. They were believed to be thdk
Glastopter'a obtum of Say, which Uhler represents as common on the
black alder in July. The larvoc within the secretion may have been
at this time half-grown.

Observations on the Insect.
On the seventh of July the locality was revisited for further observa*
tion. The perfect insect had made its appearance, and fifteen examples
of it were secured. It proved to be, as was expected, Glastoptera ohfusa.
The species had developed unequally, for the spittle masses were still
abundant — some containing the larvae and others the pupae. Twigs
bearing the secretion were collected. When placed in a box for rear-
ing, if possible, the immature insects all left their coverings and
traveled over the box within, escaping from beneath a not very close-
fitting lid. The larvae were nearly white. Their legs were long in
proportion to the size of the body and were moved rapidly in walking.
The pupse, which had but recently undergone their transformation,
show but little coloring, especially on their wing-pads. With increased
age they become more deeply colored, and are olive-green on their
thorax, wing-cases and legs. The thin, transparent cases from which
the larvae had emerged were adhering to the stems and leaves of the

alders.

The Spittle Mass.

G. obtusa belongs to a group of Hemipterous insects, known as

" spittle-insects," from the frothy, liquid mass, resembling human

spittle, in which the larvae and the pupae live concealed. These insects

derive their sustenance from the stem or plant or grass upon which

th-cy are found, by sucking the juices through the proboscis with

which all of the Hemiptera are provided in place of the cutting

jaws or mandibles of most of the other orders. The excess of the sap

beyond what is needed for their sustenance, is thrown out to form

the " spittle " mass, which is often so abundant as to fall to the ground

in drops of clear liquid when the imprisoned air has escaped from it.

How the Spittle-mass is Produced.
There seems to be a question as to the manner in which the frothy
matter is produced. Mr. Uhler, our authority in the Hemiptera, in
Cassino's Standard Natural History has stated : " The larvjo live covered
by masses of white froth, which the insect produces by expelling
from its beak the juices drawn out of the tree." DeGeer, the dis-

244 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [102]

tinguislied Swedish naturalist, has given an elaborate account of the
observations made by him on the method of tl^e spittle production.
Wishing to obtain definite knowledge in relation to it, he removed
one of the insects from its frothy coverings, wiped it dry with a
camel's-hair pencil, and placed it on a freshly cut stalk of honeysuckle
in a glass of water. The following is his account of what he saw:

It begins by fixing itself on a certain jDart of the stalk, in which it
inserts the end of its trunk, and remains there for a long time in the
same attitude, occupied in sucking and filling itself with the sap.
Having then withdrawn its trunk, it remains there, or else places itself
on a leaf, where after different reiterated movements of its abdomen,
which it raises and lowers and turns on all sides, one may see
coming out of the hinder part of its body a little ball of liquid,
which it causes to slip along, bending it under its body. Beginning
the same movements again, it is not long in producing a second
globule of the liquid, filled with air like the first, which it places side
by side with, and close to the preceding one, and continues the same
operation so long as there is any sap left in its body. It is very soon
covered with a number of small globules, which, coming out of its
body one after the other, tend toward the front part, aided in this
by the movement of its abdomen. It is all these globules collected
together which form a white and exti'emely fine froth, the viscosity of
which keeps the air shut up in the globules and j)revents its froth
from easily evaporating. If the sap which the larva has drawn from
the plant is exhausted before it feels itself sufiiciently covered with
froth, it begins to suck afresh, until it has drawn a new and suflficient
quantity of liquid, which it takes care to add to its first stock.
{Memoires pour servir a VJSistoire des Insectes, Tome 3.)

In another place DeGeer makes this positive statement : " The
globules have absolutely no other issue than from the anus."

Purpose of the Secretion.
As to the purpose served by this liquid covering, it has been con-
jectured that it has the effect of protecting the delicate-skinned
insect from the burning heat of the sun, for it can not live long if
withdrawn from it, for the insect soon shrinks and speedily dies. It
is thought also that the covering protects it from carnivorous insects
and other enemies, that but for this concealment would "prej upon it.
It does not, however, give it entire immunity, for some of the larvae
collected by me at West Albany had been visited with a parasitic attack,
and several Chrysopa larvae were found in such association with the
spittle masses that they were undoubtedly preying upon the insects

concealed within.

Description of tlie Insect.

Uhler has briefly characterized it as of a claret-brown color above,

marked with two pale bands on the vertex, two on the prothorax, and

a wavy, broader band on the wing-covers. The membrane is often

[103] Refort of tee State Entomologist. 245

whitish, the waved band is extended exteriorly, and there is a pale
V-shaped figure on the end of the sciitellum. It is a little larger than
Glastoptera Proteus, a very common species, living on cranberry and
blueberry bushes in swampy places throughout the Eastern United
States.

It inhabits Canada, many parts of the eastern side of the United
States, and is distributed southwest into Texas, and Tamaulipas,
Mexico (Uhler).

Say {loc. cit.) has given a more detailed description of the insect,
but the above should serve for its identification.

Some of the Spittle Insects.
There are a number of species of the insect which produce and
live in this peculiar secretion, constituting the Hemipterous family of
Cercoindce, and occurring on various kinds of vegetation, as grasses,
several of the weeds, on the grapevine, on willows, pines, etc. One
of them, Ptyelus lineatas (Linn.), was briefly noticed and illustrated in
the Fourth Report of the Insects of Neio York. The species more com-
monly met with belong to the genera of Aphrophoi'a (meaning in the
Greek, I bear froth), Lepyronia, and Ptyelus, meaning saliva. Of the
first-named genus, the frothy envelope of the larval Aphrop)hora parallela,
is often quite common on the white pine, and I have had drojos from
it fall upon me with unpleasant frequency when sitting under the
branches, while pinning insect collections, in the month of June.
A2jhrophora quadrinota Say, and A. Signoreti Fitch, occur on the grape-
vine, and A. quadrangidaris Say, on grasses, weeds and blackberry
twigs. Philoenus spumaria {Cicada spumaria of Linnaeus), originally
described from Northern Europe, also occurs in New York and is
quite common in portions of New England.

Popular Names for the Insects.
The more common name for these froth-bearing tree-hoppers in
the United States is " spittle-insects." In England the secretion is
known as "cuckoo-spittle." The peasants of France know it by the
same name, viz., crachat decoucou, and also by another, ecume printaniere,
meaning " si^ring-froth." Another name that we may sometimes hear
applied to it is "frog-spittle," having reference, probably, to its sup-
posed origin. The negroes in Maryland, according to Glover, have a
belief that the small forest-flies, so numerous in the woods, are pro-
duced from these frothy accumulations. In the final stage of these
insects, from their habit of seeking safety in leaping when alarmed
rather than in using the wings with which they are provided, they are
known in common parlance as " tree-hoppers " and " frog-hoppers."

246 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [104J

Their Injuries.
Report has been made in Vermont of one or more of the grass infest-
ing species causing considerable damage to the hay crop. It was
estimated that, in consequence of the depredations, the quantity of
hay grown on some fields was one-third less than the natural yield,
not including the depreciation in the quality of the crop. It is but
seldom, however, that these insects increase to such an unusual extent
as to become of serious injury, and it is therefore unnecessary to indi-
cate any means for their destruction. A gentleman, who asks for
information regarding them, states that, in passing through his mow-
ing fields, in Auburn, Mass., they are so nvimerous as to wet his shoes.
An abundance such as this would, of course, be harmful to the crop,
but, fortunately, it is of rare occurrence.

Siphonophora avenge (Fabr.).

The Grain Aphis.
(Ord. Hemipteea : Subord. Homoptera : Fam. Aphidid^.)

Aphis avencG Fabricius : Syst. Ent., 1775, p. 736, No. 13 ; Sp. Ins., il, 1781, p.

386, No. 18; Mant. Ins., 11, 1787, p. 316, No. 22 (name only); Ent.

Syst., iv, 1794, p. 214, No. 22 (description) ; Syst. Ehyng., 1803, p. 297,

No. 22 (name).
Aphis granaria Kirby : in Trans. Linn. Soc, iv, 1798, p. 238.
Aphis hordei Kyber: in Germar Mag. Ent., i, 1815, p. 11.
Aphis cerealis Kaltenbach: Mon. Fam. Pflanz., i, 1843, p. 16, No. 6.
Aphis granaria. Curtis : Farm Ins., 1860, p. 289, f. 39, pi. J. figs. 10, 13.
Aphis avence. Fitch : in Count. Gent, xviii, 1861, pp. 96, 114 ; in Trans. N. Y.

St. Agr. Soc. for 1860, xx, 1861, pp. 833-840; in id., xxii, 1863, pp.

32-38 ; 6th Kept. Ins. N. Y. (6th-9th Repts.), pp. 91-98, pi. 1, figs, 5,

6.— Ashton : in Proc. Ent. Soc. Ph., i, 1862, p. 141.— Walsh : in id.,

p. 268.— Thomas : in Prairie Farmer, Jan. 18, 1862 : 8th Eept. Ins. 111.,

1879, pp. 51-55.— Bethune : in Eept. Ent. Soc. Ont. for 1871, p. 57-8,

figs. 51-57.— Glover : in Eept. Commis. Agricul. for 1876, p. 36, f .

38.— Packard: in 9th Eept. Geolog.-Geograph. Surv. Terr., 1877,

pp. 710-712.
Siphonophora granaria Buckton: Mon. Brit. Aphid., i, 1876, pp. 114-119,

pi. 6 (descrip. habits, liistory, etc). — Eiley-Monell : in Bull. U. S.

Geolog.-Geograph. Surv. Terr., v. 1879, p. 19.
Aphis granaria. Ormerod : Eept. Inj. Ins. for 1879, p. 22 ; id. for 1882, p. 14 ;

id. for 1884, p. 25; Manual Inj. Ins. [1881], pp. 63-65.
Siphonophora avencs Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlvii, 1882, p. 493; in Eept.

Eeg. Univ. for 1886, pp. 112-114; in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc,

xxxiv, 1889, p. 105, f. 3 (as granaria).
Siphonophora avenoe. Webster : in Eept. Commiss. Agricul. for 1886, p. 576,

( ? migration).
Nectarophora granaria Oestlund : in Bull. No. 4, Geolog.-Nat. Hist. Surv.

Minn., 1887, p. 82.

[ion]

Report of the State Entomologist.

247

The grain aphis owes its conceded claim to a place among the more
injurious insect pests of the agriculturist, in consideration of the veg-
etation it attacks, its capability for harm, and its wide distribution.
It is very generally distributed throughout the grain-producing
regions of both continents. It infests all of the more valuable
grain croj^s, as wheat, rye, barley, oats, and many of the other mem-
bers of the grass family {Graminece). It is of common occurrence,
being found in our fields nearly every year, but, like many other of
the more destructive insects, it is only in certain years that, in
particular localities, unknown conditions concur in causing its
excessive multiplication, when its injuries are very great, even to the
almost complete or the entire destruction of the crops attacked.
Such an instance occurred in many of the Middle and Eastern States
in the year 1861, when, as a new pest of the grain crops, it came under
the observation of Dr. Fitch, who gave it careful study and con-
tributed an excellent paper upon it, in his Sixth Report on the Insects
of New York, first published in the Transactions of the New York
State Agricultural Society for that year. In it are contained its
European history, account of its first appearance in this country,
description of its three forms, its prop agation and habits, its parasitic
and other enemies, etc. As this paper is accessible to most who may
desire the information that it embodies, only a brief notice will be
presented of the insect in this report.

Diflferent forms of the Aphis.
Dr. Fitch observed four different forms of tlie insect through the
season, viz.: 1st, the young louse or larva; 2d, the pupa; 3d, a wing-
less female; and 4th, the winged female. The last two of these are
shown in the accompanying figures.

Fig. 30.— Wingless and winged females of the grain ajihis, SiPHONornoiiA AVENiE.

(After Fitch.)

The wingless female is described as varying remarkably in color,

being either red, green, brown, or yellow. The front is convex in the

14

248 Forty-second Report ON THE State MvsEU3r. [106]

middle with a distinct lobe on each side ; antennae black, nearly as long
or longer than the body; knees, tarsi (feet), and tips of the tibise
(shanks), black. The honey-tubes are shining brown, long, and
thickened at the base.* The tail large, yellow and recurvel. The
winged females, according to Buckton, are generally pale brown
or rust-yellow; thorax brown; abdomen ovate, broad and shining
green; honey-tubes black; antennae longer than the body; frontal
tubercles not large; legs ochreous, with black knees and feet; tail
yellow, ensiform, and hairy.

Dr. Fitch has presented a detailed description of the winged form,
which should be consulted. It differs in some particulars from the
above, as, for example : The thorax is pale yellow, shining, with a large
egg-shaped black or brown spot on each side; abdomen broad oval,
grass-green, with a row of three blackish dots on each side; antenna3
about equaling the body in length; legs with pale-greenish thighs,
becoming yellowish toward their middle, and with dull yellow and
black-tipped shanks.

The Avinged female was observed by Dr. Fitch to be less prolific
than the wingless. Inclosed in separate vials, the former uniformly
gave birth to two young in a single night, while the latter produced
four in the same time. The winged ones were also much slower in
coming to maturity.

Method of Attack.

As in other Aphides, its injuries are inflicted by means of its beak
or proboscis, which it inserts in the plant for sucking the juices. This
beak, which is folded under the breast when not in use, is pale green,
black-tipped, and is given out from between the base of the forelegs
and reaches half-way to the middle legs. The insect may be first
observed early in the season, during the month of May, feeding upon
the stalks and leaves, usually on the under side of the blades. As
soon as the heads of the grain make their appearance — ordinarily in
the latter part of June in New York — deserting every other portion
of the plant, all the individuals congregate thereon about the base of
the forming kernels, each with its head downward, sometimes crowd-
ing together in clusters that nearly cover the head. A remarkable
change, according to Dr. Fitch, now takes place in their color; while
feeding on the coarser juices of the leaves and stalks they are all of
a grass-green hue, but as soon as they change to the more delicate
juices of the flowers they begin to assume an orange color. After
awhile the orange in most of them inclines either to red or to yellow.

* Mr. Glovor records a statement made to him, that although those houey-tubes are
well developed, they emit no honey, and in conseauence are not visited by ants.

[107] Report of the State Entomologist. 249

This seasonal change of color, dependent u])ou the portion and con-
dition of the plant that nourishes them, together with the particular
food-plant on which they are observed, will fully explain the discrep-
ancies in the colors assigned to them by different writers.

Abundance in the Year 1861.
Although a few individuals of this aphis had been observed sj^arsely
distributed in grain fields in the State of New York and elsewhere, it
had not been regarded as of any economic importance previous to the
year 1861. Dr. Fitch knew of no recorded instance in which an aphis,
although noted for rapid increase, had become thus suddenly and
excessively multiplied over such a wide extent of territory. In the
summer of 18G1, throughout the greater portion of the New England
States, the State of New York, except its western section, the north-
eastern part of Pennsylvania, and in several localities in Canada, every
grain field was invaded by it, and in most of them it abounded in
incredible numbers. The yield of wheat was often reduced one-half,
while the oat crop suffered still more severely, to the extent of hardly
paying for the harvesting.

Not TJsually very Injurious.
No demonstration of the insect has since occurred at all comparable
with that above recorded. It continues, however, to make its appear-
ance almost annually in considerable or in insignificant numbers.
Examples of it are frequently sent to me with inquiries similar to the
following, which came from Albemarle county in Virginia :

I send by this mail specimens of flies and aphides with which the
wheat-heads all through this section are affected. You will confer a
favor u])on a large number of farmers in this county by giving the
name and nature of these insects, and the information whether they
will materially injure the crop.

To the above, after giving the name, habits, etc., of the insect, it
was further stated :

" The injuries will be in proportion to their number and of the
associated parasites. Heavy and long continued rains would bo very
serviceable in checking the attack. It is not probable that it will
inflict severe injury to the wheat crop now attacked, for the kernels
will soon have so far advanced and hardened as no longer to serve
for food. Its numbers are, doubtless, being materialh lessened by the
parasites and other predaceous insects which are preying upon it,
judging from the many dead aphids found in the package received.
The specimen separately inclosed and marked ' for examination and
name,' is the larva of a lady-bug, probably that of Hippodamia con-

250 Fgrtt-second Report on tee State Museu3i. [108]

vergens Guer., which has, doubtless, rendered excellent service in the
destruction of the lice. A single one of these larvte upon a head of
wheat should, from its well-known voracity and remarkable appetite,
entirely free it in a short time from aphis presence."

Diiferent Names of the Insect.
Several names have been given to this insect, as may be seen in the
partial bibliography given of it, since it was first brought to scientific
notice, about a hundred years ago. It is the Aphis avence of Fabricius,
Schrank, Walker and others of Europe; of Fitch, Thomas and most of
our writers in the United States. Mr. Buckton, in his Monograph of
British Aphides, vol. 1, 1876, designates it as Aphis granaria, adopting
the name given it by Mr. Kirby in 1798, in a paper read before the
Linnean Society, on the ground that Fabricius gave no description
of his Ajjhis avence. In this he seems to have accepted without exami-
nation, the statement made by Curtis in his Farm Insects, viz., " as
Fabricius has given no description of his Aphis avence, which is possi-
bly the same species [with Kirby's], Mr. Kirby was constrained in
describing it, to designate it by a new name." Both these gentlemen
have very strangely, as was some time ago pointed out by Dr. Fitch,
overlooked the description of Fabricius. In the earlier Fabrician
writings — Systema Entoraologice in 1775, Species Insectorum in 1781,
and in Mantissa Insectorum in 1787, the species appears only by name,
but in the Entomologia Systematica in 1794, it was sufficiently described
to indicate beyond doubt the insect named; and that there need be no
excuse for longer continuing the name of granaria, the description
contained therein is herewith given :

Avenae. 22, A. Avenae sativae.

Habitat in A vena sativa.

Caput obscure testaceum antennis nigris. Thorax testaceus,
antice viridis. Abdomen viride lituris raarginalibus, nigris.
Corniculi cylindrici, nigri. Anus terminatur stylo parvo, albo.
Pedes nigri femoribus basi albis.

That Kirby's name, published four years later, may be seen to
have no claim to priority or adoption for any reason whatever, we
quote from the Transactions of the Linnean Society, for 1798:

A. granaria, viridis, cauda biseta, setis geniculisque pedum nigris.

Aphis avense. Fab. Sp. Ins., ii, p. 386, N. 17.
Gmel., i, pt. iv, p. 2206.

Cajyut flavidum uti auteunarum articulus primus. Oculi nigri.
Abdomen obovatum cauda aculeata. Pedes livida, tarsis genicu-
lisque nigris.

[109J Report of tee State Entomologist. 25l

As may be seen from the synonymy presented, Kyber, a distinguished
anatomist and microscoi^ist, who early in the present century, made
valuable researches and discoveries in the Aphides, gave the name of
Ajihis hordei to the insect, from the barley on which he found it feed-
ing. Later, Kaltenbach, another German naturalist named it Aphis
cerealis. More recently, it has been transferred to the genus Siphono-
2jhora, in the division that seemed demanded of the Aphidince into separ-
ate tribes. Still later, another writer, Mr. Oestlund, in his Sijnopms of
the Apjhididce of Minnesota , has transferred all of the Siphonophoras to
the genus Nectarophora, assigning as a reason for proposing to rejjlace
the familiar name of Siphonophora, that " as a generic term it was
already appropriated for the Myriopoda before Koch made use of it
in the Aphididce ; and it is also used to denote an order of the Oceanic
Hydrozoa, and should, therefore, according to practice, be replaced
by one not already occupied." This j^roposed change will not, we
think, be accepted, until demanded by a code of laws regulating
nomenclature that shall rule authoritatively.

Its Incomplete Life-history.

The life-history of the grain aphis is incomplete; the male sex,
although a form was described by Curtis as such, is still unknown.
The summer form is believed to have an autumnal migration to some
other food-plant, as have many of the Aphides, yet it has never been
observed. Mr. Walker has affirmed that this sjiecies migrates in
autumn from the wheat to several kinds of grass.

Professor Webster has made some experiments toward ascertaining
where the species passes the summer, or until the young wheat
appears in the autumn. It was infesting the heads of barley in consider-
able numbers, and when the grain was fully ripe and the winged
adults ready to forsake the barley heads, he transferred some of them
to cages, in which growing timothy, blue grass, and red top had been
transplanted. The grasses were kept alive, but the insects died, and
no trace of a following generation was observed. {Loc. cit.)

Buckton had searched the roots of grain in September for its suj)-
posed underground habitat at that time, but fruitlessly; nor did he
know what became of it during the winter. Since then. Dr. Thomas
has been able to add somewhat to our previous sparse knowledge of
its life. He found on wheat, in the winter of 1875, an aphis, which,
although differing from the descriptions of Fitch and Curtis, he had
no doubt was the same species, and he has written of it as follows :

" When the winter wheat appears above the ground in the fall, it
passes from its hiding-place at this time, wherever that may bo.

252 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [110]

probably in the same way that it does from the winter wheat to the
spring wheat and oats in the spring, that is, by the winged individuals.
Here they work upon the leaves and stalks singly while the weather
is not too cold, but when winter appears they move downward toward
the ground, some of them, at least, entering the soil and feeding on
the sap of the roots. At any rate, I find the apterous ones at this
time working upon the roots, but at the same time I find a winged
individual above ground.* I have observed them heretofore at the root
of the wheat late in the winter, while snow was on the ground, and,
what somewhat surprised me, I found them busy at work under the
snow, and the apterous females bearing well-formed larvse. I am,
therefore, led to believe that in this latitude the sj)ecies passes the
winter in other than the egg state. This will probably be found true
wherever winter wheat is grown."

The above will serve to show how much yet remains to be learned
of the life-history of this species. A male unknown and no knowledge
of an egg-laying female, should be a sufficient stimulus for its further
stud}'. Dr. Pitch has written of it : "I have watched the grain aphis
this year [1862] round so closely that I am perfectly assured
that no eggs were laid and no males were produ^ced. When and
under what circumstances males occur, if they ever do occur, is yet
remaining to be discovered. At present it seems as if these insects
might go on forever producing young without any intercourse of the
sexes."

Is it possible that this sjjecies will be found to confirm a statement
made by Kyber, a careful and skillful student of the Aphididai, that
certain species that feed on herbaceous plants which fruit early in the
year and then wither, produce males and apterous oviparous females
in the middle of the summer?

• Its Food-plants.

The grain aphis is by no means confined to wheat, barley, and oats.
Kaltenbach has enumerated as its food-plants Secale cereale (rye),
Triticum sativum, Avena fatua, Hordeum niurinumi, Bromus mollis (soft
chess), Dactylis glomer'ata (orchard-grass), Holcus and Poa. Walker
has added Glyceria jiuitans and Polygonum persicaria. Passerini
records it on various species of sorghum in Europe, including Sorghum
saccharinum. Mr. Oestlund has found it in Minnesota, on Phalai'is
canariensis (canary-grass) and on Poa annua.

*See, in this connection, a statement made to Mr. Glover, which would seem to indi-
cate an unusual degree of endurance of cold (although doubtless not to the extent
reported), viz., that " they freeze on the stalks in winter and revive in the spring."

[Ill] Report of the State Entomologist. 253

Remedies and Parasites.
The use of salt, of soot, of gas-lime and of several other substances
has been proposed as remedies for this insect, but we are compelled
to admit that no method has been discovered by which its formidable
attack upon a grain crop can be arrested. Fortunately, in nearly
every instance when it has abounded, it has been promptly met by
hosts of jmrasites which have done their work so effectually* that if the
attack was not at once checked, it was not repeated the second year,
or if continued, then ceasing to be serious and soon brought to a close.
It is the particular province of a group of ichneumon flies to feed
internally on plant-lice and restrain materially their rapid and
prodigious increase. They belong to the family of Braconidcs
and to the subfamily of Apliidiince — its name indicating the close
relationship to the Aphides that it bears. About fifty species of
these have been described from the United States and Canada by
the three authors who have given them particular study — Mr.
Ashmead, Dr. Fitch, and I'Abbe Provancher. The two species that
were bred by Dr. Fitch from the grain ajihis were named by him
Praon avenaphu and Toxares triticaphis — their hosts having occurred
on oats and wheat. Curtis, in his Farm Infiects, has described Aphidius
avencc and Ejjhedr'us plagiator which he obtained from the grain aphis
in England.f A single one of these parasites entirely fills the body
of the aphis, causing it to swell into a globular form. The infested
aphis, fastened to the plant, is indicated by this distended form, its
sienna-brown color usually, and later by the I'ound opening on the
back through which the parasite has emerged.

Myzus cerasi (Fabr.).

The Cherry Aphis.

Ord. Hemiptera: Subord. Homopteka: Fam. ApHiDiDJi.

FABiticius : Syst. Eut., 1775, p. TSLi ; Spec. Ins., 1781, 11, p. 384.1 ; Maut. Ins.,
1787, 11, p. 315, No. 6; Ent. Syst., Iv, 17Sil, p. '211, No. G (Aphis).

FrrcH : In Trans. N. Y. St. Agrlcul. Soc. for 1854, xlv, 1885, pp. 829-833, 83G,
837; 1st Kept, Ids. N. Y., 185fi, pp. 125-128, 132, 133 {Aphis).

BucKTON : Mon. Brit. Aphides, 1, 1876, p. 174, pi. 33, flgs. 1-5 (Myzus).

Thomas: 8th Kept. lus. 111., 1879, p. 75-G (Myzus).

Saundeks: Ins. Inj. Fruits, 1883, p. 216-7.

* Mr. Curtis has written: On some wlieat which we oxiiiniiiod nota sinslo aphis had
escaped the searchiug vigilance of its enemies, and the huslis wore spotted with
innumerable black globules [the bodies of Aphids which had boon parasitized by
Ephedrusl Farm In>iects, 1860, p. 201 .

tFor notices of other species of ^;>/a(iunrr, thoir oviposition, etc., see 1st Report of
Br. Fiteh on the Insects of New York, 1856, pp. 134-138, and Buektou's Monograph of British
Aphides, 1^9, ii, pp. 151-153 (Aphidivorous Ichneumonida^). For recent descriptions of
many new species, see Ashmead, in Proceed. U. S. Nat. Mas., 1888, pp. C56-671.

254 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [112]

Although with no new observations to present upon this insect, the
inquiries recently made from some of the eastern fruit districts in
the State of New York, of means for preventing its injuries, call for
information in regard to it, and the following is, therefore, accordingly
presented, compiled from the writings of Dr. Fitch and other careful
obsei'vers :

Mxjzus cerasi, the Aphis cerasi of Fabricius, is the common black aj)hi8
of the garden cherry, Cerasus vulgaris — long known as quite destruct-
ive to cherry trees in Europe, whence it has doubtless been intro-
duced in this country. It is rare to find a tree that is wholly exempt
from it, and it often occurs in such incredible numbers upon the
underside of the leaves, that, completely covering them, it overflows
upon the leaf-stalks, the ends of the tender twigs, and even upon
the young fruit. The larger infested leaves do not curl but turn
backward or roll slightly. The more tender leaves upon the delicate
twigs being drained of their juices, shrivel and dry and die, as do
also the tips of the twigs. To such prodigious extent does this sj^ecies
sometimes multiply, that a single young tree that had attained a
height of ten feet, harbored, according to a calculation made by Dr.
Fitch — by taking the average number on a single leaf, counting
the leaves on a branch, and the branches on a tree — at least
12,000,000 of individuals.

Life-history.

Its life-history, according to Dr. Fitch, who had not observed its
underground operations, is the following: It makes its appearance as
soon as the leaves put forth in the spring, hatching from eggs
deposited the preceding autumn. During the spring and summer,
winged and wingless forms are found; nearly all are without
wings, and all are females. They continue to produce living young
throughout the summer, which, when hatched, are smaller and of a
brighter color than when mature. They multiply with exceeding
rapidity, so that by the middle of June, in New York, the trees are
literally overrun with them. Toward the latter part of the month,
they are often attacked so vigorously by the larvce of Syrphus flies
and the lady-bugs {Goccinellidce) that their ravages are tempor/irily
checked and their numbers greatly diminished. If apparently exter-
minated, new broods shortly appear and resume their work, but they
are incapable of inflicting as serious harm upon the now mature foli-
age, as at their first advent. On the approach of cold weather, male
aphides make their appearance, and eggs are rleposited at the base of
the buds and in the crevices of the bark for the continuation of the
species another year.

[113] Report of the State Entomologist. 255

Mr. Buckton has given but few items relating to the life-history of
this species. He states that two swarms occur in the year with a
certain interval, one in June and the other in October. During the
latter period the male makes its appearance, which he had taken under
the leaves of the garden cherry in company with oviparous females.
Mr. Walker had taken the latter on October thirty-first.

Description.
The careful descrij^tion given of the insect in its several stages,
leaves but little to desire. For those who have not convenient access
to the first report of Dr. Fitch, we condense from it, as follows :

The LARV^ when newly born are about 0.03 long, of a dull white
or pale yellow color, with transparent and colorless legs and antennae.
They are oblong-oval in form, with the opposite sides of their bodies
parallel, and their transparent or slighly dusky nectaries not reaching
to the tip. Later, they become broader across the abdomen and
deeper yellow, with the tijDS of the antenna; and the feet dusky and
the nectaries black. After molting they change to dull reddish-brown
or chestnut colored, with black heads. The legs, antennae, and nec-
taries are whitish transparent.

The WINGLESS FEMALES are 0.05 long, broadly egg-shaped, black and
shining, with a tail slightly projecting, nectaries black and reaching
to or beyond the tip; the antennse are shorter than the body and
whitish, their two short basal joints and the apical half, black; the
beak whitish, black-tipped; the legs white, with the feet, tips of the
shanks, and commonly the thighs, at least of the hind legs, except at
their base, black. [Cauda long and black — Buckton.]

The pup^ are 0.06 in length, resembling the wingless females in
color and the larvae in form, but may be known by the rudiments of
wings like vesicular scales of a white or pale green color; the nectaries
equal the tip which has no tail-like appendage.

The WINGED FEMALES are 0.05 long, and 0.20 across the wings;
of a deep black and sliining color; abdomen nearly twice as broad
as the thorax, egg-shaped, with an acute apex having a short
conical tail-like appendage, the nectaries reaching to its base;
antennae black, and about three-fourths the length of the body; beak
black or dusty with a black tip; the legs black with the shanks, except
at their tips and the basal half of the thighs, white. The wings are
transparent, their bases, outer margins and rib-vein, white, the remain-
ing veins blackish with their bases pale; the stigma opaque, dull white
with black mai'gins.

15

256 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [114]

Food-plants.

Dr. Fitch was of the opinion that the cherry aphis lived only upon
the garden cherry — not on any of our native or wild cherry trees, or
upon any other tree. This opinion has not been sustained by our
further acquaintance with the insect. Thus, in the year 1878, Dr.
Thomas found it in Illinois, covering the twigs and axils of the small
limbs of plum trees as well as the cherry, in confirmation of the
statement of its occurrence on the plum that had been previously
made by Mr. Walsh.

Mr. Buckton has observed viviparous specimens of it in limited
number, on the black currant, showing the slight colorational differ-
ence of a duller body and paler cornicles.

It is possible that this species also extends its ravages to the peach
tree, appearing there as a root-form infesting the roots. For many
years past, the roots of peach trees along the Atlantic seaboard have
been seriously infested with an aphis, to the extent of causing a great
mortality, particularly in seedling trees. The attack was naturally
referred to Myzus persicce, but by some has been regarded as a dis-
tinct species. Examples of it sent to the Department of Agriculture
at Washington, were pronounced by Professor Riley to be the 3Iyzus
cerasi of Fabricius, but in correspondence with him, the opinion is
expressed that before its identity with that species can be positively
asserted, additional study is necessary. For a notice of 31. f cerasi, on
the roots of peach trees, the Second Report on the Insects of New York,
pp. 19-22, may be referred to.

Eemedies.

A kerosene and soap emulsion sprayed upon the insects would
effectually kill all with which it came in contact. Clustered as they
are on the under sides of the leaves, it would be necessary to apply
the liquid from beneath the tree, changing position as might be nec-
essary in order to reach every portion of the infested foliage. The
statement of Dr. Fitch, that " these are creatui'es that sprinkling will
not cleanse from the tree — immersion must be resorted to," may have
been warranted by the spi-inklers then in use, but is not sustained by
the progress subsequently made in the discovery of insecticides and
improved instruments for their application.

Strong soap-suds alone, although not entirely effectual, will mate-
rially reduce the aphids upon a tree — only the more hardy ones sur-
viving its use.

Tobacco water, if made of sufficient strength, is claimed to be an
effectual remedy for the insect. It has been used with unfailing sue-

[115]

Re FORI OF THE StATE ENTOMOLOGIST.

2^)1

cess when prepared " by boiling four or five pounds of tobacco in water
sufficient to nearly fill a tin pan " — an indefinite measure, but a pan
such as used upon a farm for milk may be presumed.

Dr. Fitch, at the time of his writing, regarded, as the very best
measure for subduing these pests, that of using their natural
enemies for the work. This was to be done by collecting from the
hedges and borders of the forest in the neighborhood, by the aid of a
beating-net, such as is sometimes used by entomologists for gathering
insects, or an open inverted umbrella, or some other convenient
implement, a few scores of their natural enemies (lady-bugs and
their larvae) and, conveying them alive in small boxes and vials, to sot
them free upon the infested ti'ee. Their increase would be so
wonderfully rapid that but a short time would be required to put an
end to the aphis attack.

The convergent lady-bird, Hippodamia convergens Guer. [its orange-
red wing-covers dotted with black spots and its black thorax marked
with two converging pale lines,
as shown in the slightly en-
larged Fig. 31 at c, and in Fig.
32 more enlarged] could be con-
veniently used for this purpose
early in the season, as it may be
vergent lady-bug, Hip- gathered by thousands during

PODAMIA CONVEKGENS; ,1 i.1 £ HT i.1 Fig. 32.— HiPPODAMlA

a. the larva; h, pupa; ^^® month of May on the common coNVERGENS.enlarged.
c, the imago or beetle. Mayweed {Maruta cotula), and no better investment
could be made by those who wish to destroy plant-lice than in
the employment of boys to collect these lady-birds, four or five of
which will clear a two-year-old peach tree in as many days (Riley,
in New York Tribune for June 17, 1874).

Fig. 31. — The con-

INSECT ATTACKS AND MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

A number of the following notices were contained in the Report of
the State Entomologist to the Regents of the University, S. N. Y., for
the year 1885, as published in the Thirty-ninth Annual Report of the
New York Stale Museum of Natural History. No separates of the Ento-
mologist's Report having been printed for general distribution, and
the edition of the State Museum Report being quite small, portions
of the former are herewith republished, that they may reach the
agriculturists for whose benefit they were primarily prepared.

The Canker-wokm.

Anisopteryx vernata (Peck).

It really seems that the canker-worm is becoming an aunual pest

of the orchards of the State of New York. "While the New England

orchards have been for many years ravaged by it, and the noble elms,

so long the boast of eastern villages, destroj^ed, and it has also been

\ I >4

i#*

Fig. 33.— Larva and eggs of the
spriug canker-worm — Anisopte-
BYX VEKNATA. (After Eiley.)

Fig. 31.— a, b, male and female moths of A
VEKNATA ; c, enlarged joints of female antenna;
d, joint of female abdomen; e, ovipositor.

very destructive in several of the Western States, our own State, for
some reason, has been almost exempt from its depredations. Within
the last few years, occasional instances of its occurrence have been
reported. Last year [1884] they were received from Pound-
ridge and Pleasantville, in Westchester county, where they inflicted
damage to the ajjple crop to the amount of thousands of dollars
{Country Gentleman of July 10, 1884, p. 577). The present year, report
is received of serious injuries from them in Wayne county. A gentle-
man writes:

" The orchards are all being destroyed in this part of the State by
the canker-worm. Thrifty orchards were cut down last winter, and
there will be many more sacrificed if there can not be found some way
to stop the havoc."

[117] Report of the State ^Entomologist. 259

Early in June their presence in the vicinity of Albany was reported,
where I had not previously heard of their occurrence. Examples of
the caterpillar were brought to me by Mr. David M. Knickerbocker,
of Albany, that I might see if the}' were, as he believed, the veritable
canker-worm. They were found upon his apple trees at Loudonville,
in " millions," and were rapidly consuming the foliage. He had also
heard of their presence in other orchards in his neighborhood. The
examples of the larvae brought were nearly full-grown (on June
ninth), having almost attained their maximum length of one inch.
As usual, they diifered greatly in their markings and colors, some
being almost without strij)es and of a uniform black.

The folly and the criminality of permitting this destructive pest to
obtain a permanent footing within our State can not be too strongly
censured. It is an extremely local pest and, at the outset, can be
easily controlled. Often one tree only in an orchard is infested, or a
portion of an orchard, or a single orchard in a township, while others
are wholly free from it. The female moth has no wings with which
to distribute herself, and can only, upon coming out from her pupa-
tion in the ground underneath the tree in the early spring, climb
up the trunk, meet her winged mate, and deposit her eggs upon the

branches.

Preventives and Remedies.

The preventives and remedies that should be used against this
insect are simple. First, the females should be prevented from
ascending the tree, by cloth bands, coated with tar or printer's
ink, around the trunk, or by some of the mechanical appliances
which have been so frequentlj^ described in our agricultural
journals and entomological reports. Second, when the larvte are
upon the tree and rapidly consuming the young leaves, they
should be killed by spraying the tree with Paris green water,
as in directions so often published. Third, if the caterpillars have
been permitted to feed to maturity upon the trees, and thereafter to
enter the ground immediately beneath for their transformation, the
soil under the trees to the depth of from four to six inches should
be thoroughly worked so as to crush the tender pupse.

Either one of the above measures, if properly used, will be effectual
in arresting the attack. If all are employed, immediate success would
be insured.

Abundance of Geometrid Larv.e.
Mr. Verplanck Colvin, Superintendent of the New York State Land
Survey, writes from his camp, on Salmon lake, head-waters of Beaver

260 Forty-second Effort on the State Museum. [118]

river, under date of August 5, 1888, as follows, of some insects that
came under his observation :

I believe you would be interested were you with us, for we are
constantly meeting what are, to us, such novel forms of insect life
that I feel confident you would find some undescribed species. "What
seems to me most novel, from an entomological standpoint, is the
abundance of larvtie of the kind known as " measuring-worms." I
never saw so many of these insects in the woods. They attack the
witch-hobble [Vibwrnum lantanoides], which is usually quite free from
insect injury, and reduce the leaves to skeletons. But they do not,
by any means, confine their attack to deciduous vegetation, but are
also found on evergreens — on balsam and spruce — and their number is
infinite. The common form is a bright green worm of about one
inch in length: another is a dark gray or brown. Both of these
attack the human being with a sharp and painful bite — a surprising
thing, as I have never known such larvse to attack animals before.
They are certainly worthy of your observation and study.

The Apple-leaf Bucculatrix.
Through Dr. Sturtevant, of the New York Agricultural Experiment
Station, a communication was received from Mr. Malcolm Little, of
Malcolm, Seneca county, N. Y., stating that the apj)le orchards in
that vicinity were infested upon the branches and the fruit with
objects such as sent upon some twigs. They had not been seen
before, and it was asked what they were, and if they would probably
prove injurious. Answer to the following effect was returned :

The twigs received were thickly covered on one side with the

cocoons of the apple-leaf Buc-
culatrix — Bucculatrix pomi-
foliella Clemens. A piece of
twig an inch and a quarter in
length, and one-eighth of an
inch in diameter, had upon it
thirty-three of these cocoons.
From the small size and the
general appearance of the
cocoons they are often mis-
taken for insect eggs. They

c,,„ or A 1 1 * T> 1 i • T> are white, about one-fourth of

iiG. 35.— Apple-leaf Bucculatrix, BuccuLATEis

pomifoliella: a, piece of twig covered with CO- an inch long, as thick as an

coons ; b, cocoon enlarged ; c, the moth, enlarged, ordinary pin and show upon

their exposed surface five or six prominent longitudinal ribs as
represented at a in Fig. 35, and at b in enlargement.

The insect is an injurious one. Where it abounds, the caterpillars
consume such an amount of the foliage as seriously to interfere v/ith
the production of the fruit. It displays a remarkable facility for

[119] Report of the State Entomologist. 261

increase, and every j)ro^Der means should, therefore, immediately upon
its discovery, be resorted to, that its spread may be arrested.

The parent is a small moth (shown at c, much enlarged) belonging
to the Tineidce — that division of the Lepidojitera that embraces the
smallest species of the order. There are two annual broods of the
insect. The cocoons sent to me are of each brood. Some of them
were spun in July, and have given out the insect, leaving only the
empty pupa-case within the cocoon. The moths that emerged from
them laid eggs from which the caterpillars were hatched, which
might have been observed feeding upon the leaves in September, if
attention had been given at the time to the eaten foliage. The cater-
pillars make their cocoons during October, and upon opening those
that are the freshest-looking and unbroken, the pupae may be found
which are destined, if not meanwhile destroyed through parasitic or
atmospheric agency, to remain in that state throughout the winter,
and to give out the moth in the month of May next.

A notice of this insect, containing further information upon it, may
be found in my "First Annual Report on the Insects of New York,
1882, pages 157-162."

Distribution.

In the above publication, the presence of this insect had only been
reported within the State of New York, in Monroe and Chemung
counties. As would naturally be expected, it seems to be extending
its range. It has since been received by me, from an orchard of Mr.
J. S. Roy, Lyons, Wayne county. A piece of twig only two and one-
half inches long contained twenty-two of the cocoons. It has also
been sent to me by Mr. J. C. Wolf, of Waterloo, Seneca county. It is
reported as present, in small numbers as yet, in Lagrange, Wyoming
county. It also occurs in South Byron, Genesee county.

I had previously written of this insect, that as yet in its New York
distribution, it was apparently confined to the western portion of the
State, but the present year it has been brought to me from an orchard
at Bethlehem Centre, five miles south of Albany, on the Hudson river.
Mr. Isaac Bussing, with whom it occurred, reports that he has observed
it upon his trees for the past few years, in limited numbers, but does
not think that it inflicted serious harm.

In the Second Report of the Department of Entomology of the Cornell
University Experiment Station, 1883, Mr. A. E. Brunn has published his
studies upon the life-history of this insect (with illustrations of some
of its stages) which adds materially to our previous knowledge of it
{I. c, pp. 157-161, pi. 6, figs. 2-2 e). An abstract of the above observa-

262 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [120]

tions has been given by Professor J. H. Comstock, in the Proceedings
of the Western New York Horticultural Society, at its twenty-eighth
annual meeting in January, 1883 (pp. 20-23).

Remedies.

This injurious pest is the most vulnerable in either its caterpillar
stage or after the cocoons have been made. In large orchards the
cocoons may be best attacked by means of a mixture of kerosene and
soap sprayed upon them with a force-pump. This emulsion which is
quite as effectual as, and easier to make than, the milk emulsion
formerly recommended, may be made by dissolving two pounds of
common bar soaj) in a gallon of water, with heat, and then mixing in
a gallon of kerosene with the aid of a force-pump until emulsified.
This, upon cooling, will form a thick, gelatinous mass, containing fifty
per cent of kerosene, which will have to be reduced by the addition of
water before it can be applied with a force-pump. If diluted with
nine gallons of water, giving a mixture of about ten per cent of
kerosene, it should give a strength sufficient to destroy the pupse
within the cocoons, but the jDroper strength had better be first ascer-
tained by experiment upon a few of the cocoons.

If the infested trees are not very numerous the emulsion might be
applied to the branches by means of a stiff bristle-brush, which would
remove the cocoons, and serve to show thereafter if there is a contin-
ance of the attack in the deposit of fresh cocoons.

When the caterpillars are found in abundance feeding on the trees
in July or September, by suddenly jarring the branches, numbers
will drop and hang suspended by their threads, when they may be
swept down by brooms or branches and destroyed. Showering the
trees with Paris green and water would kill all the larvse eating the
poisoned foliage.

The Clovee-seed Midge.

Gecidomyia leguminicola Lintn.
A package of the larvse of the clover-seed midge was received
October twelfth, through Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, from Mr. D. M. Linsley,
of Orleans county, N. Y., with the statement that they were from a
second crop of clover, that had been cut for hay, and placed on a scaf-
folding above the barn floor. Four or five days thereafter the larvse
were observed in large numbers upon the floor beneath the clover. Mr.
Linsley was desirous of knowing if they would attack any other grain
or i^lants. Answer was made that the attack of the clover-seed
midge, so far as known, was confined to clover seed. From the
abundance of the larvse reported by him, it was quite important, as a

[121] Report of the State Entomologist. 263

means towards diminishing the attack of the coming year, that the
larvae falling upon the floor should be frequently swept up (if the
floor was a tight one) and burned. If in the sweeping the larvpe were
liable to fall through the floor-joinings, it would be advisable to kill
them before attempting their removal by sprinkling them from time
to time with kerosene.

The following extracts are from a letter received later from Mr.
Linsley in reply to the request made for additional information of the
occurrence of the larvse:

They came wholly from the second cutting of the clover, cut about
the twentieth of September. The}' began to make their aj^pearance
about four days after it was drawn into the barn. They came out in
such numbers that they looked like red sand upon the floor. This
continued for about two weeks, since which time I have not noticed
any of them. I destroyed what I could collect from the floor, but the
greater part of the hay being put into a mow, they were, of course,
out of reach for the most part. *****

It is said that these weevils do not work in the Alsike, or large
pea-vine clover. This may be due to the fact that in these varieties
the first growth of cutting is used for seed, so that the seed matures
too early for the insect. But these varieties are far inferior to the
Medium clover and can not well supply the place of it. The destruc-
tion of the crop of Medium clover seed is a very serious loss to the
agricultural interest in this portion of the State, amounting to from
twenty to forty dollars i^er year on every farm of 100 acres, according
to the market price of the seed.

The Hessian-fly.

Gecidomyia destructor Say.

Wheat infested between the first and second joints with the Hes-
sian-fly, was sent for examination, June twelfth, by Mr. A. F. Dowd,
of North Huron, Wayne county, N. Y. On stripping the sheaths from
the stalks, four or five of the puparia, or " flaxseeds " as they are
popularly called, would be found in company, showing the attack to
be a severe one. [See figure 45 on page 28G.]

The perfect insects failed to develop. Under natural and favorable
conditions they would probably have emerged in the month of July.

The fly had been more injurious in western New York the preced-
ing year (1884) than usual. The following statement in relation to its
operations, and containing some good suggestions for controlling the
insect, is from a gentleman in Monroe county, which joins Wayne
county on the west :

A considerable part of the wheat of 1884 was injured by the Hes-
sian-fly, which crinkled the straw so that the heads of wheat were cut
off too short to be gathered in harvest. On some fields this scatter-

16

264 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [122]

ing wheat would make, if evenly distributed, a sufficient seeding. I
am afraid this self-sown wheat will prove a detriment to the crop, as
the Hessian-fly will lay her eggs on these early plants.

The fly works until frosts check it. Rolling the ground or drag-
ging with the smoothing harrow, and then rolling, is probably as good
a preventive of injury from the Hessian-fly as can now [late in Sep-
tember] be applied. These operations both cause the wheat to stack
more, making a mass of small leaves rather than one or two tall ones
from each plant. As the fly lays her eggs in the fold of the leaf [at
the crown of the root], she finds less place than where the leaves are
unchecked in growth. Besides, many of the eggs and newly-hatched
worms are destroyed by crushing and contact with soil brushed
against them. — W. J. F., Monroe county, N. Y. ( Country Gentleman for
October 9, 1884.)

Some plants of winter wheat in ground, containing the flaxseeds of the
Hessian fly, were received from Prof. F. M, Webster, of La Fayette,
Ind., on April fourteenth. On April nineteenth six of the flies
emerged, males, and additional ones as follows: On the twentieth, four
5 ; on twenty-first, seven 5 ^^^ fourteen 9 5 twenty-second, not
observed; on twenty-third, about sixty 5 ^i<l 9 were taken from
the box, some of which were dead.

SciARA sp. ? Occurring on Wheat.

Examples of a small fly were received October second, from Dr. E.
L. Sturtevant, which " had appeared upon wheat " at the Experiment
Station.

In our present limited knowledge of the species of this genus, a
generic determination only could be made of it.

From what is known of the larval habits of the few Sciara that have
been studied, and of their associated MycetopMlidoe, it is not probable
that the species sent was injurious to wheat. The larvse, as a class,
are not regarded as injurious, as many of them are known to occur
beneath the bark of felled trees, in decayed wood and vegetables, in
vegetable mold, in fungi, etc.

From their frequent occurrence in boleti and fungi, Latreille had
arranged the MycetopMlidoe in his group of Fungivores — one of the
five into which he divided the Tipulidce. A noted fungivorous species
is the Sciara Thomas Linn., of Europe, known as the " army- worm "
(Hierwurm) in Germany. The larvse are remarkable for assembling
in immense numbers and hanging together by means of a viscid
moisture in a long mass resembling a snake or rope, sometimes several
feet in length, two or three inches in breadth, and perhaps a half inch
in thickness. Larger processions of these larvjB have been observed.

[123] Report of ihe State Entomologist. 265

massed in a breadth of three inches and one or two inches in thickness,
and extending thirty yards in length. Individually, they are but about
five lines long and a third of a line in diameter. M. Guerin-Meneville
has given interesting details of some of these assemblies observed by
him, some of which have been quoted in Figuier's Insect World,
pp. 46, 47.

That some of the species of the genus may possess injurious habits
appears from the mention by Prof. Westwood, that Olivier had reared
three species of Sciara from wheat, of which account is given in Prem.
Mem. sur quelques Insectes qui attaquent les Gereales, Paris, 1813.

Sciara pyri, of Europe, is said to injure ■ the blossoms and fruit of
the pear, causing them to fall; while of other European species,
S. fucata lives in decaying potatoes, turnips and other vegetables;
S. quinquelineata breeds in diseased potatoes and is supposed, by some,
to cause the "scab;" S. pulicaria, S. vittata, S. longijies, and S. hyali];)ennis,
have also been bred from decaying potatoes; S. tilicola produces a gall
on the leaves of young linden trees; and S. Giraudii has been bred
from stems of Malva and Althoea.

One of our American species, at least, is known to be injurious, viz.,
Sciari mali (Fitch), the larvse of which destroy the interior of apples
by burrowing through them, while the fair exterior shows no indica-
tion of the concealed attack. A species of Sciara, apparently near to
S. nervosa, of Europe, has recently been brought to me (1889), as infest-
ing mushroom beds in Albany, where it has been regarded as injurious
to mushroom culture. Mr. Wm. Falconer has also sent me the same
species from mushroom cellars in Glen Cove, Long Island, but
does not consider it harmful. It will be given study, and reported
upon hereafter.

The Osten Sacken catalogue of N. A. Diptera contains twenty-three
species of Sciara described by Say, Walker, and others, but of these
very few have been identified in present collections. For notice of
the habits of some of the Sciara, see Osten Sacken, in Proc. Ent. Soc.
P/iiI,i, 1862, pp. 163-165; and for references to writings upon them,
pp. 169-171.

The Cabbage-fly.

Anthomyia brassiccs Bouche.

A severe attack of this insect upon young cauliflower plants was

reported by Mr. D. W. Seeley, of Albany, and examples of the plants

badly eaten and having the larvae within and upon their roots, were

brou<?ht to me on June eighth. Mr. Seeley had made several appli-

266

FORTY-S-ECOND REPORT ON TEE StATE MuSEUM.

[1241

cations of pojDular remedies for the arrest of the attack, without avail,
and had nearly determined upon taking up the entire crop and
destroying it, although it would be at a loss of about a thousand
dollars — the estimated value of the matured crop. The application
of bisulphide of carbon was recommended to him before an abandon-
ment of the crop; the result of the application, if made, was not
learned.

Some of the above larvae, apparently full-grown, were placed in a
box with ground when received. Sixteen days thereafter, June twenty-
fourth, they gave forth the perfect fly.

A Lady-bug Attack on Scale-insects.
A number of Austrian pines, Pinus Austriaca, in Washington park,
Albany, were observed, on October ninth, as having been very nearly
killed by an attack of the pine-leaf scale-insect, Chionaspis jnnifoln

Pig. 36.— The pine-leaf scale-insect, Chionaspis pinifolii.
(Fitch). Millions of the peculiar white Scales of this destructive species
had attached themselves to the leaves almost as thickly as they could
find place, to the extent of whitening the tree, and nearly hiding its

[125] Report of the State Entomologist. 267

natural green. Hundreds of scales could be counted upon a single
one of its slender leaves. The scales are represented in Fig. 36 in
tlieir natural size on the leaves of Pinus strobus, at 2. At 2a, are
leaves of the same not stunted by the presence of the scales; 2b, a
scale of female, of usual form, enlarged ; 2c, wide form of the same,
enlarged; 2d, a male scale enlarged. The figure is from Prof. J. H.
Comstock's Rejwrt to the U. S. Dejoartment of Agriculture for the year
1880, while Entomologist of the Department.

The species of lady-bug, Ghilocorus bivulnerus Muls., which seems
to be specially commissioned to feed upon the eggs of this and other
scale-insects, was present upon the trees in great abundance. Its
larval stage had already passed, and it was now occurring in its pupal
and perfect stages. The larval cases, split longi-
tudinally upon their back, and disclosing the
pupal case within, were quite numerous; as many
as ten of these could be seen upon a single leaf.
The larger number of pupaj had given out the

pretty beetle, with its shining black wing-covers, , -f^"' '''1'~ '^\^? , Twice-
r •' ' o fc> 5 stabbed lady bird, Chilo-

beariug centrally ui^on each a blood-red spot — cokus bivulneeus: The
the two sj)ots suggesting the common name that ^^^^^^ ^^'^ imaso.
it bears of " the twice-stabbed lady-bird." A few of the beetles were
still emerging, with pale ochraceous-colored elj'tra, and without the
least indication of the two red spots which are gradually' developed
later with the darkening of the wing-covers. In a few minutes time,
about one hundred and fifty of the beetles were collected from the
leaves and branches of a pine — most of them from the branches, on
which they were found quietly resting.

An examination of the scales upon the more badly infested trees
showed that most of them had been eaten into and their contents
destroyed.

From pupse collected and taken to my office, the beetles continued
to emerge for about ten days thereafter.

The Carpet Beetle.

Anthrenus scrophularice (Linn.).

A very early date for the appearance of this beetle abroad is April

twenty-seventh, at which time it was found feeding on the pollen

of a Crocus, associated with Anthrenus varius Fabr., by Mrs. Hoag-

land, of Albany. It seemed to show a preference for the white-

268 FOKTY-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [126]

flowered Crocus, in which sometimes a half-dozen of the carpet-
beetles would be seen at the same time.

An early date for its flight within doors is March sixth, when an
example of it was seen floating in the water of
an aquarium in my office. It is probable, however,
that the beetle may at any time during the
winter months, be brought out from its quiet and
often protracted repose within its ruptured pupal
skin (alike contained within the split larval skm),
as it has been observed under such conditions,
disclosing segments of its brilliantly-scaled wiug-

covers, on November eighteenth. A number of our
' Fig. 38.— The Carpet- j.ji iii l • i.v. ■ e l ^ l-

beetle, Anthkenus ^^ted household pests, m their perfect domestica-

scROPHULAKi^. tlou, are apj^arently no longer subject to stated

times for the appearance of their successive broods.

As a Museum Pest. — From a box of unspread Noctuidce, contained in
a drawer of the entomological cabinet at the Capitol, two examples of
A. scropIndai'icB and three of A. varius, were taken on January 11, 1888 ;
the note made at the time does not state how many of them were alive.
The only other instance under my observation of the carpet-beetle as
an insect pest, was in finding a living imago, early in January, in
association with an Eumenes fraterna, upon which it had evidently
been feeding and partially consumed.

The Oak-pkuner.
Elaphidion parallelum Newm.

Mr. George Theo. Lyman, of Bellport, Suffolk Co., N. Y., writes of
an extraordinary increase this year (1887) of this oak-pruner. He
had gathered, on his place alone, six large cart-loads of the severed
twigs.

Most of the twigs, on examination, were found to contain the larva,
but in quite a number it was absent, and in these cases there was a
hole in the cut-off end. He was led, from this observation, to ques-
tion the statement of Harris and others, that the insect transformed
within the twig. Reply was made that in these cases, probably, the
packing of the burrow in the excised section had been eaten into by
some bird or predatory insect, and the larva devoured. That many
of the larvae and pupa3 are thus destroyed has been recorded by dif-
ferent writers. Dr. Fitch records that insectivorous birds have
frequently been seen industriously picking around the ends of the

[127] Report of the State Entomologist. 269

twigs lying on the ground, and that doubtless the oak-pruner often
falls a prey to these sagacious and diligent foragers.

Mr. Lyman had also observed this present season, at Waltham,
Mass., where there are many oaks, the same ravages of this insect as
at his home at Bellport, L. I. He had cut open the burrows of many,
at Waltham, and had found the grub in most, but it seemed to differ
from those at Bellport, in being larger, longer, having a less pointed
tail, and a square, blunt head.

He also noticed that some of the twigs, unmistakably cut off by the
grub, had no burrow in them, but only a shallow pit of the diameter
of a burrow on the severed surface, raising the question, in his mind,
whether the grub did not sometimes lose its direction and burrow
downward toward the trunk instead of from it.

OviposiTioN OF Sapeeda CANDIDA Fabr.

The following notes, condensed from a communication made by
E. W. Junkins, of Carroll Co., N. H, to the Neiv England Homestead, of
January 3, 1885, are of value as an addition to our knowledge of the
habits and life-history of the destructive round-headed apple-tree
borer, Saperda Candida :

A part of a trunk of an apple tree that had been killed by the
borers and taken within doors in the early spring, showed, through a
crack opened by drying, a pupa of the beetle, on May tMentieth. On
June eighth it had changed to the beetle (indicating a pupal period
of at least nineteen days). Four other specimens that afterward
emerged were inclosed in a large glass jar containing wet sand at the
bottom, into which were thrust some shoots of an apple tree. The
beetles fed upon the tender bark. On June fifteenth, one of the four
females was seen depositing an egg. " She first made an incision in
the bark close to the sand; then turning head ujDward, with her ovi-
positor she placed the egg under the bark nearly a quarter of an inch
from the incision, the bark having been started from the wood. July
seventh a young borer, three-sixteenths of an inch long, made its
appearance. July eleventh, the sticks near the sand were full of eggs,
and the beetles were depositing their eggs higher up on the sticks.
July eighteenth, one of the borers, three-eighths of an inch long, had
worked an inch and a half downward. August seventh, the last beetle
died, but would doubtless have lived longer with better care."

On the twenty-sixth of August a beetle was captured among the
branches of an apple tree, in the trunk of which eight young borers

270 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [128]

were found. The beetle was kept alive for several days and deposited
an egg.

This insect is probably known generally to the orchardists in locali-
ties where it occurs in injurious numbers, but for the benefit of those

Fig. 39.— The i-ound-headed apple-tree borer, Saperda Candida; a, the grub or larva;
h, the pupa ; c, the imago or beetle.

who may not be familiar with its appearance, representation is given
of it in Fig. 39 above.

The above observations of Mr. Junkins are of considerable impor-
tance, as they extend the period of oviposition of the beetle much
beyond the period hei'etof ore assigned to it, and consequently the time
during which the application of soap to the trunk of the apple tree to
protect it from the egg-deposit is to be made, will also require a
corresponding extension.

Professor Riley has stated:

The female deposits her eggs during the month of June, and the
young worms hatch and commence boring into the bark within a
fortnight afterward. * * * Keej) the base of every tree in the
orchard free from weeds and trash, and apply soap to them during
the month of May, and they will not likely be troubled with borers.
{First Report on the Insects of Missouri, pp. 43, 45.)

Dr. Fitch states as follows in his account of this insect given in his
First Report on the Insects of New York:

The beetle makes its appearance every year early in June. * * *
In the course of this and the following month the female deposits her
eggs (page 13).

Commonly, hei-e in Washington county, they begin to be found
upon trees about the twentieth of June, from which time until the
close of the month they appear to be more numerous than they are
afterward (page 17).

In all orchards where the borer is present, this measure [soap
application] should invariably be resorted to the latter part of May,
or in more northern localities, where the beetle will be somewhat
later in appearance, early in June (page 22).

[129] Report of the State Entomologist. 271

Referring to Mr. Juukins' observations of the first egQ having been
deposited after the middle of June, many after July eleventh, and
oviposition continued even after the twenty-sixth of August (probably
into September), it would seem advisable that the use of the soap
application — perhaps our best preventive of the injuries of this
pernicious borer — should, in northern New York, not be delayed
longer than the first week of June, and should be continued through
the month of July and into August.

Mr. Charles G. Atkins, of Bucksport, Maine, in a paj)er read before
the Maine State Pomological Society at its last annual meeting, con-
firms the above observations on the late oviposition of Saperda
Candida. He has found the egg-laying to begin (at his farm in
Kennebec county) soon after the middle of June, and to continue
until late in August, and had met with unhatched eggs after the first
of SejDtember.

Mr. Atkins offers the suggestion that relief from this apple-tree
borer may be better sought through remedial than preventive
measures. With young trees having a smooth bark he would prefer
mounding the base to a height of six inches or more with sand, thus
compelling the borer to place its eggs where they, or the young
larvae emerging from them and entering the bark, may easily be
discovered by proper inspection and destroyed. {Home Farm, March
5, 1885.)

Orthaltica copalina (Fabr.).

Numbers of this beetle were observed at Schoharie, N. Y., on July
sixth, feeding on the leaves of Rhus typhina. It was the first time
that the species had been noticed by me upon this plant. Many of
the beetles were paired, while others were engaged in feeding on the
lower surface of the leaves which they eat away, causing them to dry
up and shrivel as if from the effect of heat.

This species belongs to the Ghrysomelidce, and to the group Grepi-
doderce. In systematic arrangement it comes next to Epitrix, and is,
therefore, closely allied to the well-known cucumber fiea-beetle, Epi-
trix cucumeris (Harris), which at the present time is so injurious to
the potato crop in the State of New York.

In the sixth Missouri report. Professor Riley has given illustration,
the life-history, etc., of another sumach-feeding Chrysomelid, Blaphar-
ida rhois (Forst.), which he designates as the "jumping sumach
beetle." It feeds readily on all of our indigenous sumachs, and in
some years completely denudes them over large tracts of territory.
17

272 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [130]

The Clover-leaf Weevil Destroyed by a Fungus Attack.

Phytonovius jninctatus (Fabr.) — Entomojyhthora Phytonomi Arthur.

During the latter part of May, 1885, some larvae were received from
Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, which had been taken from the grounds of the
New York Agricultural Experiment Station, at Geneva, and had
evidently been killed by a fungus attack. The larvae were found
attached to, and coiled around, the tij)s of blades of grass, dead,
stiffened, shrunken, and partly covered with a whitish fungus. From
a careful examination of the larvae, it seemed probable that they were
immature forms of the punctured clover-leaf weevil, Phytonomus
punctatus. The beetle is shown in Fig. 40, in twice its natural size.

Other examples of the larvae were received from the same source, on
November third, in the same condition with those previously sent.

fNot being positive of my determination of
the species, request was made for living
examples, to be sought for buried beneath
the surface of the ground, or while feeding at
night, but they could not be obtained. Some
of the material was, therefore, sent to the

" "^ -'^ Entomological Division of the Department of

Fig. 40.— The punctured clover- . . ,, , ttt i • / i

leaf weevil. Phytonomus PUNC-^g^"ic^lture at Washmgton, where ifc was

TATus ; dorsal and side views, compared with alcoholic specimens, and

was fovmd, from the structure and markings of the head of the larva,

to be, beyond doubt, that of Phytonomus punctatua.

Dr. Sturtevant having suggested the possibility that the fungus
attack may have been the result of the fertilizer used at the station,
the fungus was shown to Prof. Peck, the New York State Botanist.
It was pronounced by him, in all probability, an undescribed species,
allied to the well-known fly-fungus, Empusa muscce.

On mentioning the above facts to Hon. G. W. Clinton, he expressed
his belief that the fungus may have been communicated in the man-
ner suggested by Dr. Sturtevant, if fish-remains entered into the
composition of the fertilizer, from the fact that a common fungus
found infesting fishes is the Saprolegma ferax, which is believed to be
but the aquatic form of the Emj)usa muscce.

The above was communicated to Dr. Sturtevant, with an inquiry of
the nature of the fertilizer that had been used. Answer was returned
that he had obtained from the manufacturers the formula of its com-
position, and that "the nitrogenous material was sui^plied by acidulated
Jish-skins, dried ground horse-meat and western blood."

If, as seems not improbable, the death through fungoid attack of
the larva3, may be shown to be the result of the use of the fertilizer,
either through the discovery of the same fungus in the fertilizer, or>

[131] Report of the State Entomologist. 273

better still, by exi^eriments with healthy larvte — the mortality of the
larvffi observed at Geneva, by Dr. Sturtevant, will certainly be an
event of unusual interest. It would appear to give us the means of
destroying a pest which, up to the present, it has not been possible
to control, while, at the same time, stimulating the infested crop and
thereby enabling it the better to resist all other forms of insect attack.
Nor would its efficacy be limited to this particular species, but it
would be doubtless available against many other insect enemies,
especially those that burrow in the ground, after the manner of the
Phytonomus.

The fungus attack was subsequently studied by Professor J. C.
Arthur, Botanist of the Experiment Station, and his report upon the
same may be found in the Fourth Annual Eeport of the Station, 1886,
pp. 258-262. It is there fully described by him, and also illustrated
in four figures, under the name of Entomophthora Phytonomi. The
following extract is made of the conduct of the infested larvse and
their appearance under the attack:

The sick larvse of all ages crawl up the herbage during the night,
and instead of again concealing themselves near the ground on the
approach of light, as the healthy ones do, ascend as high as possible,
and, if on grass, coil themselves in a horizontal position about the
apex of the blade, as in Fig. 41, or if on other objects, take a posi-
tion as nearly similar as the shape of the object per-
mits. If disturbed before the middle of the forenoon,
the majority are still able to crawl, although slug-
gishly: by noon most of them are quite dead, but
unchanged in appearance. It will be found that they
cling to the leaf with greater tenacity than during life.
Examining the under sides of the body will disclose Fia. 4i.— Fungus-
the fact that delicate, colorless holdfast have grown ''Attacked larva of
out from the median line, which, attaching themselves ^°''™''°.f ^f 7^^;

, ,1 ^^^^^,^•Lrt^• i Xi- TATUS COlled about

to the leaf, hold the insect nrmly m place. Late m ^.j^^ ^.j ^j ^ blade
afternoon the body has changed from the normal yel- of grass. Enlarged
lowish or pea-green and smooth appearance to velvety- five diameters.
gray. The next morning there is only a small blackened and shriv-
eled mass remaining, while the surrounding foliage is powdered with
a whitish, clinging dust, comj^osed of the spores of the fungus.
* * * This is the general course of the rapid and fatal disease.

In 1886 and 1887 the insect did not appear on the grounds of the
station in sufficient number to invite attention, and no further obser-
vations were made on the fungus attack.

PcEOiLOCAPSus LiNEATUS (Fabr.).
From Mr. E. S. Goff, of the N. Y. Experiment Station, some Hemip-
tera, in their larval and pupal stages, feeding in the garden of the
station upon sage, Salvia oficinalis, were received June 1, 1885.

274 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [132]

The larvae were broadly elliptical. Head testaceous; eyes black;
first joint of the antennse testaceous, second joint pale basally, and
the others pale at the joints. Thorax testaceous anteriorly, with two
black spots on its hind margin, separated by a pale mesial line.
Abdomen red, with eight transverse dorsal lines, broken mesially by
a pale line; the rudimentary wing-pads black. Legs pale; femora
darker above; tibise brown-spotted.

Pupse. — Wing-pads more than one-half as long as the abdomen,
shining black, with a broad whitish longitudinal line from their base,
but not reaching the tip near their outer margin; this line continued
in yellow upon the thorax, dividing each lateral black spot into two; —
the outer one being simply a marginal line. A yellowish dorsal line
from the thorax over the abdomen; segments black except on their
posterior margin and at their sides; femora with two black rings.

The imago from the above appeared on June thirteenth, in three
examples, and proved to be the species named above, and commonly
known as the " Four-lined leaf-bug." They
were the variety b, described by Dr. Fitch as
wanting the black dot at the end of the outer
black stripe on the wing-covers, on the triangu-
lar piece marked off by a suture before the
membranous tip. As the three examj^les were
females, it was thought that the absence of the
black spot might be a sexual feature, or possibly
Fig. 42.— The four-lined certain broods might be thus characterized. In

leaf-bug P(EciLoc APS us accordance with a request made to Mr. Goff, a

LiNEATUs, three times the , « i

natural size. number of examples from the garden at the

Experiment Station were sent to me. It was found from them that

the spot gave no special indication, as of the thirteen males received

seven were without the spot, and of the seven females, two.

Mr. Goff stated that for the past three yeai-s this insect had
appeared in very nearly the same place in the garden, but in some-
what greater numbers the present season. Last year (in 1884) it
made a serious attack upon gooseberry bushes at the Experiment
Station, depleting the tips of the young growth, so that they shriveled,
wilted down and died. It was also received from Batavia, N. Y., as
injuring sage in a garden.

While so abundant and destructive in my own garden in 1881 (see
First Rept. Insects N. Y., p. 271), it has not been injurious since,
although examples of it have been observed each year, feeding on the
black currant, Ribes nigrum.

[133] Report of the State Entomologist. 211^

Attack on Young Pears by a Plant-bug.

Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, of the Mount Hope Nurseries at
Rochester, N. Y., have sent me under date of June 19, 1884, some
specimens of young pears, blotched and injured, together with
insects taken upon them.

Some of the pears, of about one-half inch in diameter, show as many
as forty blotches from an eighth of an inch in diameter downward.
From the minute puncture originally made, the juice as it has escaped
has become hardened and granulated, and with its increase has split
the skin in different directions, often in a triangular form or one
wound running into another. The more seriously injured pears
would be rendered unfit for sale from their knotted surface, even if
after such a drain upon them they should continue upon the tree,
which is not at all probable.

The insects taken upon the injured fx^uit were the tarnished plant-
bug, Lygus pratensis (Linn.). Although they were not actually
observed feeding upon the juices, there can be no
reasonable doubt of their being the authors of the
injury. This form of attack (upon the fruit) has
not been previously recorded, yet their fondness
for the blossoms of the pear is known, and they
are also known to be destructive to the fruit of the
strawberry.

In the attack above recorded, the insect has
apparently shown a preference in the variety of
pear it has selected. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry ^.^|J-^pJ~J_'jf^^jLT-
write : " The whole of the fruit in one of our gus pbatensis.
orchards on the Duchesse d'Angouleme trees is affected; while on the
Beurre d'Anjou and other varieties, we find nothing of the kind."

In the American Entomologist, ii, 1870, and in the First Report on the
Insects of New York, 1882, statement is made of a pear orchard having
been saved from the destruction of its blossom buds by this insect, by
shaking them from the branches into a vessel of soap-suds, for three
successive mornings. If equally effective in other instances of attack, it
will prove a valuable remedy, for its control is often quite difficult, if
not impossible.

This destructive plant-bug, of wide distribution over the United
States, and of very injurious habits from its broad range of food-
plants, has long been known as Lygus lineolaris Pal. Beauv., and has
been but recently referred to the species described as praiensis by
Linnaius.

276 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [134]

An Experiment with the Thirteen-year Cicada.

The following paper was read before the Albany Institute at its
meeting on October 6, 1885, with a view of making record of the
planting of a brood of the " thirteen-year locust," at Kenwood, near
Albany, and of the request that observations be made of the appear-
ance of the winged insect at the time that its development may be
expected:

" It is probably known to all the members of the Institute that not-
withstanding the rapidity of multiplication in the insect world —
very few of the species requiring more than a year for their life-
cycle, and many having several generations in the year — one
species requires seventeen years for its development from the egg
to the perfect insect, viz., the seventeen-year Cicada, or the Cicada
septendecim. That so exceptional a life-period is still doubted by many
is not strange, in view of the fact that the Cicadas are seen to appear
at shorter intervals than seventeen years — indeed, almost every year
witnesses their appearance in some part of the United States. But
this admits of easy and satisfactory explanation. There are a number
of distinct broods occurring within the United States — no less than
twenty-one are known — having each its geographical limits, some-
times overlapping one another, but each ever true to its seventeen-
year period. Within the State of New York we have five of these
broods, one of which made its appearance on Long Island during the
past summer, in immense numbers, and another will appear also on
Long Island in 1889.

" Besides this seventeen-year Cicada, Prof. Riley has also discovered
the existence of a thirteen-year Cicada.

" No specific differences in appearance between these two forms can
be detected, for which reason the latter is not accej)ted as a distinct
species, but is regarded only as a form or race. The thirteen-year
Cicada is a southern form, which, in its northern extension, does not
reach further than into the southern part of Illinois. We do not have
it in the State of New York.

" In the possibility that this short-period southern form may, in the
laj)se of time, have been developed from the normal seventeen-year
race, as a consequence of the higher temperature of the Southern
States hastening its development, Prof. Riley has, the present year,
undertaken to test the effect of climate on the permanency of the two
races, by transferring them from one region to the other. He thinks
it possible that a southern brood brought northward might fail to
appear at the expiration of thirteen years, and a northern brood taken
south, might appear in a less time than seventeen years.

[135] Repokt of tee State Entomologist. 217

"Offering to him my assistance in the interesting experiment, he has
sent to me a quantity of apple twigs from Mississippi, filled with the
eggs of the thirteen-year Cicada, with the request that I would place
them in an orchard where the result of the experiment could be
observed at the proper time, and that I would also have proper record
made of the same.

" I, therefore, ask place in some publication of the institute, for the
statement that the orchard of Mr. Erastus Corning, at Kenwood, was
selected for the planting of the eggs, from the considerations that it
was a youn*g orchard, that it promised permanency for the desired
time, and that no other brood of Cicada would occur there with which
this could be confounded. The tree beneath which the eggs were
placed (they were hatching at the time, and the twigs containing
them set about the base of the tree, and tied to its lower branches)
was marked with a zinc label, bearing this inscription:

" ' Thirteen-year brood of Cicada {Eiley's Brood, No. VII) — egga from
Oxford, Mississi^opi, x>lanted July 4, 1885.'

" Additional eggs from a second sending were placed beneath the
same tree on July twenty-first, and also some in a wood adjoining, a
few rods toward the south, to serve as a food-supply in the event of
the death or destruction of the orchard.

" As I may hardly hope to see the result of this experiment, may I
beg of some of the members of the Institute who are interested in
Natural History, that in the month of June, 1898, they will make exam-
ination of the labeled tree and trees adjoining, for the pupa cases of
the Cicada that should be found upon the trunks, if still obedient to
their thirteen-year period, and for the insects in the vicinity, which
should easily be discovered, if present, by their well-known song,
which would readily reach the ear. Should they fail to appear at the
time designated, then the search for them should be renewed the
following year, and, if need be, for successive two or three years,
until their appearance.

"The result of the observations should be communicated to the
Entomological Division of the Department of Agriculture at Wash-
ington, unless it should be known that full examination had already
been made by an agent delegated for the purpose from the department.

" In the planting of the Qgi^a I was assisted by Mr. William Grey,
gardener of Mr. Erastus Corning, who has been requested to com-
municate to others upon the farm the location of the tree in order
that there may be no difficulty in finding the locality at the desired time.

" In addition to the above, other transfers of the eggs of the thirteen-
year Cicada from Mississippi, have been made, to Ithaca, N. Y.;

278 Forty-second Report on tee State Museum. [136]

Boston, Mass.; Kittery Point, Me.; Brunswick, Me.; and Ames, Iowa,
as noticed in Entomologica Americana, for August, 1885, vol. 1, p. 96.
Similar transfers, under direction of Professor Riley, of eggs of
the seventeen-year Cicada, have been made the present year from
Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania, to localities in Alabama, Georgia,
Mississippi and Missouri.''

[For a subsequent notice of the above series of experiments, see
Professor Riley's report to the Department of Agriculture, for the
year 1885, pp. 254-257.]

White Scale-insect Attack on Ivy.
Asjndiotus nerii Bouche.
The following note of inquiry in relation to a quite common insect
attack of the ivy has been received from a lady in Watervliet, N. Y. :
" Inclosed please find a leaf of ivy. Will you kindly inform me of
the cause of its peculiar appearance, and also the remedy, if any ?
The leaf and stem are alike infested, and the whole is in an unhealthy
condition."

Fig. i4.— The White Scale, Aspidiotus nekii, in natural size, on an acacia twig: a, the
winged male insect; h, the male scale ; c, the female scale — each enlarged.

Reply was made that the leaf sent for examination showed upon

both surfaces, clustering about the veins and more thinly distributed

elsewhere, and upon the leaf-stalk, many whitish, rounded, slightly

[137] Report of the State Entomologist. 279

convex spots, varying in size from almost microscopic to nearly as large
as the bead of a common pin. Examined under a lens, their peculiar
elevated centers show them to be a species of scale-insect, known as
Aspidiotus nerii Bouche [represented in the accompanying figure].
It is quite a common species upon the oleander, from which its specific
name has been taken. Prof. Comstock in his notice of it — Second
Report in the Deptartment of Entomology of the Cornell University Experi-
ment Station, 1883, states that it is generally distributed throughout
the United States, and occurs upon the cherry, plum, currant, English
ivy, maple, upon lemons from the Mediterranean, etc. These scale-
insects are very injurious to the ivy when they attack it, for multii:)ly-
ing rapidly, their immense number make such a draft upon the juices
of the plant that it can not long withstand the drain. On the first
notice of the scales, their spread should be checked, if possible. If the
plant is small, each leaf should be separately treated, by scraping the
scales from them, or washing them with a strong soap solution, or a
kerosene emulsion.

To larger plants the application would have to be made by
sprinkling or by spraying with a force-pump.

By far the best time to attack the insect is when the young are
first hatched and have crept out from beneath the sheltering scales.
From their minuteness this could only be ascertained by the aid of a
magnifying glass, under which they would appear as small dots
slowly moving over the surface of the leaf. At this stage they could
be killed by a solution of one pound of soap (strong rosin soap) in
two gallons of water.

If not convenient to wait and watch for this phase of the insects'
life, they may be killed at any time while in the bqq stage beneath
the scales by a kerosene and soap emulsion prepared as follows:

Dissolve one jDOUud of rosin soap, in one quart of boiling water;
add gradually one quart of kerosene, with constant stirring, until
emulsified. The result will be a gelatinous compound consisting of
fifty per cent of kerosene. This emulsion diluted, when used, with
two gallons of water, would give a solution containing ten per cent of
kerosene, which, if properly distributed so as to reach all of the
scales, should be of sufficient strength to destroy the eggs without
injury to the plant. [This formula is nearly the same as that given
on page 262.]

The season at which the young insects hatch upon in-door plants
depends upon the temperature of the room, but would ordinarily be
during the latter part of winter.
18

280 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [138J

The Black-knot of the Plum-tree and its Guests.

A jDiece of a limb of a plum-tree having the well-known " black
knot " uj)on it was received in July, with the inquiry of the kind of
insect that caused its growth, and if there was any remedy for the
attack. The tree from which the piece was taken was wholly free
from it, it was stated, in the spring.

It is a popular belief that the black-knot, so common on plum
and cherry trees, and which causes annually the death of thousands
of these trees throughout the United States, is produced by an insect
attack. There is some foundation for this belief in the fact that
insect larvae are frequently found within the knot. These, however,
are not the cause of the obnoxious growth, but merely enter it for
food or shelter during its early formation.

The common plum curculio, Gonotrachelus nenuphar, which is so
destructive to the fruit of the plum-tree, has been bred by Dr. Fitch,
Mr. Walsh, and others, from larvae inhabiting the black-knot. Mr.
Walsh has also bred from it five other species of insects — two of
flies, viz.: Geratopogon sp. and Diplosis septemmaculala Walsh, and
three species of small moths, referred with doubt to the genus Hedya
{Practical Entomologist, i, p. 50). Larvae have on different occasions
been taken by me from their cocoons made upon the margin of the
black-knot, where it was overgrowing an excision of the preceding
year, and the empty pupa-cases of evidently the same moth have been
seen protruding from the knot. The moth, unfortunately, was not
obtained, but it was probably that of JEgeria pictipes Grote-Rob.,
which is known to infest plum-trees sometimes in great numbers
{North American Entomologist, i, 1879, pp. 17-21, with plate).

Although it is not many years since the origin of the black-knot
was in doubt, for even in 1859, Dr. Fitch pronounced it not a fungus
{Trans. N. Y. State Agricultural Society for 1859, xix, p. 60G), it is
now known to be a fungus growth of a species long ago described
and named as Sphceria morbosa Schw. Quite recently it has been
transferred to the genus Flowrightia, and this later generic name will
probably ere long be generally accepted.

The specimen sent is of a brown color, for it is not until late in
July or about the first of August that it presents its well-known black
appearance, caused by " numerous coal-black hemispherical plates of
about the size of the head of a pin, each of which is a distinct fungus."

Professor Riley has quoted Mr. Walsh as having shown that the black-
knot fungus infesting the cultivated cherry " was quite distinct from
that attacking the cultivated plums." He has also indicated another
species occurring upon the " Miner plum," which may be seen " at a
single glance to be essentially distinct from the common black-knot

[139] Report of the State Entomologist. 281

of tlie plum." He writes: "It would seem to follow that there are
three distinct black-knots, originating, respectively, from choke-
cherry, from the common wild plum and from the Chickasaw plum."
{American Entomologist, ii, 1870, p. 231.)

Those who have studied this fungus the most thoroughly believe
in the existence of but one species, which readily transfers itself from
the plum to the cherry, and the reverse. According to Professor Peck,
New York State Botanist, " it is now known to occur on Prunus
domestica, P. Americana, P. cerasus, P. Virginiana, P. Pennsylvanica, and
P. serotina. Two of these are jjlum trees — one introduced, the other
native — and the remaining four are cherry trees, of which the last
three are indigenous" {Thirty-first Report of the N. Y. State Museum
of Natural History, 1879, p. 60*).

Remedy.

The only remedy, so far as known, for the black-knot, is the free use
of the knife as early as possible after its discovery. Mr. Walsh has
emphasized the following as the remedy that may be relied on:
" If the diseased twigs are cut off and destroyed early in July in the
latitude of New York, or a little earlier or later according to the lati-
tude, taking care to cut a few inches below the affected part, the
black-knot can be checked and probably entirely eradicated; but if this
operation is delayed until August, it will be of no benefit whatever."

If the above remedy is resorted to in the early stage of growth the
limb or twig need not be removed, but the fungus can be cut out
with a sharp knife while still confined to one side of the branch,
permitting, if properly done, the wound to heal in a short time.

Those who experience difficulty in arresting the spread of the
black-knot should avail themselves of the information contained in a
paper entitled "Black-knot — Cause and Eemedy," by Professor C. H.
Peck, published in the Gouyitry Gentleman for June 28, 1888 (vol. liii,
page 485). No paper of higher practical value has ever been pub-
lished on the subject.

Collections in the Adirondack Region, et al.
[From the Report of the Entomolo«ist to tlie ItoKonts of tlie University for 1883,
published in the Thirty-seventh Annual lleport of the New York State Museum of
Natural History.]

The collections [for the year 1883] have mainly been made in Mid-
dleburgh, Schoharie county; at Elk lake, in Essex county; in the town
of Hammond, St. Lawrence county; and in Albany.

*In addition to the species herein named, I have also observed it abundantly on the
sand plum, Prunus maratima, on Coney Island.

282 FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [140]

Among those at Middleburgli were a number of Trypetdioe, of the
group in which the wings are exquisitely marked with clouds and
spots in the beautiful patterns so admirably delineated in the four
plates of Baron Osten Sacken, and the late Dr. Loew, of Prussia, in
their valuable Monographs of this interesting family. These flies had
seldom fallen under my observation before, and then in only single
examj)les; but at this time (middle of July) and place they were not
at all uncommon, traveling, with the strange movements peculiar to
them, over the leaves and stalks of the milkweed (Asclepias cornuti)
and wild parsnip (Fastinaca sativa), within which the species may
perhaps breed.

The time of my visit to Elk lake — August fifteenth to thirtieth —
was favorable for the collection of two species of butterflies which are
rarely met with in this State, except in localities having high eleva-
tions, approximating that of Elk lake, which is 2,000 feet above tide.
Grapta Faunus (Edw.) and Grapta j -album (Boisd.-Lec.) were compara-
tively abundant in the roadway leading to the lake, resting for a
while upon the damp soil to imbibe its moisture and then flitting
away to the adjoining shrubbery. Both species had evidently but
just emerged from their pupal stage. Of another species of butterfly,
Feniseca Tarquinius (Fabr.), which appears to be quite local in its dis-
tribution and to occur more frequently within this State, in the
Adirondack region than elsewhere, several examples were captured,
but all in indifferent condition, showing that they had already been
abroad for a number of days. Its larval food-plant was said by Mr.
Glover to be hawthorn (Cratcegus),* but in this and in both previous
instances in which the butterfly has been observed by me, it has been
associated with alders {Alnus species), and where the hawthorn was
not seen to occur.

An interesting illustration of the abundance at times and in certain
localities of a particular species of insect, conjoined with the absence
of other allied and perhajDS more common forms, was given me at this
locality. With a single exception, in a solitary example of Catocala
unijuga Walker, the only noctuid moth observed during my
fortnight's sojourn here was Agrotis clandestina (Harris). To add to
the interest, all the examples had one common hiding-place, viz.,
behind and about the sliding window-sashes of the exceedingly simple
log structure that was dignified with the name of the Elk Lake Hotel.
The only conceivable attraction of such a multitude of moths to their
covert was a single kerosene hand-lamp, and later at night for a brief

* The larva has since been found to feed on the woolly plant-lice that occur in large
clusters on the trunks and limbs of Alders : See 4<7i Rept. Ins. N. Y., 1888, p. 179.

[141] Report of the State Entomologist. 283

space of time, a candle in each of the four bed-rooms. Their assem-
blage in such numbers, under such circumstances, was a mystery to
me. A sash could not be moved without disturbing a dozen of them.
Hundreds could have been captured, but as many were in poor con-
dition and the species is a common one, twenty-five examples only
were brought away.

The black-fly, Simulium molestum, was abundant, but not very
troublesome, for in the month of August it ceases to show the insa-
tiable disposition to gorge itself with blood that it manifests in the
preceding months.* A number of specimens were captured and bottled
for the Museum collections as objects of intei*est to the many who
have never recognized this minute yet most annoying pest of our
Northern Wilderness.

Upon some cut poplars {Poioulus tremuloides) piled by the way-side,
a large number of a wood-boring beetle, Acjrilus torpidus Lee, which I
had never met with before, were observed alighting from their flight
in the bright sunshine, and running actively, in jerking motions, over
the bark. Sixty-two examples of it were taken. Its larva is probably
a borer in the poplar.

Collections in the Adirondack Region in 1885.

[From the Report of the Entomologist to the Regents of the University for 1885.
Published in the Thirth-ninth Annual Report of the New York State Museum of
Natural History.]

About three weeks in the month of August were devoted to
collections in the Adirondack region, at Long lake, in the northern
part of Hamilton county, N. Y. The altitude of the lake is 1,G32 feet
above tide. This elevation is too great to admit of an abundance of
insect life, while it fails to reward the collector with tlie rare forms
which are to be met with at higher elevations — at and above 2,500
feet.

Very little is known, as yet, of the insect fauna of this interest-
ing portion of our State. As I have previously written, "The
enthusiasm of the entomologists of an adjoining State has led them
to explorations of a peculiarly interesting field lying beyond the
limits of their own State — the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
For successive years the members of the Cambridge Entomological
Club have established a midsummer encampment upon the slope of

*The guides of this region have a familiar saying, that "the black-fly doesn't bite
after it has put on its white stockings." referring to the white bands upon its logs.
Probably this is a different species and more blood-thirsty than the form that abounds
earlier in the season and not thus marked. Unfortunately, the biack-flies of the
Adirondacks have not been studied, and Simulium moleetum is only a manuscript name.

284 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [142]

Mt. Washington, during which, through their protracted sojourn of
weeks, and opportunity for collecting crepuscular and nocturnal
forms, they have been able to enrich their cabinets, and those of their
correspondents, with many rare boreal species, to accumulate much
valuable biological information, and to present local lists of
Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera, which have been received as
special contributions to science.

"Meanwhile the extensive Adirondack region, with its numerous
lofty mountain peaks, its deep gorges, its hundreds of lakes —
perhaps second only to the White mountains in point of interest to
the entomologist of any locality in the United States east of the Rocky
mountains — has been permitted, year after year, to bury within
itself its entire entomological wealth. Previous to the collections
noticed in this paper [Lejyidoptei'a of the Adirondack Region^'],
hardly an insect had been drawn from it. At the present nothing has
been reported of its mountain insect fauna. Many new species are
undoubtedly to be discovered there, and the first comparison of its
fauna with that of other elevated and more northern regions is yet to
be made.

" It is sincerely to be hoped that, from the growing interest mani-
fested in entomology, the numerous accessions to the number of its
students, the facility for study afforded by recent publications and in
several extensive classified collections, the reproach resting on the
entomologists of New York may speedily be removed. And while
the thorough exploration of any" locality can scarcely fail of bringing
to light much new material, the ambitious student may have for his
incentive the assurance that in the Adirondack mountains there is
open to him an unexplored field where faithful search will assuredly
yield him a most abundant return."

The locality of Long lake and the season offered but few flowering
plants for the attraction of insects. The collections, therefore, were
mostly confined to golden rods (Solidago) and the hard-hack {Spircea
tomentosa), which were freely visited by Hymenoptera, Diptera, and
Coleoptera for the pollen that they afforded.

Of the Hymenoptera, the flowers were especially prolific in Apidce,
Andrenidce, Eumenidce, and Grabonidce, whilst also yielding some desir-
able Ichneumonidce.

In Diptera, several species of the gaily-colored Syrphidce (flower
flies) were abundant, of which, perhaps, the most interesting form was
Spilomyia fusca Loew — a large fly, so singularly mimicking in size,

* Seventh Annual Report of the Topographical Survey of the Adirondack Region of New
York, 1880, pp. 375-400.

[143] Report of the State Entomologist. 285

form, color, and markings the common "bald-faced hornet," Vespa
maculata Linn., as to be easily (and generally by other than entomolo-
gists) mistaken for it. The species had never come under my obser-
vation before, nor has it been recorded as occurring in the State of
New York. Its first capture was made on the eleventh of August. It
continued to increase in number, in both sexes, and the day prior
to my departure from the locality (twenty-third inst.) it was more
abundant than before. Over forty examples of the species were taken.
Nothing, I believe, is known of its larval stage. Several examples of
an interesting Conopid fly, Physocephala furcillata Williston, which had
previously been taken only on the White mountains, were also cap-
tured on the Solidago. A large, globose-bodied Tachinid fly, Echinomijia
sp., having its alulae and basal portion of wings of a dull yellow, which
I had in former years observed abundantly in Essex county, N. Y,,
was also a common visitor to the blossoms of the golden rod.

The collections in Lepidoptera were not large, the locality not being
favorable to the multiplication of insects of this order. But few
species of butterflies were seen, the following species being the only
ones that were observed: Golias Fhiludice and Pieris rapce, not abun-
dant ; Danais Archippus, abundant; Argynnis CyJiele, A. Aphrodite and
A. Atlantis, all in poor condition ; Argynnis Bellona, not abundant ;
Fyrameis Afalanta abundant ; Satyrus Nejjhele, rare ; Giirysophanus
Americana, very abundant, and frequent on golden rods; Lyccena
pseudargiolus, rare, one example ; Vanessa Milbertii, a few: no examples
were seen of Papilio, Gi'apta, PamphUa, or Nisoniades. Of the above
named, Danais Archippus (Fabr.) and Pyrameis Atalanta (Liuu.) were
so abundant in a field of buckwheat that three or four individuals
could be taken in a single sweep of the net. Associated with them
were numbers of one of the most brilliant and beautiful of our moths,
Plusia mortuorum Guenee — a decidedly upland species. Its quick
rise from the blossoms of the buckwheat, its rapid flight for a short
distance, sudden dropping to the ground and running away to shelter,
made it a difficult insect to capture. The elegantly marked Bomoha-
dena atrifasciata Morr., of which the first example taken in the Adiron-
dacks in the year 1876, commanded in exchange with an enthusiastic
lepidopterist, other insects of the value of fifty dollars, was taken
from flowers of Eupatorium purpureum.

Coleoptera were not numerous. Several species of the pretty Lep-
turians were found upon the golden rods, and a single example of
" the large and elegant Leptura scalaris Say," as characterized by Dr.
LeConte (p. 313 of Classification of the Coleoptera of North America),
now tbe type and only species of the genus Bellamira, was driven up

286 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [144]

in a Solidago bordered road and taken upon the wing. It was seen
under the same circumstances in other instances, and when in flight,
and displaying the golden sericeous hairs clothing the tip of its abdo-
men, it resembled so closely a similarly tipped Asilus fly that it was
mistaken for it. Dicerca manca LeC. (apparently not tuberculata of L.
& G. — see Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, ix, p. 235), a rare Buprestid, was
captured on the floor of the piazza of the Sagamore hotel.

Neuroptera, which should abound in the lake region, were few in
number. The only species observed in abundance were the common
Folystcechotes punctatus (Fabr.), of which hundreds could be seen rest-
ing on the parlor walls, and an Ephemerid, Pentagonia vittigera Walsh,
on the slats of the window blinds and edge of the clapboards of the
hotel.

About 1,000 insects were collected, mounted and labeled with
locality and date of capture.

Fig. 45.-.'The Hessian-fly.

ACARINA AiND MYHIOPODA.

A Mite Attack on Gtaeden Plants.
Leaves of various garden plants showing a mite attack upon them
were received in September, fiom Mies A. Gcodrich, of Iltica, N. Y.,
with the following note.

For two years past I have often found the leaves of the Calla covered
with fine webs sjDun by a small mite. Last year garden plants were
affected. Leaves turned yellow and flowers did not open. One root
of Spircea was almost killed. I put it in a pail of warm suds for the
night, and jjlanted it in a new place next day. This year it was not so
badly attacked, but the sweet English violets and the Thunhergia in
my window boxes suffered most. I tried hot water of 120° Fahrenheit,
on the violets with success. I send specimens of the mite.

The mite is that frequent pest of garden plants and conservatories,
Telranychus telarius (Linn.), commonly known as the " red spider."
It owes its popular name to its habit of spinning a web, and to the
brick-red color which it sometimes assumes — the color which so often
brings it under the notice of horticulturists. It may, however, pre-
sent a great variety of shades of green, brown, and red, dependent to
quite an extent upon its food-j)lants, although occasionally found to
offer different colors upon the same j^lant.
Fig. 46, after Claparede, represents it at matu-
rity, greatly enlarged.

Although generally known as a spider, it is a
true mite. In classification it stands next to
the spiders, and at the head of the mites, in
the family of the Trombididce, which contains
the most highly organized species of the
Acarina. A distinction available in separat-
ing the mites from the spiders is that the
former are without a pedunculated abdo-
men. The abdomen instead of being joined
to a thorax by a narrow joint of attachment

is united to the last of the leg-bearing

.,. , ^^ -I n ^ Fio. 46.— The "led spider,"

segments without any well-defined g^ooxe rp^^^^^^.^^^^ telarius- en-

of separation. larRed.

The webs which this species and its associates spin on the under

side of leaves and adhering closely to them, are of an extremely

19

288 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [146]

fine and delicate texture. A careless observer would not suspect their
true character, but would pass them by as a simple sheen upon the
leaf. The separate threads are so fine that they are not to be seen
even by the aid of a magnifying glass, but are only visible when com-
bined in an extended web. The silk is secreted from a minute nipple
underneath the end of the abdomen. Beneath the web may often be
found a large colony of the mites, embracing both old and young, in
different stages of maturity, where, under this safe shelter, they are
actively engaged in feeding upon the leaf. After biting with the
mandibles with which they are provided, through the surface of
the leaf, they insert the sucking apparatus and imbibe the juices
Small as is each individual wound, the aggregation of the myriads
soon tells upon the leaf and plant, which discolors, droops, turns
yellow and perhaps dies under the attack.

It is unfortunate that this insect is so general in its food, for
scarcely any tender garden plant is free from liability to its attack.
In addition to the Galla, Spiraea, Thunbergia and violet, above-named,
it was also present upon the leaves of Mitella, Tropceolum, Adlumia,
and beans, sent with the inquiry. Their examination by Prof. Herbert
Osborn, to whom they were submitted, showed the presence upon
each of the same insect, in the egg, larval, and perfect stages.

This little mite, under favoring conditions, may multiply to an
incredible extent, and become very injurious. -A notable instance of
this has lately been brought to my notice. Leaves of a quince tree
infested by this species vvcre sent to me for name, under date of
August eleventh, by Prof. Arthur of the New York Agricultural
Exi^eriment Station, at Geneva. He reports the attack as occurring
in one of the largest quince orchards in the State, about four miles
from Geneva. The leaves upon many of the trees were like those
received by me, which were nearly destroyed. The attack was
rapidly spreading throughout the orchard, and the fruit upon the
most seriously infested trees would be an entire loss.

Prof. Arthur was experimenting with the kerosene emulsion to
kill the insect, but with what success has not been learned. Properly
applied, it could not fail of accomplishing the jjurpose. A favorite
remedy, long used in green-houses, is syringing with a soap solution
in which sulphur is mixed. Quassia has also been thought service-
able when added to the mixture. It is quite important that the
liquid be so applied as to reach the under svirface of the leaves where
the mites occur. It is worthy of note that in the above quince attack
most of the mites were observable upon the upper side of the
leaves.

[147] Report of the State Entomologist. 289

The attack of this little mite is undoubtedly far more frequent than
is supposed, for the reason that the creature can hardly be seen
with the naked eye, and an ordinary pocket magnifier only shows it
as an animated speck. A nasturtium in my garden, which had been
for some time showing yellow leaves, or yellow blotches upon the leaves,
without any apparent cause, was found, upon examination for this
mite, to show its presence in considerable numbers, in the larval and
in the adult stages. As an experiment, one of the infested leaves was
dipped in water in which some soap had been stirred, with the result
of speedily killing all of the mites upon it.

A Parasitic Mite of a Sexton Beetle.

Dr. S. A. Russell, of Albany, N. Y., has sent to me an example of
one of the burying or " sextou beetles," Necrophorus tomentosus Web.
(distinguishable from the other red-banded members
of the family by the greenish-3'ellow down covering
its thorax, and the two red bands crossing its wing-
covers), thickly infested with a small red mite which
runs with great rapidity. Several of them were
sent to Prof. Osborn, who is making a sj)ecial study
of our mites with reference to a catalogue of the
known species. At this present stage of his studies, ^^^*^'^gg'~gp^®^^^^
he was only able to refer it to the genus Gamasus. beetle, Neceopho-
He had previously obtained the same form from «"« ™^^^™^"^-
another species of Necroj^horus.

[The catalogue — A Preliminary Lid of the Acarina of North
America, by Herbert Osborn, of the Iowa Agricultural College, and
Lucien M. Underwood, of Syracuse University — has been published
in the Canadian Entomologist, for January, 1886, xviii, pp. 4-12].

A Parasitic Attack on the Colorado Potato-beetle.

From a gentleman in Middlesex county, Mass., some live potato-
beetles, Dortjphora decemlineata (Say), were received, to which were
attached numbers of " bugs or lice," with the statement that he had
found many of the dead beetles thus infested, and only a few live
ones that were not attacked, and it seemed as if the beetles would all
be killed.

The supposed lice proved to be a very interesting parasite which
has been known for several years past to attack the Colorado potato-

290 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [148]

beetle, and, as in the present instance, to render valuable service in
reducing the numbers of this pest. Its principal interest, perhaps,
is in the fact that, up to the present, only two or three true parasites
of this beetle have been discovered among its thirty or more known
natural enemies.

As an aid in the recognition of this parasite, it may be stated that
they are quite minute forms, as five of them placed closely together
would not exceed in surface that of the head of an ordinary pin.
Their color is yellowish-brown, and in general shape they resemble
many of the lady-bugs {Coccinelhdce), being oval, flat beneath and
convex above. When examined with a microscope, they are found to
possess eight legs, and this feature, of course, removes them from the
lice and all other true insects, which have but six legs.

Their scientific classification places them among the Arachnoidea,
in which are included scorpions, spiders, and mites. As their body

consists of but one piece, instead of being
made up of several segments, they fall in
the last-named order, the mites (Acarina).
This order embraces a large number of
greatly differing forms that have been ar-
ranged in several families to include,
follows : The spinning and the harvest mite^
\\ m^^M^m _^ {Trombididce), the snouted mites (Bdellidce),

fresh-water mites (Hydrachnidce), parasitic
Fig. 48.— The chicken-louse, mites (Gamasidce), the ticks {Ixodidce), the
DEKMANTssusAviuM-eDiarKed.i^gg^.lg_j^i^gg (^OribaUdce), the cheese-mites

{Tyroglyphidce), \ic\i-m\ies, {Sarcoptidce), gall and bud-mites (Phytoptidce),
and others. The particular family to which this potato-beetle parasite
belongs is the Gamasidce, nearly all the species of which, in their wide
distribution, live parasitically on mammals, fishes, birds, and
insects. The common " chicken-louse," Dermanyssus avium, shown in
Fig. 48, which is also found on caged canary birds, is a well-known
species of this family.

From examples taken from some Colorado potato-beetles in Ohio,
in 1873, this little Gamasid mite was described and named by Pro-
fessor Riley as Uropoda Americana. It was found to be closely allied
to a species that had long been known to infest beetles in Europe —
the Uropoda vegetans, having the same habit of attaching itself to its
host by a chord or filament, one end of which was fastened to the
anal end of the mite and the other to the beetle. Many had been the
surmises of the nature and object of this singular attachment in the
European species. Some of the old wi'iters had regarded it as a kind

[149] Report of the State Entomologist. 291

of umbilical cord through which the mite drew its sustenance from
its host, and others, that it was a silken thread spun by the mite to
serve to fasten it and to prevent its being brushed o£E by the motions
of the limbs of the beetle. Close examination showed, however, that
it had no organic structure, that it was fragile and became easily
detached; and finally, a French naturalist, M. Duges, ascertained that
it consisted simply of the viscous and dried excrement of the mite,
which could be removed and replaced at every new excretion.

The discovery of this parasite in Massachusetts in such abundance
is gratifying. There is scarcely a doubt that the dead beetles reported
as covered by the " lice," were killed by the attack. (The same attack
has in former years come under my observation, near Albany, where
the beetles were so infested that every portion of their surface,
including their legs, was so covered as to leave room for no additions
unless they could be superimposed.) When received, although still
upon the potato leaves, they were not feeding,but were evidently greatly
debilitated and near their end. The occurrence of the parasite so
early in the season (May) is also favorable, for every beetle now
destroyed should serve to lessen the number of the pest that would have
appeared later in the year by several hundreds. The present brood
of beetles will be followed by at least one other during the year, and
each female continues to deposit eggs, from time to time, during the
five or six weeks of her natural life, until about a thousand have been
deposited.

Our correspondent might render excellent service if he would
inform himself whether this parasite is to be found in other localities in
his vicinity, or in other portions of the State; and if not so found, if he
will distribute the infested beetles and so extend the sphere of opera-
tions of the serviceable little mite. It would be necessary that they
be sent attached to the beetle, as they die very soon after being
separated from their host. If some of the potato leaves are put in
the box with the beetles when packing them for transportation, there
would be less liability of the mites being rubbed from them in transit.

The Cheese-mite Infesting Smoked Meats.

Tyroglyphus siro (Linn.).

From C. H. Wessels, provision broker. New York city, some pieces

of smoked ham were received in June [1885], which were infested with

myriads of a small white mite. Inquiry was made as to their nature

and origin, and for some safe and effectual method of dealing with

292 FORTF-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [150]

them. No attack of the kind had previously come under the observa-
tion of Mr. Wessels, or of those engaged in the same trade with whom
he had conferred.

Upon critical examination they were found to be identical with the
common cheese-mite, Tyroglyphus siro (Linn.), a species which,
although frequently occurring in vast numbers in cheese, has long
been known to thrive equally well on several other
articles of food. It is not at all uncommon in
flour, and when observed therein by Linnaeus, he
presumed it to be a distinct species, and named
it Acarus farince. When the same insect came
under his notice in milk, it was designated by him
as Acarus lactis. From unusual features presented
in some examples, it was named and figured by
De Geer (vol. 7, pi. 5, fig. 15) as Acarus domesticus,
when he had found it occurring in meal, sugar,
and smoked meats.
Fig. 49.— The cheese- fj^j^ig insect had not been previously known as
mite, Ttkoglyphussieo . l • l\ • i. * in i i i

— enlarged. mfestmg meats m this country,* although a closely

allied species, Tyroglyphus longior Gervais, as identified by Professor
Riley, had been found in a pork-packing house in a western city,
in such abundance as to form layers of half an inch thick in places,
beneath sacks of fertilizing material piled upon the floor, composed
of livers, lungs, and kidneys, after they had been cooked and dried by
steam {American Naturalist, xvi, 1882, p. 599). This latter species is
distinguishable from the cheese-mite (according to Murray) by its
more rapid movements, larger size, longer and more cylindrical body,
and more shining hairs sticking out on every side. The habits of the
two are said to be much the same, and it is of interest that in a small
bit of the infested ham received by me that was sent to Prof. Riley,
he identified an example of T. longior associated with T. siro. The two
have been also found in association on old cheese, but T. longior in by
far the smaller proportion — in but eight per cent upon some Rochefort
cheese, and only one per cent on Septmoncal. It is this species which,
about half a century ago, enjoyed for a time the notoriety of having
been brought into being as a human creation through the electrical
experiments of Mr. Cross, named at the time as Acai^us horridus, before
its identity with T. longior had been ascertained.

As the origin of the mites occurring upon the ham could not be
readily answered, inquiry was made of Mr. Wessels as to the source of
the meat, its method of curing, and for any other information that

* See subsequent notice of the same insect infesting smoked meats in Everett, Pa.,
in Fortieth Bept. N. Y. St. Mus. N. R. for 1886. p. 130.

[151] Report of the State Entomologist, 293

might be pertinent to the question. The following communication
was returned:

Replying to yours of the tenth of June, we would state that the
hams in question are cured in the western part of Ohio, and in a
brine made of salt, saltpetre, and sweetened either with sugar or
syrup. They are packed fresh from the animal in tierces, the brine
poured in and the package closed — the meat being then left to cure,
a process requiring from forty to sixty days, although they remain in
this condition from one to twelve months. They come east in that
shape and are here taken out of pickle as they are wanted, and
smoked. The dij^jDing of which you inquire, is never done to packed
hams, but only to bagged or canvassed hams; and is done that the
coating may protect them from the deposit of eggs by flies. The
smoking that we gave them was not to exterminate the pest, but to
prepare them for market. It had, however, no effect upon the insect
except to make it more easily discernible. The attack seems to be
increasing rajjidly, through germination or some other process.

From the above statement, it seems probable that the mites had
their source in the establishment in which they were packed — an
infested pork-packing house, as in the instance above cited. As a
remedy, simple, inexpensive and probably effectual, recommendation
was made to Mr. Wessels of dipping the meat in a weak mixture of
carbolic acid and water. Used in the proportion of one part of the
acid to 100 parts of water, it would, with scarcely a doubt, destroy the
mite, not injure the meat for food, nor would the creosotic odor of
the carbolic acid impart a disagreeable smell to it.

Before venturing to recommend the above wash for a meat which
is sometimes partaken of in an uncooked state, the opinion of Dr.
Willis Gr. Tucker, the distinguished chemist of the Albany Medical
College, was asked, and the following answer received:

Yours, concerning use of carbolic acid for destroying flour-mites
on ham, is at hand. The internal dose of the acid is about one grain
(or one drop of the diliquesced crystals) for an adult. In large
enough quantity or a sufficiently concentrated state, it is a caustic,
escharotic, and violent poison. It must be used with care, and I
would suggest the possibility of its affecting the salableness of the
hams, for its odor, slightly different from creosote, might prove
objectionable. It is soluble in twenty parts of water. A strength
of one to 500 is said to instantly destroy vegetable mold, both plant
and spores, and to operate with equal destructiveness upon micro-
scopic animalcule. Hobbescyler says that all inferior organisms per-
ish in a solution of one to 100. It is used at about this strength to
kill the itch-insect, body-lice, etc. I would suggest trying a solution
of this strength (1 to iOO) or say an ounce to a gallon (1 to 128). If
this should be effectual, I do not see how it can hurt the meat, and it
certainly would be perfectly safe. If this does not kill the mites, then
I would try double the strength.

294 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [152]

The Cheese-mite Infesting Flour.
The following communication was submitted to me from a cor-
respondent at Robin's Nest, 111. :

A few days since a neighbor sent us a pan of wheat flour with the
request that we examine it. Setting the pan in a quiet place for
twenty-four hours, the surface presented a strange appearance — only
comparable to that of an ant-hill — as though each grain was being
separately moved. Slightly disturbing this surface and examining
through a common sun-glass of low power, it was found to be full of
very minute life. Taking a few particles from the mass upon the
point of a penknife, and placing within the focus of a botanical glass,
at least a half dozen lively little insects were to be seen. They some-
what resembled plant-lice in form, were white, evidently soft-bodied,
and were covered with hair, possessed of two antennae and six legs of
a reddish-brown color. An apj)arent nest, from which a dozen or
more would crawl forth, was not larger than the point of a small pin.
It is much to be regretted that there was not a j^roper microscope at
hand so that a more extensive examination might be made. Now,
what are they — name, family, genus, and historj'^ ? Where do they
come from, and what are they doing in thus desecrating the staff
of life ?

Reply was made, substantially, that the insect was doubtless an
Acarus, or mite — one of the family of the Acaridce, which comprises
the mites properly so called. The species could not be determined
from the above description, but the conjecture was ventured that the
critical examination of specimens would show it to be, if not the
Tyroglyphus siro, well known in Europe as frequently infesting old
flour (since its identity with the Acarus farinas of Linnaeus has been
established), then a closely allied species of that genus.

In appearance it would probably bear a close resemblance to Tyro-
glyphus sacchari, or the sugar-mite, which occasionally may be found
swarming in raw sugars, looking like minute white specks scattered
throughout it. (The mature insects should have eight legs instead of
six, as above stated.) As an illustration of the abundance in which
these food-infesting mites may occur, it may be of interest to state
that in an examination of sugars, instituted several years ago in
London, England, to see to what extent the T. sacchari infested this
material, its |)i"esence, in a living condition, was detected in sixty-nine
out of seventy-two samples examined. In one sample of an inferior
quality, from the number actually contained in one grain's weight, the
computation was made that one pound of the sugar contained a
hundred thousand of the mites. In the flour above referred to, it is
probable that they were even more abundant than in the sugar.

Perhaps no satisfactory explanation can be given of the ^jresence in
such numbers of the mite in the flour, nor is it known to what extent

[153] Report of the State Entomologist. 295

it occur8 in the flour of our markets. If the species has been intro-
duced in any flouring mill, then we can readily see how a few specimens
could find entrance into many, or most, of the barrels sent therefrom.
Although the insect multiplies in almost incredible rapidity, yet, in
consideration of the ordinary ready sale and quick consumption of our
great staple, it would not ordinarily increase to a sufficient extent to
attract attention. If permitted to remain for several months before
it is used, until it becomes old flour, it might easily become in a condi-
tion to be properly characterized as alive.

Of course it would not be at all agreeable to know that our vegetable
diet was so highly charged with animal matter. Yet, as the intrusion
is not of foreign material, but of elements scarcely changed — little other
than transformed — we need not be deterred from partaking with our
usual zest of the fresh wheaten loaf that graces our board, by
the thought that, perchance (without our knowledge), a hundred
thousand lives had paid tribute to its production.

Food of Cermatia forceps Raf.

In the notice of this Myriapod contained in my Fourth Report on the
Insects of New York, it is stated that it had shown itself so remarkably
sensitive to confinement, that upon all the occasions that it had been
brought to me alive, it had invariably died within two days thereafter.
The question was asked — can it succumb so quickly for want of its
proper food, or to need of moisture ? The question has been answered
in some experiments made by Miss L. A. Marshall, of the Industrial
School of Albany, who, becoming interested in its habits, had kept
an example under observation for a period of over three months in an
ordinary drinking glass with a piece of thin muslin bound over its
top. It was daily supplied by her with three or four drops of water,
which were taken with apparent avidity. If the drops clung to the
lower surface of the muslin, it would ascend the side of the glass to
get them as they hung. It had also been given occasionally small flies
and young croton-bugs, which it ate, and in one instance it was seen
to eat a young individual of its own species.

That the Cermatia is dependent upon at least a daily draught of
water would appear from the fate of a specimen which Miss Marshall
had brought to me for my personal study after having been in her
possession for some weeks. It had been placed in a muslin-covered
glass and given as much water as it would accept. The following
day being Sunday, it was not visited at my office. On the morning
thereafter it was found lying dead in the jar.
20

296 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [154]

More direct evidence of this insect being a fly-feeder has lately
been communicated to me by Professor S. A. Forbes. He had
learned from a very intelligent lady teacher of Golconda, 111. (on the
Ohio river), that the Cermatia had been very abundant a few years
ago, at her house on an island in the river. It had been for some
time a constant terror to the household who supposed it to be
dangerous and poisonous, but later it became famous among them as
a fly-killer, devoting itself entirely to the pursuit of house-flies, of
which it was so greedy that it would sometimes hold one, or even
two, while it caught a third, and devour each in turn.

JULUS C^RULEOCrNCTUS BENEATH CaRPETS.

Mr. W. G. Warren, of Buffalo, N. Y., sends (in April) examjDles of
this common myriapod which he had found in the corners and under

■ '" imTWM'im I room. They were apparently

Fig. 50.- Thousand-legged worm, Julus confined to the extreme edge of
o^KULEociNCTus— enlarged. the carpet, near the walls. They

had not occurred in any abundance. Ten examples were sent for
name. An enlarged figure of it is given above.

A lady residing at Loudonville, Albany county, N. Y., has also dis-
covered the same Julus under similar circumstances. Specimens were
sent, in October, with the inquiry if they had any connection with
the carpet-beetle, for since she had been troubled with that pest,
these had been found quite frequently and usually in association
with the beetle. In May of the following year, after the house had
been closed during the winter, additional examples were sent me in
compliance with request, with the statement that they were all that
were found on the opening of the house. The broken pieces indicated
about ten specimens.

No reason is known for the intrusion of these creatures in the
localities where they are above reported. If drawn thither for food,
the nature of their food under such circumstances is an interesting
inquiry.

Although not belonging to the insects proper, this myriapod is
frequently submitted to the entomologist and information of it
requested.

[See notice of "A Severe Attack on Potatoes" by this myriapod in the Report of the
Entomologist for the year 1886, p. 131 — 40th St. Mus. Kept.]

APPENDIX

(A.)

LIST OF PUBLICATMS OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST.

The following is a list of the principal publications of the Entomol-
ogist during the year (1888), giving title, place and time of publica-
tion, and a summary of contents. Lists of publications during 1884
and 1885, taken from the reports of the Entomologist to the Regents
of the University S. N. ¥., for the years 1884 and 1885 (of which only
the State Museum and Documentary editions were published) are
appended :

Egg-laying of Peach-Borer Moth.* (Country Gentleman, for Feb-
ruary 9, 1888, liii, p. 109, c. 3 — 32 cm.)

In reply to an inquiry from New Jersey of the length of time that the
moth is on the wing, it is stated that a satisfactory answer can not be
made, even for that State — much less for different States of the Union.
Observations of Drs. Harris, Fitch, Packard, Kellicott, Prof. Cook, and
Mr. Saunders, are quoted, which seems to indicate that the period for
oviposition in New Jersey may extend from the first week in June to
the middle of September. During this time preventives should be used.

Some Pests of the Pomologist. From the American Pomological
Society's Report for 1887. Read before the A, P. S. at its Boston
meeting, September 15, 1887. (Separates, 4to, with cover and title
page, 13 pp.) Published March 1, 1888.

The paper presents the following headings : Progress in Pomology ;
Evils attending Progress in Pomology; Need of Scientific Study;
Demands of Science on the Pomologist; Immense Fruit Production —
no Overproduction ; Large areas devoted to Fruit Crops ; Increase in
Plant Diseases ; Increase of Insect Ravages ; Food-habits of Insects ;
Change of Food-plants; Introduction from Abroad; Spread of Scale
Insects; Number of Insect Pests; An Unknown Currant Insect; How
Insect Ravages are to be Met; Insecticides; Publications relating to
Fruit Insects; Conclusion.

[Published, also, in the Fourth Bept. Ins. N. Y., 1888, pp. 183-192.]

Remedies for Scale Insects. (Country Gentleman, for March 1, 1888,
liii, p. 169, c. 2-3—34 cm.)

Apple and pear trees infested with "white scale," at Perryman, Md.,
became nearly free from them after lady-bugs had been collected and
placed on them. Previous washes of lye, potash, lime, and gas-tar
seemed to be ineffectual. Inquiry is made if the lady-bugs may be cred-
ited with the result.

II* The capitalization, etc., of the Country Gentleman is followed herein in the citation

from it of titles of publications.

300 FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [158]

The scale insect is Chionaspis furfurus (Fitch), The washes named
should have destroyed it ; in all probability they aided largely. Lye,
soda, and potash washes are valued as very effective against the scale
insects of California. Formulee for two of the washes are given.
" Heavy oil " from W. Virginia recommended for scales. Some of the
lady-bugs are very efQcient in destroying them, as Chilocorus hivulnerus,
C. cacti, and species of Scijmnus. Entomological knowledge would be
needed for their collection in suiflcient quantities for the purpose.

[Injurious Fruit Insects of the Vicinity of New York.] (Proceedings
of the New York Farmers: 1886-87, pp. 52-59.) Published March,

1888.

Following some remarks on the aid that may be given to agriculture
by economic entomology, its consequent importance, its commencement
within recent times, its progress, and the high position it has attained ;
also, on the great increase of fruit insects and the causes therefor —
the following insects are noticed and best remedies for them
given: The apple-maggot (Tr^jpeta pomonella) ; the apple-worm of the
codling-moth ; apple-tree aphis ; bark-borers (Xyleborus pyri, and Sco-
lytus rugidosus and S. obesus) ; plum-curculio ; peach-tree borer ; eight-
spotted Alypia on grapevines ; currant-worm ; cabbage-butterfly (Pieris
rapcB) ; and the Colorado potato-beetle.

Sulphur for the Elm Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for March 15, 1888,
liii, p. 209, c. 2-3—30 cm.)

A notice in the New York Sun (copied) states that Mr. Dodd, of Orange,
N. J., claims to have demonstrated that the attack of the elm-leaf beetle
on elm trees can be thwarted by placing sulphur in one-inch augur holes
bored in the sap wood five inches apart around the tree. Comment on
this is made that the inefficacy of this method of protecting foliage, first
announced sixty-six years ago, has often been shown. Sulphur could
only be taken in the circulation when dissolved, and it is not soluble in
sap. It has been found, unaltered, in plugged cavities of trees five years
after insertion. It is doubtful if sulphur, if dissolved, would prove inju-
rious to insects. Some experiments made by Dr. Fitch (given) indicate
that it promotes their vigor and growth. [See page 240 of this Eeport.]

The Pea Weevil. (Country Gentleman, for March 22, 1888, liii, p. 229,
c. 1-3 — 68 cm.)

The operations of the grub in the pea are described. It is a true weevil,
belonging to the Chrysomelidce. Description of the beetle is given, and
its distribution in the United States and Europe stated. It has been
very abundant in Canada. The eggs of the beetle are deposite4 on the
pod, through which the larva burrows to reach the peas. Green peas
containing the young larvae may be safely eaten. Remedies and pre-
ventives are these : Keep the peas in a warm place, when the beetles will
prematurely emerge in autumn, and die before they can oviposit the fol-
lowing season. They may be killed by dropping the peas in hot water for
a minute, or by exposing them to camphor or kerosene, or by bisulphide

[159] Report of tee State Entomologist. 301

of carbon (manner stated). Plant no weevil-eaten peas. For severe
weevil attack, stop cultivation throughout the infested district for a
year. Late planting, from June first to tenth, is believed to be a prevent-
ive of attack.

The Elm-Leaf Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for March 29, 1888, p.
249, c. 2-3 — 20 cm.)

To inquiry from New Jersey of the best protection from the beetles,
and how early the remedies should be used, reply is made that London
purple, one pound to 200 gallons of water, with eight quarts of flour
(prepared as directed), should be applied with a force-pump, fitted with
a "cyclone nozzle," or one of the finest " Hixon nozzles," in a fine spray
or mist. For high trees, the nozzle may be applied to the end of a long
hose, tied, for elevation, to a bamboo rod." The tallest elms should be
sprayed from the principal branches, by carrying into the tree a longer
hose or a portable spraying apparatus. Spray as soon as the deposit
of eggs is commenced — in New Jersey early in June. Kepeat in a
fortnight if necessary. [See pp. 239, 210 of this Eeport.]

Our Worst Enemies — The Bugs. (Country Gentleman, for April 5,
1888, liii, p. 269, c. 1-2 — 38 cm.)

In the subject as announced for remarks at the Chatham, N. Y.,
Farmers' Institute, bugs must be accepted, in popular American usage,
as including all orders of insects. They may be regarded as the worst
enemies of the agriculturist, for these reasons: They are so numerous,
so prolific, so ravenous, such epicures, so wasteful, so small, so omni-
present, so secret, so regular in occurrence, and have such wonderful
instincts for finding their food-plants and for self-protection.

They are to be fought by making their acquaintance through observa-
tion and the published literature, and learning of the best insecticides
and how to apply them ; what these insecticides are, and instruments
used with them. Importance of the study of economic entomology
urged, and cooperation in it solicited.

The Striped Flea Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for April 12, 1888,
liii, p. 289, c. 1-3, figure — 64 cm.)

The insect, Phyllotreta vittata (Fabr.) is described and figured in both
larva and imago. For killing the larva among the roots of its food-
plants, solutions of pyrethrum, soap and carbolic acid, tobacco water,
and kerosene emulsion may be used. For preventives of egg-deposit,
strongly odorous substances, as kerosene mixed with sand, gas-tar on
sticks or corn-cobs, tar water, drainage from pig-styes or the manure.
Popular measures are dusting with lime, soot, ashes, snuff, tobacco dust,
sulphur, and plaster. Dr. Fitch, of these, found ashes the best, as in
experiments cited. He also recommended keeping young chickens and
toads in gardens for hunting the beetles. Paris green or London purple
sprayed over the young plants may be the best way to kill the beetle.
Pyrethrum powder has been found effective.

302 FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUAI. [160]

Unrecognized Apple-Tree Attack. (Country Gentleman, for April
26, 1888, liii, p. 329, c. 2, — 17 cm.)

The injury to limbs of an apple tree, received from Mercer Co., N. J.,
can not be referred to any known insect. Tlie first year's attack shows
a small hole surrounded by blackened and dying bark, leading to an
elongate empty egg-shell within the bark in a cyst-like cavity. No larval
channel therefrom into the bark or wood is present. The second year
after attack shows an unsightly scar of an inch or more in diameter,
from which all the sap-wood is removed, with a new growth impinging
on its border. The old bark is either removed from the dead wood
beneath, or still held as a dried and depressed film over it. [Was subse-
quently referred to the oviposition of one of the flower- crickets.]

The White Flower-Cricket. (Country Gentleman, for April 26, 1888,
liii, p. 329, c. 2-3 — 12 cm.)

Egg punctures in a Concord grapevine of a size as if made by a pin,
arranged closely together in continuous, almost straight lines of two or
three inches in length, are identified as those of (Ecanihns niveus (Serv.).
These punctures may kill the vines beyond them or cause them to die
and break off. The insect does not feed upon any of the numerous
plants in which it oviposits, but is carnivorous in its early life, eating
plant-lice, etc.

The Leaf Hopper. (The Vineyardist, May 1, 1888, v. ii, p. 113, c. 1-3 —
81 cm.)

Remarks on the comparative injury caused by Enjthroneura vitis on
different varieties of grapes ; its habits and nature of its injuries, descrip-
tion, and transformations; not a "Thrips," and what the Thrips is.
The best remedy for it in graperies is vaporization of tobacco juice;
how it is done in France. For destroying it in vineyards, spray the larvae
with tobacco water or soap-suds, or kerosene emulsion. Driving the
winged insect on strips of tarred building-paper, stretched and carried
between the rows of vines, has proved efficient.

To Kill Plant-lice. (Farm and Home, for May 1, 1888, ix, p. 158, c, 4.)

Plant-lice on apple trees are not difficult to kill, if attacked at the right
time, with the proper apparatus and in the right manner. The proper
time is early in the spring when they are hatching and before they are
protected by the curling leaves, or when they are in the egg in the
autumn, by spraying with a kerosene emulsion. The needed apparatus
is a good force-pump and nozzle — the best of these are named. The
. right manner of applying the insecticide is to make it reach every
insect; benefits of fine spraying stated.

[Eevised, and printed in this Repoi't, pp. 160-162.]

The Bacon-beetle attacks Comb. (The Bee Keepers' Magazine, May
1888, xvi, pp. 143, 144 — 62 cm.)

A beetle sent for name, the larvae of which had attacked some empty
honey-comb and riddled the wax, is Dermestes Im^darius Linn. Its habits
are given, together with those of some allied species, and the larva and

[161] Report of tee State Entomologist. 303

beetle described. This is the second recorded instance of its feeding
on wax. In Europe wax is sometimes eaten by insects — possibly by
this species.

Elm Leaf Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for May 10, 1888, liii, p. 366,
c. 3-4 — 13 cm.)

Identification of Galeruca xanthomekena from Scarsdale, N. Y., and
in answer to inquiries, reference is made to notices in the Couninj
Gentleman, giving full information of the insect, the principal of which
are these : October 12, 1882, p. 805 ; October 15, 1885, p. 841 ; May 27, 1886,
p. 409; May 26, July 21, and September 8, 1887, pp. 421, 565, and 695;
March 20, 1888, p. 249 — the last giving full spraying directions.

Friends, not Foes. (Country Gentleman, for May 31, 1888, liii, p. 430,
c. 3 — 13 cm.)

Small beetles sent from West Newton, Pa., as injurious in hot-beds to
flower-plants, etc., by destroying the fibrous roots and thereby killing
the plants, are of two species, neither of which can cause the injury of
which complaint is made. Taohus mcurvus Say, is one of the preda-
ceous Carabidce, and it is known to eat other insects. Homolota lividi-
pennis Mann., is one of the Staphylinicl<je, a family of useful insects
which serve as scavengers of decaying vegetable and animal matter.

Maple-Leaf Mite-Gall. (Country Gentleman, for June 14, 1888, liii, p.
460, c. 4 — 14 cm.)

Leaves of soft maple sent from Suffolk county, N. Y., are one-third
covered with wart-like elevations of about the size of the head of a com-
mon pin, which are caused by the leaf-mite, Phytoptus quadripes
(Shimer). The formation and appearance of the gall is described, and
burning the infested leaves or spraying with a tobacco solution the latter
part of June is recommended.

A Grapevine Pest. (Orange County Farmer, for June 21, 1888, vii,
p. 5, c. 1 — 15 cm.)

The galls of Lasioptera vitis O. S., identified on the leaves and tips of
a Muscadine vine, from Port Jervis, N. Y. Description of the gall, the
insect that produces it, the contained larva, its escape from the gall and
subsequent transformations. Kemoval and burning of the infested
leaves and tips the best preventive of future attack.

Cockscomb Elm-Gall. (Country Gentleman, for June 28, 1888, liii, p.
496, c. 1— 10 cm.)

The galls sent on the "weeping slippery elm," from Charlottesville,
Va., are described and identified as those of Colopha ulmicola (Fitch), and
reference for a more extended notice of them, made to the C.-G. for
September 23, 1886, p. 713. The gall, thus far, has only been recorded
on the white elm, Ulmus Americana, and the leaves sent seem to bo of
that species.
[See, also, Ghjphinaidmicola, in Fortieth Bept. N. Y. St. Mas. ^\ H., 1887,

pp. 126-128.1

21

304 FORTT-SECOND REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [162]

Apple-Tree Tent-Caterpillar: Clisiocampa Americana. (Country Gen-
tleman, for July 5, 1888, liii, p. 511, c, 2, 3 — 28 cm.)

The best preventive of the injuries of this pest is the removal of
the belts of eggs, which may be easily done when the trees are leafless.
The next best is to destroy the nest with its occupants as soon as it can
be recognized in the forks of the branches. The caterpillars may be
poisoned by spraying the foliage with one pound of London purple
in 200 gallons of water. The amount of harm done by this insect
is in diminishing the yield of fruit and its quality in proportion to
the amount of defoliation. The abundance of the insect the present
year in this State has been phenomenal, nothing approaching it having
been previously observed. For this no satisfactory cause can be
assigned.

Honey-Dew on Hickory Leaves. (Country Gentleman, for July 5,
1888, liii, p. 511, c. 3 — 16 cm.)

Hickory leaves, apparently of Carya alba, received from Clarksburg,
W. Ya.,^ are thickly coated, on their upper side, with "honey-dew."
Several species of Aphides are known to secrete this material, but in
some instances it results from a diseased condition of the leaves, causing
the excretion of a honeyed substance. In this case it is thought to have
been excreted from the leaves, for reasons stated. Reference is made to
Lachnus caryoe occurring on the pig-nut, C poj'c'uia.

Grape-Leaf Galls. (Country Gentleman, for July 5, 1888, liii, p. 513,
c. 4 — 8 cm.)

Galls on a Rogers' seedling, from Worcester, Mass., are identified as
those of Lasiopteravitis, the larva of which is briefly noticed. The best
preventive known of this attack is to remove and burn the infested
leaves and tips during early June, before the larvae leave them for their
further development in the ground.

A New Pest Threatens the Hay Crop. (Albany Evening Journal, for
July 7, 1888, p. 7, c. 3.)

A correspondent from Delmar, Albany county, N. Y., writes of a
minute insect infesting the base of the upper joint of Timothy grass,
and arresting its development. From examples submitted, it proves to
be a species of Thrips which may be identical with that which has long
invested June grass (see Report of Entomologist for 1886, in 40th
Rept. St. Museum Nat. Hist., pp. 96-98), but being at present in the
larval stage, can not be determined.

Stalk-borer. (Country Gentleman, for July 12, 1888, liii, p. 532,
c. 1-2 — 16 cm.)

A larva from Rock Hall, Md., where it is known as the " bud-worm,"
and is infesting young corn by burrowing downward into the stalk, is
identified as Gortijna nitela Guenee. Distinguishing features of it
are given, vegetation that it attacks, and the best remedies for it.
Reference is made to other notices of the insect.

[163] Report of the State Entomologist. 805

An Entomological Friend. (Orange County Farmer, for July 12, 1888,
vii, No. 45, p. 8 — 12 cm.)

An insect sent for name from Port Jervis, N. Y., as destructive to the
plum crop, by eating into the fruit, is identified as the harmless 15-spotted
lady-bug, Anatis 15-pnnctata (Oliv.). [The parti-colored singular looking
pupas, fastened to the fruit, were probably mistaken for excremental mat-
ter thrown out by borers within.] The service rendered by the insect is
stated, and the importance of its protection.

The Ash-Grey Blister-Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for July 19, 1888,
liii, p. 547, c. 2-3 — 47 cm.)

Beetles very destructive to the foliage of potatoes at Charlottesville,
Va., are Macrobasis imicolor (Kirby), one of the four common species of
blister-beetles of the Northern and Middle United States. Their blister-
ing properties are referred to and compared with that of the imported
Spanish fly, CantJurris vesicatoria, a notice of which is given. M. uni-
color is described and its habits and food-plants stated. Recent study of
our blister-beetles is mentioned, and observations which have shown
them to possess carnivorous habits. A remedy is found in Paris green ;
preventives in lime, plaster, or road dust.

Insects on Apple Trees. (Country Gentleman, for July 19, 1888, liii,
p. 548, c. 1 — 8 cm.)

Insects sent from Norfolk, Va., and represented as causing the
so-called "black knot" on apple trees, particularly on the "Early Har-
vest," can not have caused the injury complained of, as one is the apple-
worm of the codling-moth, and the other an unknown Lepidopterous
pUpa. What is commonly known as the "black knot, "does notoccuron
apple trees, and what this " knot" on the^pple trees is, can not be told
without examination of specimens.

The Light-Loving Grapevine-Beetle. Anomala Lucicola. (Country
Gentleman, for July 26, 1888, liii, p. 565, c. 3^ — 23 cm.)

Beetles from grapevines at Hightstown, N. J., are Anomala lucicola
(Fabr.). Their general features are given and colorational characters
which apparently indicate the sexes. Instances are narrated of their
fondness for, and injuries to, the foliage of the grapevine. Preventives
of attack are dusting the leaves with air-slacked lime. Spraying at
night when collected on the vines, with pyrethrum water, should be
serviceable.

The Black Long-sting. (New England Homestead, for August 4,
1888, xxii, p. 286, c. 5 — 30 cm.)

Thalessa atrata (Fabr.) is described and illustrated in u iiguro from
Harris' Insects Injurious to Vegetation. It and T. lunator (Fabr.), in
their larval stage, feed externally as parasites on the larva of Tremex
columba within its burrows in maple, elm, etc. They are usually to be
found associated with Tremex attack, and are very serviceable in its
arrest.

306 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [164]

A Grapevine Caterpillar — Thyreus Abbotii. (Country Gentleman,
for August 19, 1888, liii, p. 599, c. 2-4 — 43 cm.)

A caterpillar taken from the "common ivy " is sent, with inquiry, as
"a revolting specimen" of insect life. Its common food-plants are
grapevine and Ampelopsis or the woodbine — the latter probably the
" ivy " named. The principal features of the moth and of the dimorphic
forms of the larva are described : The form marked by the large,
yellow, subquadrate spots is far from "revolting." No cause can be
assigned for these two quite distinct forms, which are not sexual,
seasonal, or dependent on food. The white color and the caudal horn
of the young larva are referred to, also the contortions, when disturbed,
of the adult. Absurd ideas of the poisonous nature of these Sphinx
larvaB are quoted.

The Spittle Insects. (New England Homestead, for September 15,
1888, xxii, p. 333, c. 1-2 — 34 cm.)

Insects on grass in a substance resembling spittle, at Auburn, Mass.,
are Hemiptera in their larval stage, of the erroup known as "spittle-
insects." The "spittle" is produced, according to Uhler, by expul-
sion from the beak, while observations of DeGeer are quoted on its
expulsion from the anus. Different species are named and their food-
plants given. In Vermont they have seriously damaged the hay crop,
but they seldom occur in injurious numbers.

[ For notice of these insects, see pp. 243-246 of this Keport.]

Fly on the Heads of Cattle. (Country Gentleman, for September 20,
1888, liii, p. 705, c. 4 — 10 cm.)

Inquiry is made from Hamilton Square, N. J., of a fly which is excit-
ing much interest and anxiety from its reported habit of boring in the
horns of cattle and depositing an egg, the grub from which burrows into
the brain and causes the death of the animal. Nothing is known of
such an insect. If such existed, it and its habits would have been known
to entomologists. It would, therefore, not be worth while to coat the
horns with tar, as is being done, for a preventive.

[For notice of this insect, see pp. 220-227 of this Eeport.]

The Melon Plant Louse. (Country Gentleman, for September 27,
1888, liii, p. 725, c. 2-3 — 30 cm.)

Muskmelon leaves sent from Lowell, Mass., as showing destruction
of the crop when about half-grown, are infested with a plant-louse which
seems to be Aphis cncumeris Forbes. The aphis is desci'ibed, and its
history given, and a notice of a parasitic attack upon it in Illinois.
Some shoots of the plants also sent have been transformed into galls
which have disclosed a Cecidomyia. If undescribed, it may be named
as Cecidomyia cucumeris.

The Hag-Moth Caterpillar. (Country Gentleman, for September 27,
1888, liii, p. 725, c. 3-4 — 17 cm.)

A caterpillar found on an apple tree at Buckner's Station, Va., is sent
as an example of mimicry in insects, from its resemblance to a dead
and curled leaf. It is Phohetron pithecium (Sm.-Abb.), its common name

[165] Report of tee State Entomologist. 307

meaning a shi'iveled and monkey-faced old woman. Its singular
appearance is described and its habits and food-plants given — the latter,
apple, cherry, plum, and some of the forest trees.

[For an extended notice of this insect, see pp. 183-192 of this Keport.]

An Ichneumonized Caterpillar. Interesting Case of Parasitism.
(Country Gentleman, for September 27, 1888, liii, p. 725, c. 4 — 20 cm.)

A caterpillar taken from a hop-vine and sent from Wabash, Ind., for
name and other information, is one of the Sphinges, too much changed
■.^or positive identification, but probably, Darapsa Myron (Cram.), a com-
mon gravevine-caterpillar which, after reaching maturity, may have
wandered to hops. The cocoons covering its body were probably those
of Apanteles congregatus (Say) ; but instead of giving out their Micro-
gaster ichneumon, through a nicely-fitting hinged lid, a minute Chalcid
had emerged from each cocoon through an irregular hole eaten in the
side, presenting an interesting case of secondary parasitism. The
Chalcid has not been determined.

Thousand-Legged Worms. (Country Gentleman, for September 27,
1888, liii, p. 725, c. 4 — 10 cm.)

"Worms destroying geraniums by eating their roots, at Cape May, N. J.,
are Julus ccerideocinctus (Wood). These thousand-legged worms are
difficult to kill when buried in the ground. Applications recommended
are lime-water as strong as may be safely made, soot applied to the sur-
face, and nitrate of soda to be followed by watering, or to be used in
solution. Possibly quassia water might make the roots distasteful to
them.

Bee-Keeper's Guide. (Country Gentleman, for September 27, 1888,
liii, p. 727, c. 2 — 13 cm.)

Notices the Manual of the Apiary of Professor A. J. Cook, just pub-
lished, in its thirteenth edition, which has been entirely rewritten,
greatly enlarged, and much improved. Some of the new features intro-
duced in this edition are noticed. It has been pronounced the best book
on bees ever published.

Yellow-Necked Apple-Tree Caterpillar. (Country Gentleman, for Octo-
ber 4, 1888, liii, p. 743, c. 4 — 27 cm.)

Caterpillars sent from New York city, as devastating apple trees, are
Datana ministra (Drury). The caterpillar is described, and its feeding
habits, its injuries, its food-plants and its history given. Remedy — cut-
ting off the branch on which the colony is clustered and crushing.

The Cow-Fly, Horn-Fly, or Texan-Fly. (Country Gentleman, for Octo-
ber 11, 1888, liii, p. 759, c. 2-3 — 36 cm.)

Examples of the cow-fly, noticed in the Country Gentleman of Septem-
ber twentieth, page 705, have been received from Kenneth Square, Pa.
The species is unknown to me and is reported as unknown to the Ento-
mological Department at Washington. It has been submitted to Baron
Osten Sacken, of Germany. Its habits as gleaned from different sources
are given. It seems to have been first noticed in Chester Co., Pa., in 1886.

308 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [166]

Oak Galls. (Country Gentleman, for October 18, 1888, liii, p. 775, c.

2 — 7 cm.)

Small, round, pubescent galls, sometimes single, oftener confluent
on oak leaves {Qiiercus sp. ?) from Kingston, E. I., are identified as those
of Neuroterus verrucarximO. S. — one of the Cynipidce. No means are
known by which these galls can be prevented. Their multiplication can
be arrested by picking off and burning the leaves containing them, when
not involving too much labor.

The Cow-Fly or Texas Fly. (Country Gentleman, for October 18, 1888,
liii, p. 779, c. 2 — 7 cm.)

The fly is stated by Dr. Williston to be a species of Stomoxys, apparently
undescribed and which he purposes to name S. cornicola [erroneously
given as cervicola]. Now that it is Icnown to be allied to Stomoxys cal-
citrans — a biting species with which we have been long familiar, the
many stories of the serious and sometimes fatal injuries to cattle of this
new insect, are effectually disproved.

Caterpillar on the Chestnut. (Country Gentleman, for October 18,
1888, liii, p. 786, c. 2 — 12 cm.)

Caterpillars sent from Eochester, N. Y., from a Spanish chestnut tree,
are Halesidota tessellaris (Sm.-Abb.). The general appearance of the
moth is given. The caterpillar feeds on several of the forest trees and is
common on the sycamore. It has not been recorded from the chestnut.

The White Grub of the May-beetle. (Bulletin of the New York
State Museum of Natural History, No. 5, November, 1888, pp. 31,
figs. 5.) Reprinted, with additions, from the Forty-third Annual
Report of the New York State Agricultural Society for the year

1883.

The following are the subheads of the paper : The White Grub.— The
Egg. — Injurious Character of the Insect. — Injuries from the Grubs. —
Injuries by the Beetle. — Life-History. — Distribution. — Its Enemies. —
Preventives and Eemedies. — Study of the Insect Desired.

[Published, also, in Trans. N. Y. St. Agrlcul. Soc, xxxiv, for 1883-1886,
pp. 5-33.]

Cut-worms. (Bulletin of the New York State Museum of Natural
History, No. 6, November, 1888, pp. 36, figs. 28.) Reprinted, with
additions, from the Forty-fourth Annual Report of the New York
State Agricultural Society, for the year 1884-1885.

The contents are as follows: What are Cut- worms? — Their Appear-
ance.— Their Habits. — Habits of the Moths. — Natural History.— Condi-
tions Favorable to Cut-worms.— Their Food-plants. — Abundance of
Cut- worms. — Literature of the Cut- worms. — List of Species. — Natural
Enemies. — Parasites.— Preventives and Eemedies.— Two Preventives
specially Commended.

[Published, also, in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc, xxxiv, for 1883-1886,
pp. 66-100.]

[167] Report of the State Entomologist. 30&

Red-Humped Apple-Tree Caterpillar. (Country Gentleman, for
November 22, 1888, liii, p. 875, c. 2-3 — 26 cm.)

Caterpillars feeding in company on an apple tree in New York, are
(Edemasia coiicinna (Sm.-Abb.). They are described, and their habits
and range of food-plants given. From their gregarious habit, they
should not be permitted to inflict serious injury on fruit trees. Orchards
should be inspected from time to time during August, and as soon as
noticed the branch containing the company should be cut and each
individual killed.

A Familiar Pest. (New England Homestead, for November 24, 1888,
xxii, p. 421, c. 1-2 — 12 cm.)

A pupa sent for name and other information is that of Sjihinx
quinquemaculata Haworth, the larva of which is known as the potato-
worm. The moth that it produces, feeding habits of the " humming-
bird moths," features of their caterpillars, the tongue-case of the pupa,
the " tobacco-worm," and " worming tobacco fields " are remarked upon.

Fourth Rej)ort on the Injurious and other Insects of the State of
New York [November 23], 1888, pp. 237, Figs. 68. (From the 4l8t
Report of the N. Y. State Museum of Natural History, 1888, pp.
123-358.)

The Contents are : Introductory. Insect Attacks and Miscellane-
ous Observations [as follows] : The Insects of the Hemlock : The Chalcid
Parasites of Cecidomyia betute : Isosoma hordei (ilrtrris) — the Joint-
worm Fly : Thalessa lunator (i^f(6r.) — the Lunated Long-sting: Amphi-
bolips prunus {WalsJi) — the Oak-plum gall Cynips: Aulacomerus
lutescens w. sp.— the Poplar Saw-fly: Currant Bushes Girdled by an
Unknown Insect: Orgyia leucostigma (Sm.-Abb.) — the White-marked
Tussock : Lagoa opercularis (Sm.-Abb.) — the Kabbit Mo.th : Nephelodes
violans Ouenee — the Bronze-colored cut-worm: Homoptera lunata
(Drury), as a Eose Pest: A Hemlock Leaf-miner: Cecidomyia balsa-
micola n. sp., and its Gall : Lasioptera vitis 0. S., and its Galls. : Chloro-
pisca prolifica 0. S. n. sp., and its Winter Gatherings : Phytomyza
lateralis Fallen — the Marguerite Fly : Megiila maculata Z>e(?et'/- — the
Spotted Lady-bird: Chauliognathus marginatus (Fabr.) — the Margined
Soldier-Beetle : Sitodrepa panicea (Linn.), as a Leather-Beetle : Xylo-
trechus colonus (Fabr.), occurring in a Dwelling : Haltica bimargiuata
(Say) — the Alder Flea-Beetle: Crepidodera ruflpes (Linn.) — the Ked-
footed Flea-Beetle : Scolytus rugulosus (Eatz.) — the Wrinkled Scolytus :
Corythuca ciliata (Say) — the Ciliated Tingis: Melanolestes picipes
(H. S.) — the Black Corsair : Mytilaspis pomorum (i)'o(a7(e) — the Apple-
tree Bark-louse: Ptyelus liueatus (Linn.) — the Lined Spittle-hopper:
Ephemera natata Walker, and other EphemeridcU : Hair-snakes as
Parasitic on Insects: Cermatia forceps (liaf.), as a Household Pest.
Brief Notes on Various Insects : Dolerus sp. ; Danais Archippus;
Thecla strigosa; Nisoniados Persius; Sphinx Canadensis; Melittia
cucurbitai; Hyppa xyliuoides; Erebus odora; Zerene cateuaria ;
Anisopteryx pometaria; Tinea pellionella; Mallota sp. ; Anthrenus
scrophulari£e ; Alaus oculatus; Thanasimus dubius; Macrodactylus

310 FORTT-SECOND RePORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [168]

subspinosus; Lema trilineata; Chrysochus auratus; Trirhabda Cana-
densis ; Galeruca xanthomelaena; Hylesinus opaculus ; Phloeotribus
liminaris ; Belostoma Americanum ; Ceresa bubalus ; Chermes pini-
corticis; fficanthus niveus. Appendix. (A.) Some Extea-limital
Insects: Carpocapsa saltitans Westic, and its Jumping Seeds: Systena
blanda (Mels.) — the Broad-striped Flea-Beetle: Leptocoris trivittatus
(Say)— the Box-elder Plant-bug: Mantis Carolina Linn. — the Carolina
Mantis. (B.) Entomological Addresses : The Present State of Ento-
mological Science in the United States : Annual Address of the President
of the Entomological Club of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science : Some Pests of the Pomologist : (C.) List or Publica-
tions OF the Entomologist during the Year 1887 : (D.) Contributions
TO the Department during the Year 1887. (E.) Errata in Former
Reports. General Index. Plant Index.

Identification of the Cow-Fly — Hsematobia serrata. (Country Gentle-
man, for November 29, 1888, liii, p. 893, c. 2-3 — 20 cm.)

The fly, which has been the subject of former communications in the
Country Gentleman and which Dr. Williston purposed soon to describe
as Stomoxys cornicola, has been determined by Baron Osten Sacken, of
Germany, to be identical with Hcematobia nerrata of R. Desv., of South-
ern France and Italy. Other generic references of the fly are given.

[See notice of this insect on pp. 220-227 of this Report.]

Wire- Worms. (Country Grentleman, for November 29, 1888, liii
p. 893, figs. 1-6, c. 3-4 — 51 cm.)

To an inquiry from Potter county, Pa., for means of relief from exces-
sive injuries from wire-worms, three of the best remedies are named and
remarked upon at some length, viz., starvation, a crop of buckwheat,
and a crop of mustard. As a guard against mistakes often made, the
difference between wire-worms, cut-worms, and thousand-legged worms
are pointed out and illustrated by figures.

Egg Deposits of Flower Cricket. (Country Gentleman, for December
6, 1888, liii, p. 911, c. 1 — 24 cm.)

Grapevine from Eaglesville, O., show egg-deposits in rows
(described) which have hitherto been referred to the white-flower cricket,
(Ecanthus niveus Harris ; but there are reasons for believing them to
be those of (E.fasciatus DeGeer — a valid species, and not a variety of
niveus. The remedy for the attack is cutting off and burning. Food-
habits of the insect stated.

The grape leaf eating beetle of which inquiry is made, is Peliclnota
punctata (Linn.) — remarks upon it.

White-Marked Tussock Egg-Clusters. (Country Gentleman, for
December 6, 1888, liii, p. 911, c. 1-2 — 16 cm.)

The eggs on cocoons sent for name from Salem, N. J., are those of
Orgyia leucostigma (Sm.-Abb.). The insect is pernicious. Its egg-
bearing cocoons (these only) should be destroyed, and where they may
be looked for. One of the cocoons gave out a parasite, Pinipla
conquisitor Say.

[169] Report of the State Entomologist. 311

Publications of the Entomologist During the Years 1884 and 1885.

A New Sexual Charactei- in the Pupae of Some Lepidoptera. (Psyche,
iv, No. 115-116, November-December, 1883, pp. 103-106 — Issued
February 11, 1884.) An abstract m Proceedings of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Montreal.
Canada, August, 1882, xxxi, 1883, pt. ii, p. 470-471.

Eemarks upon the interest attaching to the sexual characteristics of
insects ; mentions a number of such sexual features ; they are fewer
and less marked in the earlier stages. The particular feature noticed
in this paper is one pertaining to the Cossince and to the JEgeriadce, \iz., in
the male, the tenth segment (not counting the head as one) is furnished
with two rows of teeth, while the female uniformly has but one (as have
the two following segments in each sex).

[Published in the Second Report on the Insects ofN. Y., 1885, pp. 213-217.]

A Horn-Tail — Urocerus Cressoni. (Country Gentleman, for January
3, 1884, xlix, p. 9, c. 1 — 11 cm.)

In reply to an inquiry from Perth Amboy, N. J., the species is named,
and its affinities given, and its habits in the larval and perfect stages.
It occurs in the Middle States, and interesting varieties have been
recorded from Albany, N. Y.
Fuller's Rose Beetle — Aramigus Fulleri. (Country Gentleman, for
January 17, 1884, xlix, p. 49, c. 2 — 32cm.)

The species identified from Stamford, Conn. Its first notice as a pest
in conservatories in 1874, and its subsequent distribution ; its life-history,
as given by Prof. Kiley, in the Rejit. Commis. Agricid. for 1878 ; remedies
for it, and reference to publications upon it.

[See Second Report on the Insects of K Y., 1885, pp. 1-12-141.]
The Lunated Long-Sting— Thalessa lunator (Fabr.). (Country Gentle-
man, for April 17, 1884, xlix, p. 381, c. 3-4—52 cm.)

Captured in Augusta, Ga., while ovipositing April first; identified, a
figure given, and method of oviposition stated; the insect upon the
larva of which it is parasitic, Tremex colamha, is also shown. A note
from Prof. Eiley is added, which gives the statement that the parasite
feeds on the Tremex larva while attached to its exterior.

[Extended in the Fourth Report on the Insects of K Y., 1888, pp. 35-42.]
An Insect Attack on a Julus. (The Canadian Entomologist, for AprU,
1884, xvi, p. 80 — 7 cm.)

Communicating an observation of a swarm of minute insects sur-
rounding, darting upon, and seriously annoying a Julus. Could thoy
have been Ichneumon flies ?
Insect Injury to Grapevines. (Country Gentleman, for May 8, 1884,
xlix, p. 397, c.l — 25 cm.)

Some pieces of grapevines, bearing pinhole-like punctures, from' Hop-
kinsville Ky , are recognized as having been punctured for oviposition,
22

312 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [170]

by (Ecantlius latipennis — one of the flower crickets, closely allied to
CE. niveus. The punctures and method of oviposition are described, and
reference made to figures in Fifth Missouri Report on Insects, page 119,
The punctures are not injurious to the vine, but the crickets may pos-
sibly cut the stems of the grapes.

Squash Borers. (Country Gentleman, for May 8, 1884, xlix, p. 397,
c. 2 — 6 cm.)

Injuries to squash vines, noticed in the Country Gentleman of April
twenty-fourth, and there ascribed by the editor to the striped cucumber
beetle, Diabrotica vittata (Fabr.), are recognized as caused by the
squash-vine borer, Melittia cucurbitce (Harris).

The Punctured Clover-Leaf Weevil. (Country Gentleman, for May
29, 1884, xlix, p. 457, c. 2-3 — 56 cm.)

Larvae submitted from East Avon, Livingston county, N. Y., prove to
be the mature forms of Phijtonomiis pimctatus (Fabr.). Its present
known distribution is given, the transformations, description of its
cocoon, and reference to writings upon it. Prompt resort to effective
remedies are urged, of which are thorough plowing, and rolling the
clover after twilight, at which time the larvae are feeding.

[The same in the Ontario County Times, extra, of May 29, 1884.]

A New Clover Pest — Its ravages in the southern portion of Canan-
daigua. (Ontario County Times, extra, May 29, 1884 — 30 cm.;
Ontario County Times of June 4, 1884, p. 3, c. 4-5 — 85 cm.)

Examples of the larvee sent by the editor are identified as Phytonomus
pimctatus. To resist the attack plowing is recommended, rolling not
being as useful now after the insect has entered the ground for pupation.
Reference is made to the notice of the insect in the Country Gentleman
of May twenty-ninth, and its republication suggested to the editor.

A Corn Cut-worm. (Bulletin No. Ixxxvi, of the New York Agricul-
tural Experiment Station, Geneva, May 31, 1884 — 32 cm.)

In reply to an inquiry from Batavia, N. Y., of a cut-worm cutting
off corn at the surface of the ground, the different habits of cut-wox-ms
are referred to, and recommendation is made of poisoning them by
sprinkling London purple over the plants. Another method, which has
proved quite effective, is to employ boys to dig them from the hills;
mention of a crop saved by this means.

The "White Grub of the May-beetle — Lachnosterna f usca. Read
before the New York State Agricultural Society at the annual
meeting January 16, 1884. (Forty-third Annual Report of the New
York State Agricultural Society, for the year 1883, [June fifth],
1884, pp. 20-87, 5 figures.)

Gives an epitome of what is known of this serious pest, and indicates
what is needed to complete its life-history. It is treated of under the
following heads: The beetle; the white grub; the egg; injurious

[171] Report of the State Entomologist. 313

character of the insect ; iajuries from the grub; injuries of the beetle;
life-history; distribution; its enemies; preventives and remedies;
study of the insect desired.

The Squash- Vine Borer — I. Melittia Cucurbits. (Country Gentle-
man, for June 5, 1884, xlix, p. 477, c. 2-4 — 50 cm.)

Gives, in reply to inquiries made from Coxsackie, N. Y., descriptions
of the caterpillar and moth of the above-named insect, and remarks
upon the family of ^geriadoe, to which it belongs.

The Squash-Vine Borer — 11. (Country Gentleman, for June 12, 1884,
xlix, p. 497, c. 2-3 — 40 cm.)

The life-history, so far as known, and habits of the insect are given.
Its injuries appear to be increasing with the increase of cultivation of
the Hubbard squash. Its abundance at times is shown in the fact that
142 larvae have been cut from a single vine.

The Squash-Vine Borer — III. (Country Gentleman, for June 19, 1884,
xlix, p. 517, c. 1-3 — 74 cm.)

Treats of remedies and preventives, viz : Autumn plowing and har-
rowing, gas-lime, kerosene, strong-smelling substances as counter-
odorants (especially bisulphide of carbon), covering the plants with
netting, cutting out the kirvffi, rooting the plants at the joints, guano,
and London purple, and saltpetre. Additional observations are asked
for upon points mentioned.

[The above notices embodied in the Second Report on the Insects of
N. Y., 1885, pp. 55-G8.]

The Bacon Beetle — Dermestes Lardarius. (Country Gentleman,
for June 26, 1884, xlix, p. 537, c. 2 — 25 cm.)

The beetle and larva are described, their food stated, allied species
referred to, and inclosing bacon, etc., in whitewashed paper or cloth
bags recommended as the best protective from attack. No method is
known of preventing attack on salted meats if exposed to the insect.

The Maple-Tree Scale-Insect. (Country Gentleman, for July 3, 1884,
xlix, p. 556-7, c 4-1 — 20 cm.)

Identifying Lecanium innuvierabilis (Rathvon), from Phoenix, N. Y.,
June 6, describing the scales as at present with the eggs beneath them,
and later, when the eggs are extruded, enveloped in waxy fibres. The
active larval stage the best time for killing the insects, with whale-oil
soap solution or kerosene and milk emulsion. [Is Pulcinaria biniuner-
ab'Uis.]

The Spring Canker-Worm — Anisopteryx vernata (Peck). (Country
Gentleman, for July 10, 1884, xlix, p. 577, c. 2-3—30 cm.)

In answer to inquiries and examples sent from two localities in West-
chester county, N. Y.— identification of the species; remarks upon the
importance of arresting its spread in the State, and recommendation
of destroying the pupic in the ground beneath the trees ; arresting the

314 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [172]

ascent of the female moth by tarring the trunks or by tin bands ; jarring
the larvas from the limbs into a straw fire beneath, and spraying the tree
with Paris green or London purple in water.

The Buffalo Gnat. (Country Gentleman, for July 10, 1884, xlix, p.
577, c. 3^ — 52 cm.)

The gnat, of which inquiry is made from Memphis, Tenn., is an unde-
scribed species of Simulidce, few of which family have been studied — even
the "black fly " of the Adirondack region bears only a manuscript name.
The habits and transformations of the Simulidce, in general, are given,
with reference to particular species obsei'ved. Various notices of the
buffalo-guat are quoted.

[It has subsequently been named by Professor Eiley as Simulium
pecuarmn. See his extended notice of it in Kept. Comm. Agricxd. for
1888, pp. 492-517, p ates vi-ix.]

The Carpet-bug. (Amsterdam, N. Y., Daily Democrat of July 21,
1884, p. 3, c. 3-4 — 68 cm.)

In a letter to the editor in reply to inquiries, are given — What the insect
is ; habits of the insect ; not possible to exterminate it ; means of protec-
tion ; means of destruction ; hunting the " bug " urged.

The Elm-tree Beetle. (New York Weekly Tribune, for July 23, 1884,
p. 10, c. 4— 13 cm.)

Eeferring to a recent statement in the Tribune that the elm trees in
Flushing, L. I., were being destroyed by this insect, recommendation is
made of the method given by Mr. Glover in the Agricultural Keport for
1870, of placing frames around the base of the trees, so constructed as to
prevent the egress of the larvae that descend the trunks for pupation
and their entrance into the ground by a layer of cement. The north-
ward progress of the insect in New York is stated.

[See pp. 234-242 of this Eeport.]

The Carpet Beetle — Anthrenus Scrophularise Linn. (Country Gentle-
man, for August 14, 1884, xlix, p. 676-7, c. 4-1 -—48 cm.)

Gives in reply to inquiries from Manchester, Vt., its habits, habitat,
injuries, materials eaten, and transformations. Among the best pre-
ventives and remedies are mentioned carbolic acid, creosote, gas-tar
paper, benzine and kerosene, cyanide of potassium, fumigations of closets
with sulphur, and frequent searches for the larvae.

Insects Mining Beet Leaves. (Country Gentleman, for August 14,
1884, p. 677, c. 2 — 13 cm.)

Leaves sent from Erie, Pa., are infested with larvas of a species of the
Anthomyiidce, probably one of the three species mentioned in the First
Rexjort on tlte Insects of New York, 1882, pp. 203-211. Some of the charac-
teristics of these flies are given, with notice of their mining operations
in this country.

[173] Report of the State Entomologist. 315

Peach Root Aphis. (Gardener's Monthly and Horticulturist, Phila.,
September, 1884, xxvi, pp. 271-2 — 29 cm.)

A root aphis which is destroying all the seedling peach trees of Mr.
Lorin Blodget, at Philadelphia, is believed to be Myzus persicw Sulzer.
For destroying it the following are suggested : Hot water, leached ashes
and sulphur, bisulphide of carbon and soluble phenyle. As superior to
the above, the sulpho-carbonates are recommended, and M. Dumas, of
the French Academy, quoted upon their use.

A New Rose Pest — Homoptera Lunata. (Country Gentleman,
for September 1, 1884, xlix, p. 737, c. 1-2 — 25 cm.)

Caterpillars feeding at night on rose buds in a rose-house in Madison,
N. J., proved to be Homoptera lunata. This food-plant had not been
previously recorded. The life-history of the species, as detailed by
Prof. French, is given, together with Guenee's description of the cater-
pillar; also mention of the sexual difference in the moths, and the
distribution of the species. Injury from the larvte in rose-houses best
prevented by hand-picking them.

[A revision of the above in the Fourth Report on the Insects of N. Y.,
1888, pp. 57-59.]

Jumping Seeds. (Country Gentleman, for September 11, 1884, xlix,
p. 757,0. 1-2 — 40 cm.)

The seed-vessels described ; said to be a species of Euphorbia. The
contained insect (a lepidopter) causing the motion, was described and
named as Carpocapsa, saltitans, by Prof. Westwood. in 1858— later by M.
Lucas as C. Deshaisiana. The interesting generic relation of the insect
is referred to, its leaps described, their cause explained, and period of
emergence of the moth stated. Three other kinds of jumping seeds are
known. Keference to further information.

[Extended, in Fourth Report on the Insects of K Y., 1888, pp. 151-15-1.]

The White Grub — Lachnosterna fusca. (Country Gentleman, for
September 11, 1884, xlix, p. 757, c. 2-3 — 22 cm.)

In reply to inquiries from West Stockbridge, Mass., of remedies, etc.,
reference is made to a paper upon the insect giving about all that is
known of it published in the Fortij-third Annual Report of the New Yorlc
State Agricultural Society, for 1883. The starvation remedy, as there
given and believed to be effectual, is quoted.

An Insect Attack New to the State — Isosoma tritici, on wheat, in
Geneva. Bulletin 100, New York Agricultural Experiment Station,
Geneva, N. Y., October 4, 1884 — 86 cm.)

First noticed in Illinois in 1880; its difference from Isosoma horilei;
location in the upper internodes of the straw ; the larvae more abundant
in the straw examined than elsewhere seen ; the wheat greatly shriveled ;
life-history of the insect ; its description ; two parasites infest it; reme-
dies found in burning the stubble and straw; preventive in rotation of
crops.
[Is Isosoma hordei (Raviis) ; see Fourth Report on the Insects of N. I'.,

1888, pp. 27-35.]

316 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [174]

A Stinging Bug — Melanolestes Picipes (H. S.). (Country Gentleman,
for October 23, 1884, xlix, p. 877, c. 2-3 — 40 cm.)

An insect reported as inflicting a painful sting upon a lady in Natchez,
Miss., is Melanolestes picipes, or the "Black Corsair." It is distributed
over the United States, and has been previously noticed for the serious
wounds it inflicts. Other Hemiptera of the Becluviidce having similar
stinging habits, are the Conorhiniis sangidsuga LeUonte, Melanolestes
abdominalis {Bl.S.), Eeduvius personatus (Linn.), and Frionotus cristatus
(Linn.). The above are briefly noticed in their habits and painful
wounds.

[Extended, in the Fourth Report on the Insects of New York, 1888, pp.
109-114.]

An Attack on the Apple Worm — A Friend, Not a Foe. (Country

Gentleman, for October 30, 1884, xlix, p. 897, c. 2-4 — 52 cm.)

A larva sent from Crozet, Va., as injurious to apples, from eating large
holes into their sides and causing rot, proves to be Chauliognathus mar-
ginatus (Fabr.). It is not injurious, but enters apples through holes
already made, to feed upon the apple-worm — the larva of Carpocapsa
pomonella. The larva and beetle are described, the latter by compari-
son with Ch. Pennsijlvanicus. The holes in quinces, thought to have
been made by the same larva, are probably those of the quince curculio,
Conotrachelus cratcegi, in leaving the fruit.

[Extended, in the Fourth Report on the Bisects of New York, 1888, pp.
84-88.]

Clover Insects. (Transactions of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society,
xxxiii, 1877-1882, [October], 1884, pp. 206-207.)

In the republication of the paper on " The Insects of the Clover Plant,"
from the annual report of the society for the year 1880, a list of the
names with reference to authorities of twenty-four species is given, as
an addition to the forty-six previously recorded, making the number
now known seventy. Mention is made of the list of apple insects (addi-
tions in MS.) being extended to one hundred and eighty.

The White Grub. (The New England Homestead, for November 8,
1884, xviii, p. 393, c. 1-3 — 80 cm.)

Treats of the insect under the following heads : The grub ; the beetle ;
its distribution ; its food-plants; injuries by the beetle; life-history; its
enemies; preventives and remedies. Under the latter head salt is
recommended as an experiment, while starvation is pronounced
infallible.

Report of the State Entomologist to the Regents of the University of
the State of New York, for the year 1883. (Thirty-seventh Annual
Report on the New York State Museum of Natural History, by the
Regents of the University of the State of New York, [November],
1884, pp. 45-60.)

Keports upon the collections made during the year and other work of
the entomologist. Among insects of special interest collected are some

[175] Report of the State Ento2iologist. 317

Tnjpetidce, Grapta Faiinus, G. j-album, Feniseca Tarquinius, and Agrilus
torpidus; remarks upon Agrotis clandestina and Simulium molestnm;
notice of the operations of Orgyia lencoHtigma in girdlin;^ elm twigs, and
causing them to drop ; the English sparrow promoting insect injury ; an
extended notice of tlie appearance of the chinch-bug, Blissiis leacopterus,
in northern New York, with recommendations made, and distributed
in a circular, for the arrest of its ravages.

The Apple-leaf Bucculatrix. (The Husbandman, Elmira, N. Y., for
December 3, 1884, xi, No. 537, p. 1, c. 5 — 31 cm.)

Apple twigs received from Malcolm, Seneca county, N. Y., are covered
with the cocoons of Bucculatrix pomifoUella. The cocoon is described
and life-history of the species given. The remedies mentioned are spray-
ing, or scouring with a stiff brush the infested branches with a kerosene
and soap emulsion, of which the formula is given, for killing the insect
within the cocoon; Paris green in water for poisoning the catei'pillars,
and jarring the caterpillars from the trees and burning them in the
months of July and September.

[Extended, in the present Beport, pp. 260-262.]

On some Rio Grande Lepidoptera. (Papilio, iv, Nos. 7-8, September-
October, 1884, pp. 135-147.) [Published February, 1885.]

Gives an annotated list of collections made by Messrs. Sennett and
Webster, in 1877 and 1878, viz. : In Khopalocera, fifty-two species
{Kricogonia Lanice and Apatura Codes, being new species) ; in Sphingidte,
four species [Sphinx insoUta n. sp.) ; in Mgev'mdse, two species ; in Bomby-
cidte, three species {Ecpjcintheria Sennettii n. sp.).

Scale-Insect Attack on Ivy. (Country Gentleman, for February 26,
1885, 1, p. 169, c. 2 — 22 cm.)

Ivy leaves [Hedera helix) received from Watervliet, N. Y., and infested
on both surfaces and the stem also hj Aspidiotus nerii Bouche — a scale-
insect which infests the cherry, plum, currant, maple, oleander, etc.,
throughout most of the United States. Remedies recommended under
different conditions are scraping, a soap solution, and a soap and kero-
sene emulsion made in accordance with the formula given.
[Printed, also, in this Report, see pp. 278, 279.]

The Owl Beetle — Alaus Oculatus. (Country Gentleman, for April 9,

1885, 1, p. 307, c. 4 — 14 cm.)
The beetle received alive in May, from Aiken, S. C. is described and

its habits given. Proves upon later examination to be Alaus nvjops

(Fabr.).
Remedies for the White Grub. (The New England Homestead, for

May 16, 1885, xix, p. 205, c. 2 — 28 cm.)
The remedies usually recommended for the beetle, insufficient; the

grubs may be destroyed by starvation ; crops of buckwheat and mustard

repel the grubs ; how and when salt may be used with benefit.

318 FORTT-SECONB REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. [176]

Cut-worms. Eead before the New York State Agricultural Society,
at the Annual Meeting, January 21, 1885. (Forty-fourth Annual
Keport of the New York State Agricultural Society, for the year

1884, [May], 1885, pp. 56-80, figs. 1-20.) (Separate, with cover and
half-title [June, 1885], pp. 25, figs. 20.)

The subject is treated of under the following heads : What are Cut-
worms ?— Their Appearance — Their Habits — Habits of the Moths —
Natural History — Conditions Favorable to Cut-worms — Their Food-
plants — Abundance of Cut-worms —Literature of the Cut-worms — List
of Species — Natural Enemies — Parasites — Preventives and Remedies —
Two Preventives Specially Commended — Conclusion.

A Potato-bug Parasite. (The New England Homestead, for June 6,

1885, xix, p. 237, c. 2 — 34 cm.)

A mite infesting and killing Colorado potato-beetles received from
Middlesex county, Mass., is identified as Uropoda Americana Eiley.
Description is given of it, its peculiar connecting filament remarked
upon, habits of the family of Gamasidce to which it belongs, noticed,
together with the importance of the attack, and recommendation of
distribution of the serviceable parasite.

[Printed, also, in this Eeport, see pp. 289-291.]

The Visitation of Locusts. (The Argus [Albany], June 7, 1885, p. 4,
c. 5 — 33 cm.)

The announced co-appearance of the seventeen-year locusts and the
thirteen-year locusts will not occur in New York; why "locust" is a
misnomer; not 221 years, as stated, since the two forms of Cicadas
co-appeared, but only thirty years, also thirty-nine years ago ; no ground
for alarm, as the Cicada harms fruit trees only, and those usually not
seriously ; notice of the brood of seventeen-year Cicadas to appear about
the present time in New York, at Brooklyn and Eochester.

The Pear-Blight Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for June 18, 1885, 1,
p. 517, c. 2, 3 — 46 cm.)

Zi/fe&orHsp?/ri (Peck), infesting the trunks of young apple trees and
killing them, at Annapolis, Md., is identified ; description of the
beetle ; origin of its common name ; its two forms of attack ; the burrows
in the limbs and in the trunk described ; the latter ascribed to a second
brood but are probably made by the mature insect for food and shelter ;
remedy for the limb attack, cutting off and burning with the insect ; for
the trunk attack, not yet known.

The Canker Worm. (Country Gentleman, for June 18, 1885, 1, p. 519,
c. 2, 3 — 20 cm.)

Spread of the Canker-worm, Anisopteryx vernata (Peck) in the State of
New York; notice of its presence in large numbers at Loudonville,
Albany county ; the attack is controllable at the outset, and should not
be allowed to extend. The preventives and remedies are, bands, etc., to

[177] Report of the State Entomologist. 319

prevent the ascent of the wingless female, spraying with Paris green
water to kill the larvae, and working the ground beneath the trees to
crush the pupa3.
[Printed in present Eeport, pp. 258, 259.]

Insect Eggs on Strawberries. (Country Gentleman, for June 25, 1885,
1, p. 537, c. 3 — 21 cm.)

The eggs do not indicate an attack that need impair our enjoyment of
the fruit. Their presence is unusual and probably accidental. They are
the eggs of some hemipterous insect, belonging probably to one of the
larger plant-bugs. Description is given of them. The nauseous taste
imparted to raspberries by the presence of a small bug, known as
Corimelcena pulicaria, is referred to, and the insect described. This
same insect attacks the blossoms and the stems of strawberries.

Plant-lice, Elm-beetles, etc. (New England Homestead, for July
4, 1885, xix, p. 269, c. 1-2 — 15 cm.)

Identification of Schlzoneura Americana as injuring leaves of elms at
West Stockbridge. The insect reported as stripping the leaves of the
elms, is probably the elm-leaf beetle, Galeruca xanthomekena, although
not known before to extend so far into Massachusetts. May-llies per-
haps mistaken for mosquitoes.

The Aj^ple Tree Bark-louse. (New England Homestead, for July
4, 1885, xix, p. 269, c. 4-5— 20 cm.)

Scales on bark of an apple tree sent are those of Mytilaspsis pomorum
of Bouche (M. pomicorticis Eiley). Directions for destroying the insect,
by scraping the scales and by spraying kerosene emulsion.

The Cut-Worm and Onion Maggot. (Country Gentleman, for July
9, 1885, 1, p. 574-5, c. 4, 1 — 20 cm).

For the arrest of cut-worm ravages reported from Globe Village,
Mass., the inquirer is referred to remedies given in the paper published
in the Mth Kept. N. Y. St. Agricul. Society. For controlling Authomyia
bi^assicce and Phorbia ceparum, the remedies are removing the plants
with the soil containing the larva?, and killing the pupa^ with gas-lime
or plowing and harrowing repeatedly. Preventives are, strong-smelling
substances, and not planting in infested ground.

Peach and Cherry Borers. (Country Gentleman, for July 9, 1885, 1,
p. 575, c. 1 — 18 cm.)

Peach trees in Annapolis infested by Phhrotribns limlnaris. It attacks
the elm also. The cherry trees are probably infested by Svoliitns riitjn-
losus Katz., recently introduced from Europe; see an interesting article
upon this species in the Canadian Entomologist for September, 188i.
The injuries of P. liminaris seem to be rapidly increasing in localities in
the State of New York.

The Fig-Eater — Allorhina Nitida. (Country Gentleman, for July 9,
1885, 1, p. 575, c. 2-3 — 15 cm.)

The species identified from Madison, N. J., and briefiy described ; its
fondness for juicy fruits; is not known to occur in New York ; the larva

23

320 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [178]

is one of the white grubs, and is quite injurious to the roots of grass ;
its abundance in Washington ; the beetle is a pollen feeder and some-
times occurs in great numbers, as in an instance cited. The " trim
flower-chafer " might be a better common name for it.

The Roundheaded Apple-tree Borer — Saperda Candida Fabr,
(Country Gentleman, for July 16, 1885, 1, pp. 590-1, c. 4, 1 —
33 cm.)

Borers in hawthorn [in Westchester Co., N. Y.], are probably the
Saperda Candida; its burrows and method of destroying the grubs
with a strip of flexible steel ; recommendation by Dr. Fitch of cutting
out the grub ; discovering the location and crushing the egg ; killing
the eggs by application of lye ; benefit of mounding about the tree ;
washing with soap, and soap placed in the forks of the trees for pre-
ventives ; principal publications upon the insect.

Entomological. [Answers to inquiries.] (Country Gentleman, for
July 16, 1885, 1, p. 592, c. 2-3 — 20 cm.)

Paris green recommended for killing the potato-beetle infesting egg-
plants; road-dust may prevent their attack. For the injuries of the
rose-bug, at Waddington, N. Y., to apples and cherries, beating them
from the trees recommended ; to the former, Paris green might be
applied. The abundance of this insect upon fruit trees at times, cited.

The Cause of Black-Knot. (Country Gentleman, for July 23, 1885, 1,
p. 607 c. 1-2 —26 cm.)

It is not, as is popularly believed, of insect origin, but is produced by
a fungus originally named Sphceria morbosa, but recently transferred to
the genus Plowrightia. There are not "three distinct species," but the
same one attacks Primus domeatica, P. Americana, P. cerasiis, P. Vir-
giniana, P. Pennsijlvanica and P. serotina — two plum trees and four
cherry trees. Six species of insects have been bred from the black-knot.
The remedy is to cut off and destroy attacked twigs and branches early
in July.

[Revised, and printed in this Report, see pp. 280,281.]

The Cucumber Moth. (Country Gentleman, for July 23, 1885, 1, p.
607, c. 2, 3 — 28 cm.)

The borer attacking a melon patch in Carp, Tenn., is, from the
description sent, probably the larva of PhaJcellura nitidalis (Cramer),
popularly known as the " pickle-worm." In New York and the Eastern
States the squash-vine borer Melittia cucurhitce takes its place. The
appearance and the habits of the pickle-worm are described. The moth
is also described. For remedies, destroy the bored melons, sprinkle
with London purple or Paris green water while the moth is ovipositing.
Figures of the insects are referred to. The borer may possibly be
P, hyalinatalis, of which the habits are different.

[179] Report of the State Entomologist. 321

Apple Insects and the Rhinoceros-beetle. (Country Gentleman, for
July 30, 1885, 1, p. 623, c. 2-3 — 25 cm.)

Of apple insects sent from Coffee, Va., one is Orgijia leucostigma,
and the other had spun up in a cocoon [subsequently emerged and
proved to be Acronycta sp.] . The information sent of the Dynastes Tityus,
ttiat the beetle comes from the ground among the ash trees where its
larva had probably been feeding on living vegetable matter, is a new
and interesting fact. The record of the manner in which the beetles eat
the bark of the ash is also interesting, as also the mention of their
being very destructive to tobacco plants, killing all that they attack.

[See page 230 of this Report.]

Another Potato Pest. (New England Homestead, for August 8, 1885,
xix. No. 82, p. 309, c. 3.)

Macrohasis xmicolor (Kirby), one of the blister-beetles, identified as the
insect injurious to the foliage of potatoes, in Furnace, Mass. Beating
the insects into a basin of water and kerosene, or if very abundant,
sprinkling with Paris greener London purple in water, is recommended.

Roestelia aurantiaca. (Country Gentleman, for August 13, 1885, 1, p.
661, c. 3-4 — 10 cm.)

Determination of the above fungus occurring on quinces received from
Charlton, Mass. It has usually been found associated with insect attack,
as in this instance, where the fruit has been burrowed by probably the
apple-worm of the codling-moth.

The False Chinch Bug. (Country Gentleman, for August 13, 1885,
1, p. 661, c. 4— 26 cm.)

Insect described (but no examples sent) and reported as injurious to
radishes, turnips, horseradish, strawberries, and raspberries, in Boulder,
Col., are, without much doubt, the Nysins angnstatus of Uhler. It had
not previously been known to injure ripe strawberries, but had, accord-
ing to observations of Professor Forbes, been quite injurious to the
foliage of strawberries in Illinois. Kerosene emulsion or pyrethrum
could be used to destroy the bug when upon strawberries, until the fruit
is about half grown.
The Bag-Worm — Thyridopteryx Ephemerajformis. (Country Gentle-
man, for October 1, 1885, 1, p. 801, c. 4—20 cm.)

To an interesting account of the habits of a " worm " destroying arbor
vitcB hedges in Franklin Park, N. J., and request for information in
regard to it, reply is made of its name as above, and the best methods for
checking its injuries, viz., application of Paris green, and hand-picking,
and destroying the cases of the female moth. A figure illustrating the
several stages of the insect is also given.
The Red Spider — Tetranychus Telarius (Linn.). (Country Gentle-
man, for October 8, 1885, 1, p. 821, c. 3-4 — 38 cm.)

Mites infesting various garden plants, at Utica, N. Y., are this species
which, standing at the head of the Acarina. approaches near to the

322 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [180]

spiders. It spins webs on the under side of the leaves for shelter, while
sucking the juices of the various plants upon which it occurs; those
upon which it was noticed at Utica are mentioned. It has this sum-
mer been discovered in an injurious attacli on a quince orchard near
Geneva, N. Y. Kerosene emulsion, soap solution with sulphiir mixed,
and quassia infusion may be used for killing it. It was the cause of
the yellow discoloring of the leaves of a nasturtium in the garden of
the writer.
[Printed, also, in this Report, see pp. 287-289.]

The Thirteen-year Cicada. (The Argus [Albany], for October 11,

1885, p. 4— 32 cm.)

A paper read before the Albany Institute, containing remarks upon
the exceptional long life-period of the Cicada septendecim; the number
of broods occurring in the United States and in the State of New York ;
notice of a thirteen-year brood, and that its occurrence only in the
Southern States may be the result of hastened development through
higher temperature ; Professor Riley's experiments in transferring the
two forms from one region to another ; and record of the planting of
the eggs of a thirteen-year brood at Kenwood, near Albany.

[Printed, also, in this Report, see pp. 276-278.]

The Elm Leaf Beetle. (Country Gentleman, for October 15, 1885, 1,
p. 841, c. 3-4 — 23 cm.)

The inquirer, from Bordentown, N. J., of methods for killing the
insects destroying the foliage of his elm trees, is referred to a notice of
the insect, Galeruca xantliomelcena, in the Country Gentleman for October
12, 1882 (p. 805), and to Bulletin No. 6 of the Division of Entomology of
the U. S. Agricultural Department. Of the arsenical insecticides recom-
mended, London purple is preferred, in the proportion of one-half
pound to three quarts of flour and a barrel (forty gallons) of water.
Directions for mixing are given, and the advantages of its use stated.

The Clubbed Tortoise-beetle. (Country Gentleman, for October 15,
1885, 1, p. 841, c. 4 — 12 cm.)

Remarks upon Coptocycla clavata (Fabr.), its appearance, habits and
food-plants. Reference to its occurrence on the potato, tomato, and
egg-plant.

A Leaf-mining Insect. (Home Farm [Augusta, Me.], for October 15,
1885, p. 1, c. 6 — 20 cm.)

A leaf-miner reported in Maine, and in the vicinity of Boston, Mass.
is identified as one of the Anthomyians, and probablj"^ Chortophila
hetarum Lintn., which is known to have distribution in New York and
Connecticut. The approved methods for meeting its attack, are pre-
vention of egg-deposit by the use of counterodorants, and burning the
infested leaves.

[181] Report of the State Entomologist. 323

The Death-Watch, Clotbilla Pulsatoria. (Country Gentleman, for
October 22, 1885, 1, p. 8G1, c. 3-4 — 21 cm.)

A supposed parasite found in cow-stalls in Warren, O., is this insect,
a figure of which is given. The habits of the Psocidce are briefly stated,
and the reason why this species has received the name of the " death-
watch." It has previously occurred in immense numbers in barn refuse
after threshings, and in straw-packings in a wine cellar.

[See Second Report on the Insects of N. Y., pp. 201, 202.]

Eggs of a Katydid. (Country Gentleman, for October 29, 1885, 1, p.
881, c. 4 — 23 cm.)

Eggs sent from Lexington, Va., arranged in two rows upon the
opposite sides of the back fold of a copy of the Country Gentleman, are
those of Microcentrus retinervis, an insect common in some of the
warmer States of the Union, and classed by some writers with the katy-
dids, although strictly, the name of katydid would belong only to
Platyplajllum concavum. The eggs are described, and reference made
for the illustration and life-history of the species to the 6th Missouri
Eeport.

[The name should have been given as Mlo^ocentrum retinervum.]

A New Insect Foe to the Cut-worm. (New England Homestead, for
October 31, 1885, xix, No. 44, p. 405, c. 3-4 — 19 cm.)

A correspondent from Winsted, Ct., sends for information a fly
hatched from some cabbage ciit-worms kept in confinement. The fly is
a species of Gonia belonging to the Tachinidce, the parasitic habits of
which are given. Caterpillars bearing upon their body the white eggs
or the egg-shell of these flies should not be destroyed, but permitted to
furnish food for the beneficial larvse that are feeding within them. The
cabbage cut-worm was probably Mamestra trifolli (llott.).

Saw Fly on Fruit Trees. (Country Gentleman, for November 12,
1885, 1, p. 921, c. 3-4 — 25 cm.)

In answer to an inquiry from Edinburgh, Scotland, of some small,
thin, nearly transparent objects nearly half an inch long and looking
like a leech, which for several years had nearly destroyed the leaves of
plum, pear, and cherry trees, reply is made that it is the larva of some
species of saw-fly, and probably of Eriocampa admnhratn. Its ravages
may be prevented by means of powdered hellebore, to be obtained pure,
and applied to the foliage by the hand or by a bellows. Its efficacy is
illustrated by an account of its use in the Hammond Nurseries at
Geneva, N. Y. Directions are given for using the hellebore mixed with
water, if more convenient in this form.

(B.)

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT.

The following are tbe contributions that have been made to the
Department during the year (1888) :

In Htmenoptera.

Cocoons of Nematus Erichsonii Hartig, and the imago, May 8th.
From Rev. H. W. Swinneeton, Cherry Valley, N. Y.

Galls of Neuroterus verrucarum (O. S.), on Quercus sp. ? From
J. Carter Brown, Kingston, R. I.

Apanteles congregatus (Say) cocoons on IDarapsa Myron. From
Mrs. K. M. BusicK, Wabash, Ind

In Lepidoptera.

Larvce of Thyreus Abhotii Swainson, July 26th. From A. J. Rich-
mond, Canajoharie, N. Y. The same, from Dr. R. H. Sarin, Troy, N. Y.
The same (spotted form), from Horace B. Derby, Albany, N. Y.,
July 6th. The same (striated form), from S. C. Bradt, Albany, N. Y.,
July 8th.

Datana ministra (Drury) Tarvse from apple tree, Sept. 4th. From
M. T. Richardson, New York city.

CEdemasia concinna (Sm.-Abb.) larvae from apple tree early in Sep-
tember. From John C. Shaw, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Callosamia Prornethea (Drury) cocoons on wild cherry. From E. J.
Reddy, Bayville, N. Y. The same, on plum, from Mrs. E. W. K.
Lasell, Orange, N. J. The same, from Berthold Fernow, Albany, N. Y.

The regal walnut-moth, Citheronia regalis (Fabr.), taken at the
State Camp, Peekskill, N. Y., August 5th. From Dr. C. W. Crispell,
Kingston, N. Y.

Larva of Eacles imperialis (Drury) with puparia of a Tachinid-fly,
Sept. 10th. From S. C. Bradt, Albany, N. Y.

Glisiocampa Americana Harris, larvae and cocoon. From Berthold
Fernow, Albany, N. Y.

Larvae of Oortyna nitela Guenee, burrowing in stalks of young corn,
June 22. From Rock Hall, Md.

Larvae of Cacoecia argyrospila (Walk.) eating into young pears,
June 13th; and of Goleophora sp.? eating into the same, June 8th.
From P. Barry, Rochester, N. Y.

[183] Report of the State Entomologist. 325

In Diptera.

"Flax-seeds" (puparia) of the Hessian-%, CecicZomi/m destructor ^di.j ,
in wheat. From Prof. F. M. Webster, LaFayette, lud.

G-alls of LasiojJtera vitis 0. S., June 27th. From H. L. Fisk,
Worcester, Mass.

Tipulid larvse found in association with cocoons of Nematus Erich-
sonii, May 18th. From Rev. H. W. Swinnerton, Cherry Valley, N. Y.

The " cow-fly," Hcematohia serrata Desvd. From Samuel AV. Suimer,
Mount Holley, N. J.

In Coleoptera.

Dytiscus fasciventris Say. From Joseph Harvey, Albany, Oct. 20th.
The same from John D. Collins, Utica, N. Y., Nov. 5th.

Dytiscus Earrisii Kirby, October 24th. From H. G. Settle, Saratoga
Springs, N. Y.

The carpet-beetle, Anthrenus scrophularice Linn., from Crocus,
April 27th. From Mrs. Hoagland, Albany, N. Y.

Alaus oculatus (Linn.). From Mrs. E. W. K. Lasell, Orange, N. J.

Anomalalucicola (Fabr.), the light-loving grapevine-beetle, July 13th.
From W. W. Sweet, Hightstown, N. J.

Pelidnota punctata (Linn.), Desmocerus palliatus (Forst.), and Saperda
Candida Fabr. From C. O. Belknap, Branchport, N. Y.

Oak twigs cut by the oak-tree pruuer, Elaphidion parallelum Newm.
From George T. Lyman, Bellport, N. Y. ; also, from Dr. James W. Hall,
Sea Cliff, L. I., N. Y. ; also, from C. Fred Johnson, Bayport, N. Y.

Monohammus confusor (Kirby). From Berthold Fernow, Albany, N.Y.

A Cerambycid-beetle (four inches in length, species undetermined),
from Colon, Central America. From M. B. Harriot, Albany, N. Y.

The elm-leaf beetle, Galeruca xanthomelcena (Schr.), May 1st. From
D. J. Garth, Scarsdale, N. Y.

Aramigus Fulleri Horn, from a rose-house, June 30th. From W. J.
Palmer, Rochester, N. Y.

Plum curculio oviposition in young pears, June 8th. From P.
Barry, Rochester, N. Y. ; also, the same, in young cherries, June 7th,
from George S. Powell, Ghent, N. Y.

The grain-weevil, Galandra granaria (Linn.), iu wheat. From Auner
L. Backus & Sons, Toledo, O.

Young Duchess pear trees (sections) girdled by Xylelwus pyri
(Peck), and containing the beetle. May 22d. From Norman Pomroy,
Lockport, N. Y. ; also from E. S. Goff, Geneva, N. Y.

Phloeotribus liminaris (Rarris) — the living beetle iu bark of peach
tree, October 19th. From David Huntington, Somerset, Niagara
Co., N. Y.

326 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [184]

In Hemipteka.

Lygus pratensis (Linn.) G. lineolaris of Beauv., with young pears
punctured and gnarled by it. From P. Barry, Rochester, N. Y.

The melon plant-louse, Aphis cucumeris Forbes. From T. C. Barker,
Lowell, Mass.

The cockscomb elm-gall, Olyphina ulmicola (Fitch) on "weeping
slippery elm," Ulmus sp. ? From C. H. Hedges, Charlottesville, Ya.

The grajDevine bark-louse, Puluinaria innumerabilis (Rathvon), on
soft maple. From H. E. Hayes, New York.

The cottony-cushion scale, Icerya Purchasi Maskell, on Acacia in
Lamonda Park, Los Angeles Co., Cal. From A. O. Osborne, Water-
ville, N. Y.

The scurfy bark-louse, Ghionaspis furfurus (Fitch), on a pear tree
twig. From J. M. Clarke, Albany, N. Y.

In Oethoptera.

Eggs of Microcentrum retinervum, (Burm.) on currant stem and on
Cercis Japonica. From Prof. W. S. Robinson, Elizabeth, N. J.; also
from S. B. Husted (April 20th), Blauvelt, N. Y.

Eggs of (Ecanthus niveus Serv. in Concord grapevines. From W. D.
Barnes, Middlehope, N. Y. The same, from St. Catherines, Ontario;
from E. S. Goff, Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.

(Ecanthus niveus (De Geer) 5- From Jonas Brooks, Albany, N. Y.;
also in both sexes, from Mrs. E. B. Smith, Coeymans, N. Y.

Apple-tree twigs showing oviposition of an (Ecanthus, not niveus.
From W. L. Devereaux, Clyde, N. Y.

Oryllotalpa longipennis Scud. From Dr. C. W. Crispell, Kingston,
N. Y.

In Neuroptera.

Gorydalis cornutus (Linn.), the hellgrammite fly, August 5th. From
Dr. C. W. Crispell, Kingston, N. Y.

In Arachnida.

Galls of Phytoptus quadripes (Shimer) on leaves of soft maple, June
5th. From E. Dayton Joslin, Lake Grove, Suffolk Co., N. Y.

In Myriapoda.

Julics cceruleocinctus Wood, from beneath a carpet. From Wm. G,
Warren, Buffalo, N. Y., and from Mrs. Ira Harris, Loudon ville, N. Y.
The same, from roots of geraniums, September 27th. From John B.
Hoffman, Cape May, N. J.

GENERAL INDEX.

Abbotii, Thyreus, 175, 177, 306, 324.
abdominalis, Melanolestes, 316.
Acarina, 287-295.
Acarus domesticus, 292.

farinaj, 292, 294.

horridus, 292.

lactis, 292.
aeerifoliella, Incurvaria, 215-219.

Ornix, 215, 216, 218.
aehemon, Philampelup, 175.
Aeronycta sp ? 321.
•^^►Actias Luna. 188.

Adirondack insects, 260.
Adirondack Eegion, its insect fauna

lected, 284.
adumbrata, Eriocampa, 323.
jEgeriada), 311, 313, 317.
„«»*-.3i]geria pictipes, 280.
.„-— Agarista octomaculata, 179.
•— Aglia tau, 188.

Agrilus torpidus, 283, 317.
■—"^Agrotis clandestina, 282, 317.
— ■ Cocliranii, 210.
— — inermis, 200, 201.
irtw» Ortoni, 201.
— Agrotis saucia, 200-200.

at sugar, 206.

bibliograpliy, 200.

distribution, 206.

double-brooded, 205.

eggs, 201.

figures of, 204.

food-plants, 200, 203, 205.

injuries of, 205.

moth, habits of, 204.

pupa and pupation, 204.

remedies, 206.

transformations, 202.
Alaus myops, 317.

oculatus, 317, 325.
Alder spittle-insect, 242-246.

bibliography, 242.

enemies of, 244.

injuries from, 246.

larva described, 243.

observations on, 243.

other spittle-insects, 245.

popular names, 245.

production of the spittle, 243.

purpose of secretion, 244.

spittle mass, 243.

24

Aider wooUy plant-lico. 282.
Allorhina nitida, 3io.
"Alypia octomaculata, 179-183.

bibliography, I7'.i, I80.

caterpillar described and figured, 18

feeding habits, 180, 182.

flight of, 182.

food-plants, I8I, 182.

moth described and flgured. 181.

remedies, 183.

resemblance to other larva;, I80, 183.

synonymy. 179, IHO.
Americana, Chrysophanus. 285.

Clisiocampa, 152, 304, 324.

Schizoneura, 319.

Uropoda, 290, 318.
Ammoniacal liquor for insects, 158.
Ampelophaga Myron, 174.
Anatis 15-punctata, 305.
Anisota senatoria, 192-200.

abundance at Center, N. Y., 190.
Livingston, N. Y., 196.
Michigan locality, 196.
Pennsylvania locality, 190.
Saratoga Springs, 185.

associated species, 199.

bibliography, 192, 193.

distribution. 197.

egg-laying, 193.

enemies, 19h.

food-plants, 197.

larval stages, 194.

life-history, 198, 199.

mating, 193.

mature oatorpillar, 195.

moth described, 198.

parasites, 198.

pupation, 199.

remedies, 200.

stinging powers. 197.
Angus, James, on elm-leaf beetle, 237. 238,

239.
angustatus, Nysius, .321.
Anisoptoryx vernata, 242. 258. 313. 318.
Anisota hicolor, 199.

bisecta, 199.
■ Heiligbrodti, 199.
- pellucida, 199.
» rubicunda, 197, 198.

stigma. 197. 199.

Virginionsis, 199.
Anomala lucicola, 305, 326.

328

General Index.

[186]

Anthomyia brassiese, 158, 265, 319.
Anthomyiidse, 314.
Anthonomus sycophanta, 173.
Anthrenus, scrophularias, 267, 268, 314, 325.

varius, 267, 268.
Antithesia nimbatana, 213.
Apanteles coBgregatus, 177, 307, 324.
•Apatura Codes, 317.
Aphides, 153.

Aphides causing honay-dew, 304.
AphididsB, 246-257.
Aphidiinaj, 253.
Aphidius avenso, 253.
Aphidivorous Ichneumonidse, 253.
Aphis, apple-tree, 153, 160.
Aphis avenae,|246, 250.

cerasi, 253.

cerealis, 246, 251.

cucumeris, 306, 326.

granaria, 246, 250.

hordei, 246, 251.

mali, 161.

rose, 162.

■woolly, 160.
Aphrodite, Argynnis, 285,
Aphrophora parallela, 245.

quadrangularis, 245.

auadrinota, 245.

Signoreti, 245.
Apidse on flowers, 284.
Apple-leaf Bucculatrix, 260-262. 317.

cocoons of, 260.

distribution, 261.

figures of, 260.

life-history, 261.

New York localities, 261.

remedies, 262.
Apple-maggot, 300.
Apple-tree aphis, 153, 160, 300.
Apple-tree bark-louse, 319.
Apple-tree tent caterpillar, 152, 241, 304.
Apple-worm, 300, 305, 316, 321.
Arachnoidea, 290.
Aramigus Fulleri, 154, 311, 325.
Archippus, Danais, 285.
arctica, Hadena, 212.
Argynnis Aphrodite, 285,

Atlantis, 285.
"" Bellona, 285.
- ■ Cybele, 285.
argyrospila, Cacoecia, 324.
Army-worm (Hierwurm), 264.
Arsenites for insects, 231, 239, 314, 320, 321,

322.
Arthur, Prof. J. C, cited, 288.

on fungus-attacked Phytonomus larvas,
273.
Ashes and sulphur for insect attack, 315.
Ashes for repelling insects, 301.
Ash-gray blister-beetle, 305.
Ashmead [Wm. H.], on Aphidiinae, 253.
Ashton [T. B.], cited, 246.

Aspidiotus nerii, 278, 317.

Atalanta, Pyrameis, 285.

Atkins, Chas. G., on Saperda Candida, 271.

Atkinson, Prof. G. F., cited, 227.

on Anisota, 197, 198.

on odor of Dynastes, 228,
Atlantis, Argynnis, 285.
atrata, Thalessa, 305.
atrifaseiata, Homohadena, 285.
Attack 01 mites on garden plants, 287.
Attack on pears by a plant-bug, 275.
Aulacomerus lutescens, 171.
Autumn plowing for insect attack, 313.
avenre, Aphidius, 253.

Aphis, 246.

Siphonophora, 246.
ave'naphis, Praon, 253.
avium, Dermanyssus, 290.

B.

Backus & Sons, Abner S., insects from, 325.

Bacon-beetle, 302, 313.

Bag-worm, 321.

Bailey [Dr. Jamesl, referred to, 212.

Bald-faced hornet, 285.

Bark-borers, 300.

Barker, T. C, insects from, 326.

Barnes, W. D., insects from, 326.

Barry, P., insects from, 201, 324, 325, 326.

basalis, Oberea, 231.

BdellidcB, 290.

Beans for repelling cucumber beetle, 159.

Beating from foliage for insect attack, 231.

Beautiful woodnymph, see Eudryas grata,

179.
Beet-leaf miners, 314.
Beetle-mites, 290.
Belknap, C. G., insects from, 325.
Bellamira scalaris, 285.
Bellona, Argynnis, 285.
Benzine for insect attack, 314.
betarum, Chortophila, 322.
Bethune [Rev. C. J. S.], cited, 246.
bicolor, Anisota, 199.

Sphingicampa, 199.
bimaeulata, Oberea, 231-233.

Saperda, 231.
bimarginata, Haltica, 170.
Birds feeding on caterpillars, 198.
bisecta, Anisota, 199.

Sphingicampa, 199.
Bisulphide of carbon for insects, 266, 300,

313. 315.
Biting flies, 221.
Biting measuring-worms, 260.
bivulnerus, Chilocorus, 267, 300.
Black aphis, 254.
Black fly, 283, 314.
Black-knot, 305, 320.
Black-knot and its guests, 280.
Black long-sting, 305.
Blapharida rhois, 271.
Blissus leucopterus, 317.

[187]

General Index.

329

Blister-beetle, 321.

Blodget, Lorin, aphides from, 315.

Blue caterpillars of the vine, 180, 183.

Blue jay eats Anisota senatoria, 198.

Boder, E., on habits of cow-horn fly, 224, 225.

Boisduval [Dr.], cited, 179, ISO, 193, 200, 210.

Bombycidae, 183, 192, 317.
xf.--Bombyx grata, 180.
I Boss spraying nozzle, 161.

BraconidcB, 177, 253.

Bradt, S. C, insects from, 324(2).

brassicas, Anthomyia, 158, 265, 319.

Brine for insect attack, 156.

Brooks, Jonas, insects from, 326.

Brown, J. Carter, galls from, 324.

Brunn, A. E., on apple-leaf Bucculatrix, 261.
^»^Bucculatrix pomifoliella, 260, 317.

Buckton,[G.B.],cited,246,247,250,253(2),2r)5,256.

Buckwheat crop for repelling insects, 317.

Bud-mites, 290.

Bud-worm, 304.

Buffalo fly, 220, 226.

Buffalo gnat, 314.

Burdock infusion for insects, 158.

Burning for insect attack, 154, 303, 304, 308,
310, 314, 315, 317, 318, 322.

Burying-beetles, 289.

Busick, Mrs. K. M., insects from, 324.

Bussing, Isaac, insects from, 261.

Butterflies in the Adirondacks, 285.

C.

Cabbage butterfly, 300.
Cabbage cut-worm, 323.
Cabbage-fly, 157, 265.
Cabbage-maggot, 157, 158.
<— ^Cacoecia rosaceana, 213.
J0' ' argyrospila, 324.
cacti, Chilocorus, 300.
cffiruleocinctus, Julus, 296, 307. 326.
Calandra granaria, 325.
calcitrans, Stomoxys, 221, 222, 225, 308.
,rf-^Callosamia Promethea, 324.

Calmariensis, Chrysomela, 234, 236.

Galeruca, 234. —

Camphor for insects, 300.
Candida, Saperda, 269, 320, 325.
Canker-worm, 242, 258, 318.
Cantharis vesicatoria, 305.
Carabidse, 303.

Carbolic acid insecticide, 293, 314.
Carpet beetle, 267, 314, 325.
-Carpocapsa, Deshaisiana, 315.

pomonella, 316.

saltitaus, 315.
caryas, Lachnus, 304.
-Catocala unijuga, 282.
Caulfleld [F. B.], cited, 207.
Cecidomyia cueumeris, 306.

destructor, 263, 325.

legumiuicola, 262. .^

ceparum, Phorbia, 319,

CerambycidtE, 231.

Cerambycid beetle from Colon, S. A., 325.

Ceramica exusta, 206, 207.

eerasi. Aphis, 253, 254.

Myzus, 253-257,
CeratocampadiE, 199.
Ceratopogon from black-knot, 280.
CercopidcU, 242.
Cercopis obtusa, 242.
coroalis. Aphis, 246, 261.
Cermatia forceps, food of. 295.
cervicola, Stomoxys, 308.
ehamasnerii, Deilephila, 175.
Chambers [V. T.], cited, 216.
Chatfleld [A. S.], referred to, 212.
Chauliognathus marginatus, 316.

Pennsylvanicus, 316.
Cheese-mite, 290.
Cherry aphis, 253-257.

abundance, 254.

bibliography, 253.

descriptions, 255.

introduced from Europe, 254.

lady-bugs for killing, 257.

life-history, 254.

number on a cherry tree, 254.

remedies, 256.

root-form, 256.
Chestnut caterpillar, 308.
Chicken louse, 290.
Chickens for catching insects, 301.
Chilocorus bivuluerus, 267, 300.

cacti, 300.
Chinch-bug, 317.
Chionaspis furfurus, 300, 326.
Chionaspis pinifolii, 266.
Chloris, Parasa, 186.
Choerocampa pampiuatrix, 174.
Chortophila betarum, 322.
ChriKman, Mrs. L. T., on brine for the cur-
rant worm, 156.
Chrysomela calmariensis, 236.
ChrysomelidtE, 271. 234, 235, 300.
Clirysopa larvas, 244.
Chrysophanus Americana, 285.
Cicada broods in Now York, 276.
Cicada soptendecim, 276, 322.

spumarla, 245.
Cithoronia rogalis, 324.
clandestina, Agrotis, 282, 317.
(^laparcdo cited on red spider, 287.
Clarke, J. M., insects from, 326.
Clarkson, F., cited, 193, 196, 199. 200. 234.
Clastoptera obtusa, 242-246.

Proteus, 245.
clavata, Coptocycla, 322.
Claypole, Prof., on Anisota senatoria, 193.
Clomens [Dr. B.J, cited, 213, 21s.
Climbing cut-worms, 210.
Clinton, Hon. G. W., cited. 272.
Clisiocampa Americana, 152, 304, 324.
Clothilla pulsatoria, 323.

330

General Index.

[188]

Clover insects, publication on, 316.

Clover-leaf weevil killed by a fungus, 272.

Clover-seed midge, 262.

Clubbed tortoise beetle, 322.

Cnotus. Myron. 174.

Coal-tar, an insect repellant, 155, 301.

CoccinellidaB, 254.

Coclilidise, 184, 185, 188.

Cocliranii, Agrotis, 210.

Cockscomb elm gall, 303, 326.

Codes, Apatura, 317.

Cocoon of Apan teles congregatus, 177.

hag-moth caterpillar, 187.

larch saw-fly, 165, 169.

Microplitis mamestrae, 208.

Sphingicampa, 199.
Codling-moth, 300, 305, 321.
Coleophora sp.? 324.

Coleoptera, 227, 231, 234, 267, 268, 269, 271, 272.
- Colias Philodice, 285.
Colopha ulmicola, 303.
Colorado potato-beetle, 153, 289, 300.
columba, Tremex, 305, 311.
Colvin, Verplanck, on abundance of Geo-

metrid larvfe, 260.
Comstock [Prof. J. H.], cited, 153, 242, 262,

267, 269.
concavum, Platyphyllum, 323.
concinna, ffidemasia, 169, 309, 324.
confusor, Monohammus, 325.
congregatus, Apanteles, 177, 307, 324.
Conopid fly, 285.
Conorhinus sanguisuga, 316.
Conotrachelus nenuphar, 280, 316.
conquisitor, Pimpla, 310.
contrariana, Penthina, 213.
convergens, Hippodamia, 249-50, 257.
Convergent lady-bug, 257.
Cook [Prof. A. J.], cited, 198, 234, 299, 307.
copalina, Orthaltica, 271.
Cope, Prof. [E. D.], referred to, 220.
Coptocycla clavata, 322.
Coauillett [D. W.]. cited, 193, 207. 213, 214.
Corimelsena pulicaria, 319. «

Corn cut-worm, 312. _

cornicola. Heematobia, 220, 223. -^

Stomoxys, 220, 222, 308, 310.
Corning, Erastus, cicada eggs planted in

orchard of, 277.
cornutus, Corydalis, 326. ^

Corydalis cornutus, 326. — .

Cossinaj, 311.

Cottony-cushion scale, 326.
Counterodorants for repelling insects, 313,

319, 322.
Cow-dung for insect attack, 159.
Cow-horn fly, 220-227, 306, 307, 308, 310, 325.

bibliography, 220, 223.

described as a new species, 223.

distribution, 226.

enemies of, 225.

fly figured, 224.

Cow-horn fly — ( Continued) :

habits, 221, 222, 225.

horses and mules not attacked, 222.

identified with European species, 222.

injuries to cattle. 225.

introduced in United States, 220.

life-history, 224.

occurrence in Europe, 220.

preventives, 226.

remedies, 226.

sensational reports of, 220, 226.

synonymy, 220.
Crabonidffi on fiowers, 284.
Crachat de coucou (cuckoo-spittle), 245.
Cramer cited. 174.
crattegi, Conotrachelus, 316.
Creosote for insect attack 314.
CrepidodersB, 271.
Cresson [E. T.], cited, 164, 173.
Cressoni, Urocerus, 311.
crispata, Lagoa, 186, 188.
Crispell, Dr. C. W., insects from, 324, 326(2).
cristata, Cyanocitta, 198.
cristatus, Prionatus, 316.
Croton bug eaten by Cermatia, 295.
Crushing insects, 206, 209, 215, 219, 307, 309,

320.
Cuckoo-spittle, 246.
Cucumber flea-beetle, 271.
Cucumber moth, 320.
cucumeris. Aphis, 306, 326.

Cecidomyia, 306.

Epitrix, 271.
cucurbittE, Melittia, 153, 312. 313, 320.
Currant-worm, 156, 300.
Curtis [John], cited, 246, 250, 251, 253.
Cut-worms, 206.

publication on, 308, 318, 319.
Cyanide of potassium for insect attack, 314.
Cyanocitta cristata, 198.
Cybele, Argynnis, 285.
Cynipidse. 308.

D.

►Danais Archippus 285.

Darapsa Myron, 174-179, 307. 324.
'Datana ministra. 169, 307.

Death-watch, 323.

decemlineata, Doryphora, 289.

DeGeer on spittle-insects, 243.
'Deilephila chamaenerii, 175.
"^ lineata, 175.

Derby: H. B., insects from, 324.

Dermanyssus avium, 290.

Dermestes lardarius, 302, 313.

Deshaisiana, Carpocapsa, 315.

Desmocerus palliatus, 325.

Destroying eggs for insect attack, 304.
nests of caterpillars, 304.

destructor, Cecidomyia, 263, 325.

Desvoidy, Eobineau, cited, 220, 223.

Devereaux. W. L., insects from. 326.

Diabrotica vittata, 235. 312.

[189]

General Index.

I

Dicerca manca, 286.

tuberculata, 286.
DiKging-out for insect attack, 156, 271, 312,

313, 319, 320.
Dimmock [Dr. George], cited, 227.
Dimmoek, Mrs., cited, 193, 184.
Diplosis septemmaculata, 280.
Diptera, 220, 262, 263, 264, 265.
Dodd, W. H., on sulphur for elm-leaf

beetle, 240, 300.
domesticus, Aearus, 292.
Doryphora decemlineata, 289.
Dowd, A. F., Hessian-fly from, 263.
Driving insects on tarred paper, 302.
»*~Dryocampa rubicunda, 200.
■■■« senatoria, 192.
. Dug^s, M., on cord in Uropoda, 291.
' Duncan cited, 183.
Dyar [H. G.] cited, 234.

Dynastes Grantii, 227, 321. t

Dynastes Tityus. 227-231.

bibliography, 227.

description of beetle, 229.

distribution, 230.

feeding habits, 230.

figure of male beetle, 229.

food-plants, 230.

offensive odor of, 228. ■"

popular names, 228. —

variation in, 229,
Dytiscus fasciventris, 325.

Harrisii, 325.

E.
, — "•Eacles imperialis, 324.
Echinomyia sp. ?, 285.
Ecnomidea pithecium, 183.
rf-wEepantheria Senuettii, 317.

Ecume printaniere (spring-froth), 245.
Egg-clusters of white-marked Tussockr*

310.
Egg-deposits of flower-cricket, 310.
Eggs of Agrotis saucia, 210.

Anisota senatoria, 193.

cow-horn fly, 224, 225.

elm-leaf beetle, 235.

Eudryas grata, 182.

katydid, 323.

larch saw-fly, 165.

Mamestra grandis, 211.

Phobetron pithecium, 190, 191.

Saperda Candida, 269, 320, 325.
Eggs on strawberries, 319.
Egg-punctures of flower-cricket, 302.
Eights, Dr. James, on abundance of a cat-
erpillar, 196.
Eight-spotted Alypia, 179. 300.
Elaphidlon parallelum, 153, 268, 325.
Elevation of Lake Pleasant, 160.

of Long Lake, N. Y., 283.
Ellwanger & Barry, insect attack from, 275_
Elm-leaf beetle, 234-242, 301. 303, 314, 319, 322,
325.

Elm-leaf beetle — ( Continned) :

apparatus for spraying, 234, 210.

appears in New York, 234, 240.

beetle described, 235.

bibliography, 234.

boxipg for, 242.

double-brooded ?, 238.

early stages figured, 235.

European reputation, 230.

hibernation, 238.

introduced in United States, 236.

life-history, 237.

operations on elms figured, 235.

oviposition, 239.

pupation, 239.

ravages of, in Flushing, etc., 230.

remedies. 239.

sulphur remedy ?, 240.
Emmons [E.] cited, 231, 234.
Empretia stimulea, 180, 188.
Enemies of larch saw-fly, 109.
Ephedrus flagiator, 253.
ephemera^formis, Thyridoptoryx, 321.
Epitrix cucumoris, 271.
Erichsonii, Nematus, 164, 324. 325.
Eriocampa adumbrata, 323.
Erythroneura vitis, 302.
"Euclea querceti, 186.
■Eudryas grata, 179-183.

bibliography, 180.

caterpillar described and flgured, 182.

description and figure of moth, 181.

egg flgured, 182.

food-plants, 81, 82.

rarity of, 182.

remedies, 183.

resemblance to other caterpillars, 180,
183.
•Eudryas unio, 183.
Eumenes^fraterna, 268.
Eumenidtc on flowers, 284.
'Everyx Myron, 174.
Experiment with 13-year Cicada. 276.
exusta, Ceramica, 206, 207.

Fabricius cited, 179, 180, 227, 232,

253.
Falconer, AVm., on mushroom fi
False chinch-bug, 321.
farina', Aearus, 292, 294.
fasciatus, (Ecanthus, 3io.
fasciventris, Dytiscus, 325.
Faunus, Grapta. 282, 317.
Fear of caterpillars, 185.
Feniseca Tarquinius. 282, 317.
Fernald [Prof. C. H.], cited. 213.
Fernow, Borthold, insects from
Field Force Piinip Company, 10
flfteen-puuctata, .\natis. 305.
Fifteen-spotted lady-bug, 305.
Fig-eater, 319.

234, 24
y, 205.

332

General Index.

[190]

Figure of Agrotis sauciamoth, 204.

Alypia octomaculata, larva and moth,

181.
Anisopteryx vernata, 258.
Anisota senator! a, 195.
Anthreuus scrophularias, 268.
Aphis mali, 161.
apple-leaf Bucculatrix, 260.
apple-root plant-louse, 160.
apple-tree aphis, 161.
Aspidiotus uerii, 278.
Bucculatrix pomifoliella, 260.
carpet-beetle, 268.
caterpillar of Agrotis saucia, 204.
caterpillar of Anisota senatoria, 195.
caterpillar of Darapsa Myron, 176.
caterpillar of Eadryas grata, 182.
caterpillar of Mamestra picta, 207.
caterpillar of spring canker-worm, 258.
cheese-mite, 292.
chicken-louse, 290.
Chilocorus bivulnerus, 267.
Chionaspis pinifolii, 266.
cocoons of apple-leaf Bucculatrix, 260.
cocoon of hag-moth, 188.
convergent lady-bug. 257.
cow-horn fly, 224.
Darapsa Myron moth, 179.
Dermanyssus avium, 290.
Dynastes Tityus beetle, 229.
eggs of Agrotis saucia, 201.
eggs of canker-worm moth, 258.
eggs of elm-leaf beetle, 235.
egg v/f Eudryas grata, 182.
eight-spotted Forester, 181.
elm-leaf beetle, 235.
Eudryas grata moth, 181.
four-lined leaf-bug, 274.
fungus-attacked Phytonomus larva,

273.
Galeruca xanthomelajna, 235.
grain-aphis, 247.
grapevine hog caterpillar, 176.
green grapevine moth, 179.
Haematobia serrata fly, 224.
hag-moth, 189.
hag-moth caterpillar, 184.
Hessian-fly, 286.
Hippodamia convergens, 257.
ichneumonized Darapsa Myron larva,

179.
Incurvaria acerifoliella moth, 219.
Julus cseruleocinctus, 296.
larch saw-fly, 165.
larva of Saperda Candida, 270.
Lygus pratensis, 275.
Mamestra grandis moth, 212.
■ Mamestra picta moth, 207.
maple-leaf cutter, operations of, 217.
Melittia cucurbita; larva, 155.
Necrophorus tomentosus, 289.
Nematus Erichsonii, 165.

Figures of insects — ( Co/iimued) :

Oberea bimaculata, 232.

operations of elm-leaf beetle, 235.

Penthina nimbatana moth, 214.

Phobetron pithecium, 183-192, 306.

Phytonomus punctatus. 272.

pine-leaf scale-insect, 266.

PoBcilocapsuslineatus, 274.

punctured clover-leaf weevil, 272.

raspberry cane-borer, 232.

red spider, 287.

rhinoceros beetle, 229.

rose-leaf tyer moth, 214,

round-headed apple-tree borer, 270.

Saperda Candida, 270,

Schizoneura lanigera, 160.

Siphonophora avenaj, 247.

spring canker-worm, 258.

squash-vine borer, 155.

tarnished plant-bug, 275.

Tetranychus telarius, 287.

thousand-legged worm, 206.

tomentose sexton-beetle^ 289.

twice-stabbed lady-bird, 267.

Tyroglyphus siro, 292.

white-scale insect, 278.
Fish-fungus, 272.
Fish oil for repelling insects, 226.
Fisk, H. L., insects from, 325.
Fitch [Dr. A.], 184, 185(2), 192, 197(2). 215, 219,
227, 230(3), 234, 242, 246-254, 256(2), 268,
274, 280(2), 299, 300, 301, 320.

on apple-tree borer, 270.

on cherry-aphis, 254, 255, 257.

OD grain-aphis, 252.

on larva of Anisota senatoria, 195.

on maple-leaf cutter, 218.

on sulphur for insects, 241.
Flaxseeds of Hessian fly, 263, 325.
Flea-beetle, striped, 30l.
Fletcher [James], cited, 164, 216.

on maple-leaf cutter, 218.
Flies eaten by Cermatia, 296.
Flower cricket, egg-deposits of, 310.
Flower crickets, 302.
Flower-flies, 284.
Fly-fungus, 272.
Forbes, Prof. S. A., cited, 321.

on food of Cermatia, 296.
forceps, Cermatia, 295.
Force-pumps, 161, 162.
Forest-flies, 245.

Forsyth, Judge, on cow-horn fly, 226.
Four-lined leaf-bug, 274.
fraterna, Eumenes, 208.

Parasa, 190.
French [Prof. G. H.], 193, 20l, 207, 315.-
Fresh-water mites, 290.
Frog-hoppers, 245.
Frog-spittle, 245.
fucata, Seiara, 265.
fugitiva, Limneria. 198.

[191]

General Index.

333

Fuller [A. S.], cited, 231.
Fulleri, Aramigus, 15-t, 311, 325.
Fuller's rose-beetle, 154, 3ii.
Fungus killing insects, 273.
Fungus on quince, 321.
furcillata, Physocephala, 285.
furfurus, Chionaspis, 300, 326.
fusca, Lachnosterna, 15-1, 312, 315.

Spiloinyia, 284.
Fyles [T. W.]. cited, 164, 218.

Galeruca Calmariensis, 234.

xanthomelaena, 234-242, 303, 319, 322, 325.
Gall-mites. 290.
Galls, 173, 308.
Galls of Glyphina ulmicola, 303.

Lasioptera vitis, 303, 304.

maple-leaf mite, 303.

Nematus salicis-pomum, 173.

Phytoptus quadripes, 326.
Gamasidfe, 318.
Gamasus sp.?, 289.
Garth, D. J., insects from, 325.
Gas-lime for insect attacli, 158, lao, 253, 3i3,

319.
Gas-tar for insect attaclc, 163, 299, 314.
Geometrida3, 202, 258.
Geometrid larvre, abundance of, 259.
Geotrypes Tityus, 227.
Giraudii, Sciara, 265.

Glover [T.], cited, 192, 227, 231, 234, 236, 242, 245,
246, 248, 252.

on boxing for elm-leaf beetle, 242.

on life-history of elm-leaf beetle, 237.
Glyphina ulmicola, 303, 326.
Goff [E. S.], cited, 209, 273, 274.

insects from, 325, 326.

on saltpetre for cabbage-fly, 157.

quoted, 155. -"

Gonia sp. ?, 323.

Goodrich, Miss A., mites from, 287.
Gooseberry-worm, 156.
^- Gortyna nitola, 304, 324.

Goulds Manufacturing Co.'s spraying

pumps, 162.
Graduating spray nozzle, 161.
Grain aphis, 246-253.

abundance in isfii, 249.

bibliography, 246.

description of, 247.

different names, 250.

endurance of cold, 252.

figures of, 247.

forms of, 247.

incomplete life-history, 247.

male unknown, 252.

method of attack, 243.

migration of, 251.

parasites, 253.

parasitized forms, 253. -■

remedie8,'^253.

Grain aphis — ( Continued) :

synonymy, 246.

winter form, 252.
Grain-weevil, 325.
granaria. Aphis, 246.

Calaudra, 325.

Nectarophora, 246.

Siphonophora, 246.
Grantii, Dynastes, 227.
Grapevine bark-louse, 326.

beetle, 229.
Grapta, 285.
— — Faunus; 282, 317.
— "■ J-album, 282, 317.
grata, Bombyx, 180.

Eudryas. 180.
Green grapevine Sphinx, Darapsa Myron,
174-179.

Apanteles parasite, 179.

distribution, 175.

generic changes, 174.

injuries from, 176.

larva described, 175.

larva figured, 176.

moth figured, 179.

parasitized usually, 175, 177.

prolonged larval stage, 175.

pupation, 178.

remedy, 174.

synonymy, 174.
Grey, William, reference to, 277.
Grote [A. K.l, cited, 174, 192, 199, 201, 207. 210.
Gryllotalpa lougipennis, 326.
Guano U>v insect attack, 158, 313.
Guence. cited. 200, 206, 210.
Guerin-Mcneville cited, 265.
Guest-beetle, 173.

H.

'Hadenaarctiea, 212.
Hiumatobia cornicola, 220, 223, 310. 325.
Hagen, Dr. H. A., cited, 166.
Hag-moth caterpillar, 183-192. 30G.

iippondages of, 184, 188.

bibliography, 183. 184.

caterpillar descril>od anU figured, 184.

cocoon described and figured, 188.

degree of abundance, 186.

eggs of, 190.

flight of mollis, 191.

food-plants, 187.

mating of moths, 191.

mimicry in, 184.

moths described and figured, 189.

I)ara.sites, 192.

premature spinning up, 187.

stinging powers. 185, 186.

synonymy, 183, 184.

young stage, 190.
Haldenian, cited, 231. 232.
Halesidota tessollaris, 308.
Hall, Dr. J. W., insects from, 3J6.

334

General Index.

[192]

Hallowell Brass Company atomizer, 161.

spraying nozzle, 161.
Haltica bimarginata, 170. «

Hand-picking for insect attack, 179, 183,

209, 233, 300, 321,
Harrington [W. H.], cited, 164.
Harris [Dr. T. W.], cited, 174, 180(3), 183,
184(2), 180, 187, 192, 199, 200, 206. 231(2), 268,
299.
Harris on green grapevine caterpillar, 176.
Harrisii, Dytiscus, 325.
Harris, Mrs. Ira, myriapods froin, 326.
Hartig cited, 164. .

Harvest mites, 290.
Harvey, Joseph, insects from, 325.
Hayes, H. E., insects from, 326.
Heavy oil for insect attack, 300.
Hedges, C. H., insects from, 326.
Hedya sp. from black-knot, 280.
Helligbrodti, Anisota, 199.

Sphingicampa, 199.
Hellebore for insect attack, 157, 323.
Hellgrammite fly, 326.
•■■ifcHemileuca Maia, 186.

Hemiptera, 242, 246, 253, 273, 275, 278.

Hemiteles sp.? 199.

Henderson, Peter, on prevention of rose

aphis, 162.
Henshaw [Samuel], cited, 227, 232, 234.
Hessian-fly, 263, 325.

emergence from puparia, 264.

figures, 286.

flaxseeds, 263, 286,

in New York in 1884, 263.

preventives of, 264.
Hill [W. W.], referred to, 212.
Hippodamia convergens, 249-50, 257.
Hoagland, Sirs., insects from, 267, 325.
Hoffman, John B., myriapods from, 326.
• -Homohadena atrifasciata, 285.

Homolota lividipennis, 303.
■^ ■ Homoptera lunata, 315.

Honey-comb eaten by Dermestes, 302.

Honey-dew on hickory leaves, 304.

Hop aphis, 153.

hordei. Aphis, 246, 257.

hordei, Isosoma, 315.

Horn [Dr. G. H.], cited, 227, 232.

Horn-fly, 306, 307, 308.

Horn-tail, 311.

horridus, Acarus, 292.

Hot water for insect attack, 183, 231, 287, 315.

Howard [L. 0.], cited, 220, 224, 227.

Hubbard [H. G.], cited, 184, 186, 188.

on the hag-moth caterpillar, 187.
Hilbner, cited, 174, 180, 192, 200.
Hulst. Rev. Mr., on elm-leaf beetle, 238.
Humming-bird moths, 309.
Huntington, David, insects from, 325.
Husted, S. B., insects from, 326.
hyalinatalis, Phakellura, 320.
hyalipennis, Sciara, 265.

Hydrachnidee, 290.
Hymenoptera, 164, 173.
^Hyperchiria lo, 186.

Icerya Purchasi, 326.
IchneumonidsB on flowers, 284,
Ichneumonized caterpillars, 175.
Identical American and European insects,

206, 222, 234, 247, 254, 267, 319.
imperialis, Eacles, 324.
Incurvaria acerifoliella, 215-219.

iridella, 216.
incurvus, Tachus, 303.
inermis, Agrotis, 200, 201.
innumerabilis, Lecanium, 313.

Pulvinaria, 326.
Insect friends and foes, 178.
Insects received from New York localities:

Adirondacks, 281-286.

Albany, 265(2), 267, 289, 324(3), 325(4), 326.

Batavia, 312,

Bath, 187.

Bayport, 325.

Bayville, 324.

Bellport, 268, 325.

Bethlehem. 261.

Blauvelt, 326.

Branchport, 325.

Brooklyn, 324.

Buffalo, 296, 326.

Canajoharie, 324.

Canandaigua, 312.

Center, 193, 210.

Cherry Valley, 167, 170, 324, 325.

Clyde, 326.

Coeymans, 326.

DeKalb Junction, 167.

Delmar, 304.

East Avon, 312.

Essex county, 281.

Geneva, 272, 273, 325, 326.

Ghent, 207.

Glen Cove, 265.

Hammond, 281.

Jefferson county, 154.

Earner, 193, 210.

Kingston, 824. 326(2).

Lake Grove, 326.

Lockport, 325.

Long Lake, 283.

Loudonville, 259, 296, 326.

Lyons, 261.

Lyons Falls, 154.

Malcolm, 260, 317.

Middleburgh, 281.

Middlehope, 326.

New Windsor, 191, 192.

New York, 291, 307, 324, 326.

North Huron, 263.

Orleans county, 262.

Peekskill, 324.

[193J

General Index,

335

Insects received from New York localities-
( Continued) :
Phoenix, 313.
Pleasantville, 268.
Port Jervis, 303, 305.
Potsdam, 232.
Poundridge, 258.

Rochester, 151, 206, 275, 308, 324, 325, 326.
Sageville, 170.
Saratoga Springs, 325.
Scarsdale, 213, 303, 325.
Sea Cliff, 325.
Somerset, 325.
Suffolk county, 303.
Troy, 324.
Utica, 287, 321, 325.

Waterloo, 261.
Waterville, 326.
Watervliet, 278, 317.
Wayne county, 258.
West Albany, 173, 243.
Westchester county, 313, 320.
West Farms, 239.
Insects received from various localities:
Aiken. S. C, 317.
Annapolis, Md., 318.
Auburn, Mass., 306.
Augusta, Qa., 3ii.
Bordentown, N. J., 322.
Buckner's Station, Va„ 306.
Cape May, N. J., 326.
Carp, Tenn.. 320.
Centralia, Kans., 201.
Charlottesville, Va., 303, 305, 326.
Charlton, Mass., 321.
Clarksburg, W. Va., 304.
Coffee, Va., 321.
Colon, Cent. Amer., 325.
Crozet, Va., 316.
Eagleville, 0., 3io.
Edinburg, Scotland, 323.
Elizabeth, N. J., 326.
Erie, Pa., 314.
Franklin Park, N. J., 321.
Furnace, Mass., 321.
Hightstown, N. J., 305, 325.
Hopkinsville, Ky., 311.
Kennett Square, Pa., 221, 307.
Kingston, R. I., 308, 324.
LaFayette, Ind., 325.
Lexington, Va., 323.
Los Angelos, Cal., 326.
Lowell, Mass., 306, 326.
Madison, N. J., 315, 319.
Middlesex, Mass., 289, 318.
Mount Holly, N. J., 325.
Natchez, Miss., 316.
Norfolk, Va.,305.
Orange, N. J., 324, 325.
Oxford, Miss., 277.
Perrowville, Va., 227.
Perth Amboy, N. J., 311.

25

Insects received from various localities —
( Continued) :

Philadelphia, Pa., 315.

Pittsford, Va., 216.

Rock Hall, Md., 304, 324.

Salem, N. J., 310.

Stamford, Conn., 3il.

St. Catharines, Ont., 326.

Toledo, 0.,325.

Wabash, Ind., 307, 324.

Warren, 0., 323.

West Newton, Pa., 303.

West Stockbridge, Mass., 315, 319.

Winsted, Conn., 323.

Worcester, Mass., 304, 325.
insolita. Sphinx, 317.

Introduced insects, 222, 234, 247, 254, 267, 319.
lo, Hyperchiria, 186.
iridella. Tinea, 216.
irritans, Lyperosia, 223.
Isosoma hordei, 315.

tritici, 315.
Itch-mites, 290.
Ixodidse, 290.

J.

Jack [John J.], cited, 164.
J-album, Grapta, 282, 317.
Johnson, C. Fred., insects from, 325.
Johnson [L. C], cited, 227.
Joslin, E. Dayton, insects from, 326.
Julus attacked by insects, 311,
Julus ca3ruleocinctus, 307, 328.

beneath carpets, 296.
Jumping seeds, 315.
Jumping sumach beetle, 271.
Junkins, E. W., on Saperda ovipositiou.
269.

K.

kalmicB, Sphinx, 177.

Kaltenbach cited, 246, 251, 252.

Kellicott [D. W.], cited, 299.

Kerosene emulsion for insect attack, 162,

256, 262, 263, 279, 288, 301, 302, 313, 314, 317, 319,

321, 322.
formula for, 161, 262, 279.
Kerosene for insect attack, 160, 226, 300, 313.

321.
Kirbyciied, 246, 250.

Kirby's description of Aphis avena;, 250.
Knickerbocker, D. M., canker-worms from,

259.

Kowarz, F., identlflcation of cow-horn fly,

223.
Krieogonia Lanice, 317.
Kyber [J. F.], cited, 246, 251, 252.

L.

Lachnosterna fusca, 154, 312, 315.
Lachnus caryfP, 304.
lactis, Acarus, 292.
Lady-bird, twice stabbed, 267.

336

General Index.

[194]

Lady-bug attack on scale-insects, 266.

Lady-bug, is-spotted. 305.

Lady-bugs, 249, 254, 257, 300.

Lagoa crispata, 186, 188.

Lake Pleasant, larch saw-fly at, 169.

Lanice, Kricogonia, 317.

lanigera, Schizoneura, 160.

Larch saw-fly, 164-173.

appearance in United States, 166.

bibliography, 164.

cocoons, 169.

disparity of sexes, 171.

enemies, 169, 170.

European injuries, 166.

figure of, 165.

food-plants, 165.

in Canada, 172.

Lake Pleasant region, 168.
Otsego county, 167.
Schoharie county, 168.
St. Lawrence county, 167,

injuries, extent of, 171.

introduced from Europe, 164.

larvfE difficult to rear, 170.

life-history, 165.

migration, 167, 168.

New England distribution, 166.

New York distribution, 166.

parasites, 169, 170. •

probable range, 171.

remedies, 171.
lardarius, Dermestes, 302, 313.
Lasell, Mrs. E. W. K., insects from, 324, 325.
Lasioptera vitis, 304, 325.
Late planting for insect attack, 300.
latipenms, (Ecanthus, 312.
Latreille cited, 179.

on Sciara, 264.
Leaf-hopper, 302. — ^

Leaf-miner, 322.
Leaf-mite, 303.

Le Baron [Dr. Wm ], cited, 227.
Lecanium innumerabilis, 313.
LeConte [Dr. J. L.l, cited, 231, 232, 234.
leguminicola, Cecidomyia, 262.
Lepidoptera, 174, 179, 183, 192, 200, 206, 210, 213,

215, 258, 259, 260.
Leptura scalaris, 285.

Lepyronia, 245. -^

leucopterus, Blissus, 317.
leueostigma, Orgyia, 310, 317, 321.
Lewis, P. C, spraying force-pump, 162.
Light-loving grapevine beetle, 305.
— Limacodes pithecium, 183.
Lime for insects, 157, 158, 160, 163, 227, 299, 305.
Lime wash for insect attack, 163.
Lime water for insects, 307.
liminaris, Phloeotribus, 319, 325.
Limneria fugitiva, 198. «

Limothrips poaphagus, 153.
lineata, Deilephila, 175.
lineatus, Poecilocapsus, 273.

lineatus, Ptyelus, 245.

lineolaris, Lygus, 275,

LinnaBUS, cited, 227, 231, 232, 234, 246. 250, 253.

Linsley, D. M., on clover-seed midge, 262.

lividipennis, Homolota, 303.

Lockwood [Rev. Samuel], cited, 234.

Locust visitation, 318.

Loew, Dr., referred to, 282.

London purple for insect attack, 162, 200,

219, 240, 301, 304, 312, 313.
longipennis, Gryllotalpa, 326.
longipes, Sciara, 265.
lucicola, Anomala, 305, 325,
Luna, Actias, 188.
lunata, Homoptera, 315.
Lunated long- sting, 311.
lunator, Thalessa, 305.

Tremex, 311.
lutescens, Aulacomerus, 171.
Lycaena pseudargiolus, 285.
Lye for insect attack, 163, 299, 320.
Lygus lineolaris, 275.

pratensis, 275, 326.
Lyman, Geo. T., insects from, 268, 325.
Lyperosia irritans, 223.

serrata, 220.

•M.

Macquart, cited, 220.
Macrobasis unicolor, 305, 321.
Macrodactylus subspinosus, 154.
'Macrosila auinquemaculata, 179.
maculata, Sesia 8, 179.

Vespa, 285.

Zygaena 8, 179.
Maia, Hemileuca, 186.
mali. Aphis, 161.

Sciara, 265.
' Mamestra grandis, 210-213.

bibliography, 210.

distribution, 212.

eggs, 211.

larval habits, 211.

life-history, 211, 212.

moth figured, 212.

poplar feeding, 210.

pupation, 212.

stages of larva, 211.
■ Mamestra'picta, 206-210.

bibliography, 207.

double-brooded, 208.

experiment with pyrethrum, 209.

figures, 207,

food-plants, 209.

parasitic attack, 208.

remedies, 209.

transformations, 208.

young larva, 207.
- Mamestra trifolii, 323.
mamestrfe, Microplitis, 208.
manca, Dicerca, 286.
Maple-leaf cutter, 216-219.

[195]

General Index.

337

Maple-leaf cutter — ( Continued) :

bibliography, 215, 216.

history of, 218.

leaf-eases of, 216.

moth described and figured. 219.

operations on maple leaf, 217.

ravages in New York, 218.
Ontario, 219.
Quebec, 218.
Vermont, 216.

remedies, 219.

synonymy, 215, 216.
Maple-leaf mite-gall, 303.
Maple-tree scale insect, 313.
marginatus, Chauliognathus, 316.
Marshall, Miss L. A., on food of Cermatla,

295.
Marten [John], cited, 201.
Mating of Anisota senatorla, 193.
May-beetle, 308.
May-flies, 319.
Measuring worms, 260.
Melanolestes abdominalls, 316.

picipes, 316.
• Melittia cucurbitfe. 155, 312, 313. 320.
Melon plant-louse. 306, 326,
Melsheimer, Dr., cited. 179, 180-
Merula mlgratoria, 198.
Meske [O.], referred to. 212.
Microcentrum retinervum. 323, 826.
Microgaster cocoons, 177.
Microgaster sp.? 170.
Mieroplitis mamestraa, 208.
migratoria, Merula, 198.
Milbertii. Vanessa, 285.
Milliere, cited. 206.

Mimicry in hag-moth caterpillar, 184.
ministra, Datana, 169, 307, 321.
Mites, abundance in pork packing-house,
292.

carbolic acid for, 293.

catalogue of, 289.

families of, 290.

feeding habits of, 288.

infesting flour, 294.

in maple-leaf galls, 303.

on canary birds, 290.

on chickens, 290.

on Colorado potato-beetle, 289.

on garden plants, 287.

on sexton beetle, 289.

on smoked meats. 291.

remedies for. 288.

webs of, 288.
modestus, Podisus. 170.
molestum, Simulium. 283, 317.
Monohammus confusor, 325.
morbosa, Plowrlghtia, 280, 320.

Sphaerla, 280, 320.
Morris [Dr. J. G.], cited, 184, 192.
Morrison [H. K.], cited. 201,

Morton. Miss E. L.. on Phobetron: Eggs.
100; flight, 190; food-plants, 187; habits.
190, 191 ; larva", 190; male moth, 189; para-
sites, 192 ; stinging powers, 186.

mortuorum, Plusia. 285.

Mosquitoes, 319.

Murray [Andrew], on mites, cited, 292.

Murrell, G. E., on Dynastes Tityus, 230.

Murrell, J. W., on spotted horn-bug, 230.

Muscidas from cow-droppings. 225.

Museum post, 268.

Mushrooms infested by flies. 265.

Mustard crop for repelling Insects, 317.

Mycetophilidfe, 264.

Myops, Alaus, 317.

Myriopoda, 251, 296.

Myron, Ampelophaga, 174.
Darapsa, 174-179, 301. 324.
Everyx, 174.

OtUS, 174.

Sphinx, 174.
Mytilaspis pomicorticis, 319.

pomorura, 319.
Myzus cerasi, 253-257.
Myzus persicaj, 256, 315.

N.

Necrophorus tomentosus, 289.
Nectarophora granaria, 246.
Nematus Erichsonii, 101-173, 324, 352.

salicis-pomum. 173.

ventricosus, 15G.
nenuphar, Conotrachelus, 280.
Nephele, Satyrus, 285.
nerii, Aspidiotus, 278, 317.
nervosa, Sciara, 265.
Netting to prevent insect attack, 313.
Nouroptora at Long Lake, 286.
Neurotorus verrucarum, 308, 324.
Night soil for repelling insects, 169.
nimbatana, Antithesia, 213.

Penthina, 213-215.
Nisoniades, 285.
nitela, Gortyna, 304. 324.
nitida. AUorhiua, 319.
nitidalis, Phakollura, 320.
Nitrate of potash for insect attack, 157.
nivous, (Ecanthus, :i02, 3lo. 312. 326.
Nixon climax nozzle. 161. 301.
Noctua saucia, 200.
Noctuida), 200, 206, 210.
Norton [Edward], cited, 173.
Nozzles for force-pumps, 161, 239.
Nysius angustatus. 321.

O.

Oak gallp. 308.
Oak-pruner, 153,268.
Oak-tree pruner. 325.
Oberea basil is. 231,232.
bimaculata, 231-233.

338

General Index.

[196]

Oberea perspillicata, 231, 232.

Schaumii. 233.

tripunctata, 231, 232.
Oberndorf, Jr., A., on cut-worm eggs, 201.
obesus, Scolytus, 300.
obtusa, Cercopis, 242.

Clastoptera, 242.
octomaeulata, Agarista, 179.

Alypia, 179-183.

Sphinx, 179.
oculatus, Alaus, 317, 325.
Acanthus fasciatus. 3io.
(Ecanthus latipennis, 312.
(Ecanthus niveus, 302, 310, 312, 326.
^(Edemasia eoncinna, 169, 309, 324.
Oestland [0. W.], cited, 246, 251, 252.
Olivier cited, 231, 232, 234.
Onion maggot, 319.
' Orgyia leucostigma, 310, 317, 321.
Oribatidse, 290.
Ormcrod [Miss E. A.], cited, 246.

on fruit insects, 152.
^ Ornix acerifoliella, 215, 216, 218.
Orthaltica copalina, 271.
Ortoni, Agrotis, 201.

Osborne, A. O., insects from, 326. «

Osborn, Prof. H., on mites, 288, 289.
Osten Saeken [Baron], cited, 282. 307, 309.

on Sciara, 256.

on the cow-horn fly, 222.
Otus Cnotus. 174.

Myron, 174.
Oviposition of elm-tree beetle, 239.

GScanthus latipennis, 312.

peach-borer moth, 299.

Saperda ca"ndida, 269.
Owl beetle, 317.
Oyster-shell lime for insect attack, 158.

P.

Packard [Dr. A. S.], cited, 164, 184, 192, 207, 216,
218, 234, 246, 299.

on larch saw-fly, 165, 166.
palliatus, Desmocerus, 325.
Palmer, W. J., insects from, 325.

quoted, 154.
Pamphila, 285.
pampinatrix, Choerocampa, 174.

Sphinx, 174.
Pandorus, Philampelus, 175, 177.
parallela, Aphrophora, 245.
parallelum, Elaphidion, 153, 268, 325.
- Parasa Chloris, 186.
"*- fraterna, 190.
Parasite of Col. potato-beetle, 289, 318.

of Darapsa Myron, 177.

Mamestra picta, 208.

(?) Mamestra trifolii, 323.

Orgyia leucostigma, 310.

Philampelus Pandorus, 177.

Sphinx kalmiae, 177.

Parasite of Thyreus Abbotii, 177.

Tremex columba, 311.
Parasites of Anisota senatoria, 198.

grain-aphis, 249, 253.

larch saw-fly, 169.

Phobetron pithecium, 192.
Parasitic mites, 290.
Parasitism, interesting case of, 307.
Paris green for insect attack, 155, 162, 262,

301, 305, 317, 319, 320, 321.
Passerini on grain-aphis, 252,
Peach and cherry borers, 319,
Peach-root aphis, 315.
Peach-tree borer, 299, 300.
Pear-blight beetle, 318.
Pea-weevil, 300.
Peck, Prof. C. H., cited. 166, 272.

on black-knot, 281.
pecuarum, Simulium, 314.
Pelidnota punctata, 229, 310, 312, 325.
pellucida, Anisota, 199.
Pennsylvanicus, Chauliognathus, 316.
Pentagonia vittigera, 286,
Penthina contrariana, 213.
■— nimbatana, 213-215.
'Peridroma saucia, 200.
persicEe, Myzus, 256, 315.
personatus, Reduvius, 316.
perspillicata, Oberea, 231, 232.
Pests of the Pomologist, 299.
Phakellura hyalinatalis, 320.

nitidalis, 320.
Phalfena pithecium, 183.

senatoria, 192.
Philsenus spumaria, 245.
Philampelus achemon, 175.

Pandorus, 175, 177.
Philodice, Colias, 285.
Phloeotribus liminaris, 319, 325.
Phobetron pithecium, 183-192, 306.
Phobetrum pithecium, 184.
Phorbia ceparum, 319.
Phyllotreta vittata, 301.
Phylloxera in France, 241.
Physocephala furcillata, 285.
Phytonomus punetatus, 272, 312.
Phytoptidse, 290.
Phytoptus quadripes, 303, 326.
picipes, Melanolestes, 316.
Pickle-worm, 320.
picta, Mamestra, 206-210,
pictipes, jEgeria, 280.
Pieris rapse, 285, 300.
Pig-manure for repelling insects, 301.
Pig-sty drainage for repelling insects

301.
Pimpla couquisitor, 310.
Pimpla sp.? from Nematus. 170.
pinifolii, Chionaspis, 266.
pithecium, Ecnomidea, 183.
Limacodes, 183.
Phalaena, 183.

[197]

General Index.

339

pithecium, Phobetron, 183-192, 306.

Phobetrum, 184.
plagiator, Ephedrus, 253.
Plant-bug eggs on strawberries, 319.
Plant-bugs, 170.
Plant-lice, how to kill, 302.

on elms, 319.

on melons, 306.

on peach-tree roots, 315.
Plaster for insect attack, 301, 305.
Platyphyllum concavum, 323.
Plowing and harrowing for insect attacks

319.
Plowing under for insect attack, 156, 206,

312.
Plowrightia morbosa, 280, 320.
Plum curculio, 280, 300, 325.
Plusia mortuorum, 285.
poaphagus, Limothrips, 153.
Podisus modestus, 170.
Poecilocapsus lineatus, 273.
Poisoned bait for insects, 206.
Polys toechotes punctatus, 286.
pomicorticis, Mytilaspis, 319.
pomifoliella, Bucculatrix, 260, 317.
pomonella, Carpocapsa, 316.

Trypeta, 300.
pomorum, Mytilaspis, 319.
Pomroy, Norman, insects from, 325.
Poplar-feeding cut-worm, 210.
Poplar saw-fly, 171.
Potash for insect attack, 163, 299.
Potato-beetle, 320.
Potato-bug parasite, 318.
Potato-worm, 309.

Powell, Geo. T., insects from, 207, 325.
Praon avenaphis, 253.
pratensis, Lygus, 275.
Preventive of Anisopteryx vernata, 259.

Anomala lucicola, 305.

apple-tree borer, 163.

apple-tree tent caterpillar, 304.

ash-gray blister-beetle, 305.

bacon-beetle, 313.

beet-leaf miner, 322.

cabbage-fly, 157, 158, 159.

canker-worm, 259.

cherry- aphis, 256.

cow-horn fly, 226, 227.

cucumber-beetle, 159.

cut-worms, 157, 159.

Dermestes lardarius, 313.

grape-leaf galls, 304.

Isosoma hordei, 315.

joint- worm fly, 315.

larder beetle, 313.

onion-maggot, 157, 159, 319.

peach-tree borer, 1G3.

radish maggot, 157, 169.

rose-aphis, 1G2.

round-headed apple-tree borer, 270.

squash-vine borer, 313.

Preventive of striped flea-beetle, 30i.

white grub, 317.

woolly-aphis, 160.
Preventives of insect attack:

ashes. 30l.

beans for cucumber-beetle, 159.

bisulphide of carbon, 313.

buckwheat crop for white grub, 317.

burdock Infusion, 158.

burning, 304, 322.

coal-tar. 155, 30i.

counterodorants, 313, 319, 322.

cow-dung, 159.

destroying caterpillar nests, 304.

destroying eggs, 304.

flsh-oil, 226.

gas-lime, 158, 160.

guano, 158.

hellebore, 159.

kerosene, 226.

lime, 301, 305.

mustard crop for white grub, 317.

night-soil, 159.

netting, 313.

oyster-shell lime, 158.

pig-manure, 30l.

pig-3ty drainage, 301.

plaster, 301, 305.

printers'-ink bands, 259.

road dust, 305, 320.

rotation of crops, 315, 319.

salt, 317.

saltpetre, 157.

sheep dip, 226.

snuff, 301.

soap-wash, 270.

soluble phenyle, 226.

soot, 159, 301.

sulphur, 301.

tallow and carbolic acid, 226.

tansy decoction, 159.

tar, 220, 226.

tarred bands, 259.

tar-water, 30i.
Printers'-ink bands for insect attack,

259.
Prionotus cristatus, 310.
Priophora serrata, 220, 223.
Probing for apple-tree borer, 320.
Promethea, Callosamia, 324.
Proteus, Clastoptera, 245.
Provancher [I'Abbo], cited, 164. 232, 242, 253.

on the larch, 172.
Prunus Americana, 281, 320.

cerasus, 281, 320.

domestica, 281, 320.

maratima, 281.

Pennsylvanica, 281, 320.

serotina, 281, ,320.

Virglniana. 281,320.
pseudargiolus, Lycaena, 285.

PsOcldiB. 323,

a40

General Index.

[198]

Ptyelus lineatus, 245.
puliearia, CorimelaBna, 319.

Sciara, 265.
pulsatoria, Clothilla, 323.
Pulvinaria innumerabilis, 326.
punctata, Pelidnota, 229, 310, 312, 325.
punctatus, Phytonomus, 272.

Polystoechotes, 286.
Punctured clover-leaf weevil, 312.
Purehasi, Icerya, 326.
■>Pyrameis Atalanta, 285.
Pyrethrum for Insect attack, 209, 301, 305,

321.
pyri, Sciara, 265.

a.

quadrangularis, Aphrophora, 245.
quadrinota, Aphrophora, 245.
Quadripes, Phytoptus, 303, 326.
Quassia for insect attack, 288, 307, 322.
querceti, Euclea, 186.
Quince curculio, 316.
quinquelineata, Sciara, 265.
quinquemaculata, Macroslla, 179,
Sphinx, 309.

- B.

Railroad train stopped by caterpillars, 190.
rapae, Pieris, 285, 300.
Raspberry-cane girdler, 231-233.

bibliography, 231, 232.

cane-girdling, 233.

description of beetle, 232,

figure of beetle, 232.

food-plants, 233.

life-history, 233.

remedy, 233.

synonymy, 231, 232,
Rathvon [S. S.], cited, 234.
Ratzeburg, cited, 164, 165.
Reddy, E. J., insects from, 324.
Red-humped apple-tree caterpillar, 309.
Red spider, 287, 321.
ReduviidsB, 316.
Reduvius personatus, 316.
Reed [E. B.], cited, 216. 219.
regalis, Citheronia, 324.
Regal walnut-moth, 324.
Remedies for insect attack:

Ammoniacal liquors, 158,

Arsenites, 231, 239, 314, 320, 321, 322.

Ashes and sulphur, 315.

Autumn plowing, 313.

Beating from foliage, 231.

Benzine, 314.

Bisulphide of carbon, 266, 300, 315.

Boxing for elm-leaf beetle, 314.

Brine, 156.

Buckwheat crop, 310.

Burdock infusion, 158

Burning, 154, 303(2), 308, 310, 314, 315, 317,
318.

Remedies for insect attack — ( Continued) :
Camphor, 300.
Carbolic acid, 293, 314.
Chickens, 301.
Creosote, 314.

Crushing, 206, 209. 215, 219, 307, 309. 320.
Cyanide of potassium, 314.
Digging-out, 156. 271, 312. 313, 319, 320,
Driving on tarred paper, 302.
Feeding stock, 219.
Fungus, 273.

Gas-lime, 158, 253, 313, 319.
Gas-tar, 163, 299. 314.
Guano, 313.

Hand-picking. 179, 183. 209, 233. 300, 321.
Heavy oil, 300.
Hellebore, 323.
Hot water. 183. 231. 287, 315.
Kerosene, 160, 300, 303, 321.
Kerosene emulsion, 161, 256, 262, 263. 279,

288. 301, 302, 313. 314, 317, 319, 321, 322,

Late planting, 300.

Lime, 157, 158, 160, 163, 227, 299.

Lime-wash, 163.

Lime-water, 307.

London purple, 162. 200, 219, 240, 301, 304,

312, 313, 322.
Lye, 163, 299, 320.
Mustard crop, 3io.
Nitrate of potash, 157.
Paris green, 155, 162, 262. 301, 305, 317, 319,

320. 321.
Plowing and harrowing. 319.
Plowing under. 156, 206, 312,
Poisoned baits, 206.
Potash, 163, 299.

Probing for apple-tree borer, 320,
Pyrethrum powder, 209, 301, 321.
Pyrethrum spraying, 305.
Quassia, 288. 307. 322.
Rolling, 206, 264, 312.
Salt, 253, 316.
Saltpetre, 157. 313.
Scraping (bark-lice), 319.
Shaking from foliage, 172, 183, 262, 314,

317, 820, 321.
Soap and carbolic acid wash. 30l.
Soap and sulphur, 288, 322.
Soap-suds, 161, 256, 275, 287. 302,
Soap wash, 160, 270. 279, 317, 320.
Soft, soap. 163,
Soluble phenyle, 315,
Soot, 253, 307,
Spraying. 161, 172, 200, 219, 239, 240. 256, 259,

301, 302, 305, 319.
Starvation. 310. 316.
Sulphur fumigation. 314.
Tansy decoction. 159.
Tarred bands. 313. 318.
Toads, 301.
Tobacco, 160, 161.
Tobacco water, 256. 301, 302, 303.

[199]

General Index.

Ml

Eemedies for insect attack — ( Continued) :

Trenching, 200.

Vaporized tobacco-juice, 302.

Whale-oil soap, 163, 313,

Working the ground, 259.
Remedy for Anisota senatoria, 200.

apple-tree aphis, 160, 302.

apple-tree bark-louse, 319.

apple-leaf Bucculatrix, 262, 317.

ash-gray blister-beetle, 305.

Aspidiotus nerii, 317.

bag-worm, 321.

bark-lice, 163.

cabbage-fly, 157, 158.

carpet-beetle, 314.

cherry-aphis, 256.

clover-seed midge, 263.

cow-horn fly, 227.

cucumber moth, 320.

currant-worm, -156,

Dynastes Tityus, 231.

eight-spotted Alypia, 183,

elm-leaf beetle, 239, 300, 30i, 314.

Eriocampa saw-fly, 323.

Eudryas grata, 183.

false chinch-bug, 321.

gooseberry-worm, 156.

grain-aphis, 253.

grapevine leaf-hopper, 302.

green grapevine caterpillar, 179.

Hessian-fly, 263.

Isosoma hordei, 315.

lady-bugs. 257.

larch saw-fly, 172.

Mamestra picta, 209.

maple-leaf cutter, 219.

maple-leaf gall-mite, 303.

maple-tree scale-insect, 313.

mites, 287, 288, 293.

oak-pruner, 154.

Oberea^bimaculata, 233.

CEdemasia concinna, 309.

onion-worm, 159.

peach-root aphis, 315.

pear-blight beetle, 318.

pea-weevil, 300.

Phakellura nitidalis, 320.

raspberry-cane girdler, 233.

red-humped apple-tree caterpillar, 309.

red spider, 322.

rose-bug, 320.

rose-leaf tyer, 215.

round-headed apple-tree borer, 271, 320.

scale-insects, 163, 279. 299, 317.

spotted horn-bug, 231.

spring canker-worm, 303, 318.

sauash-vine borer, 155, 313.

strawberry insects, 156.

striped flea-beetle, 30l.

thousand-legged worms. 307.

white-grub, 159. 316, 317.

wire-worms, 3io. -*

Remedy for woolly-aphis, 160.

Xyleborus pyri, 318.

yellow-necked apple-tree caterpillar,
307.
retinervum, Microcentrum, 323, 326,
Rhinoceros beetle, 228, 321.
rhois, Blapharida, 271.
Richardson, M. T., insects from, 324.
Richmond, A. J., insects from, 324.
Riley-Monell, cited, 246.
Riley [Prof. C. V.], cited, 180(2), 183-185, 197(2).
200, 205, 207, 209, 227, 232-234, 239, 256, 257, 271,
290,292,311, 314,322.

on apple-tree borer, 270.

on black-knot, 280.

on lady-bugs for killing plant-lice, 257.

on 13-year cicada, 276-278.
Rio Grande Lepidoptera. paper on, 317.
Road-dust for repelling insects, 305, 320.
Robin eats Anisota senatoria, 198.
Robinson, Prof. W. T., insects from, 326.
Rondani cited, 220, 223.
rosaceaua, Cocoecia, 213.
Rose aphids, 162.
Rose-bug, 154, 320.
Rose-leaf Tyer, 213-215.

bibliography, 213.

caterpillar described, 213.

double-brooded, 21B.

food-habits. 214.

infesting a green-house, 213.

life-history, 214, 215.

moth figured, 214.

remedies, 215.
Rotation of crops for insect attack, 316.

319.
Rouast, M., cited, 205.
Round-headed apple-trea borer, 269, 320.
rubicunda, Anisota, 197, 198, 200.

Dryocampa, 200.
rugulosus, Scolytus, 300,319.
Rurasoy & Co.'s spraying force-pumps, 102.
Russell, Dr. 8. A., insects from, 289.

S.

Sabin. Dr. R. H., insects from, 324.
sacchari, TyroglyphuB, 294.
Sageville, N. Y., collections at. 170.
salicis-pomum, Nomatus, 173.
Salt for insect attack. 253, 3i6. 317.
saltitans, Carpocap.sa, 315.
Saltpetre for insect attack, 151, 157, 313.
sangulsuga, Conorhinus, 3io.
Saperda afllnis, 231.

bimaculata, 231.

Candida, 269, 320,325.

tri punctata, 231.
Sarcoptida;, 290.

Sargent, Prof. C S., larch saw-fly from,
160.

on the larch, 171. 172.
. Satyrus Nephole, 285.

S42

Oeneiral Index.

[200]

saucia, Agrotis, 200-206.

Saunders [Wm.], cited, 161, 180(2), 184. 231,

253, 299.
Saw-fly on fruit trees, 323.
Say [Dr. Thomas], cited, 227, 242, 245.
scalaris, Bellamira, 285. -*

Leptura, 285.
Scale-insect, maple-tree, 313.

on ivy, 317.

on pine, 266.
Scale-insects, 300.

destroyed by a lady-bug, 266.
SoarabaeidaB, 227.
ScarabiBus Tityus, 227.
Schaumii, Oberea, 233.
Schizoneura Americana, 319.
Schizoneura lanigera, 160.
Schmitz, H. C, on squash-vine borer, 155.
Sehrank, cited, 234.
Schwarz [E. A.J, cited, 233.
Sciara f ucata, 265.

Giraudii, 265.

hyalipennis, 265.

longipes, 266.

mali, 265.

nervosa, 265.

pulicaria, 265.

pyri, 265.

quinquelineata, 265.

sp.? in wheat, 264.

ThomtB, 264.

tilicola, 265.

vittata, 265. "~

Scolytus obesus, 300. ~

rugulosus, 300, 319. *■

scrophularlse, Anthrenus, 267, 268, 314, 325. -■
Scurfy bark-louse, 326. —

Scymnus species, 300. "^

Seeley, D. W.. insects from, 265,
senatoria, Anisota, 192-200.

Dryocampa, 192.

Phalasna, 192.
Senatorial oak moth, 192.
Sennett and Webster's collections, 317.
Sennettii, Ecpantheria, 317.
septemmaculata, Diplosis, 280.
septendecim. Cicada, 276. 322.
serrata, Hsematobia, 220, 3io, 325.

Lyperosia, 220. >

Priophora, 220.
Sesia 8 maculata, 179.
Settle, H. G., insects from, 325.
Seventeen-year Cicada, 276.
Seventeen-year locusts, 318.
Sexton-beetles, 289.
Sexual character in pupae, 311.
Shaking from foliage for insect attack, 172,

183, 262, 314, 317, 320, 321.
Shaw, John C, insects from, 324.
Sheep dips for insect attack, 226.
Shimer, Samuel W., insects from, 325.
Signoreti, Aphrophora, 245.

Simulium molestum, 283, 317.

pecuarum, 314.
Siphonophora aveuEe, 246-253.

granaria, 246.
siro, Tyroglyphus, 291-295.
■ Smerinthus Myron, 174.
Smith-Abbot, cited, 174, 179, 183, 192.
Smith, Miss E. A., cited, 218.
Smith, Mrs. E. B., insects from, 326.
Smith, Prof. J. B., cited, 220, 227(2), 228.

on cow-horn fly, 223, 224, 225.

on elm-leaf beetle, 238.
Snake-worm, 264.
Snouted mites, 290.
Snow [Prof. F. H.], cited, 197,
Snuff for repelling insects, 301.
Soap and carbolic acid wash, 301.
Soap and sulphur for insect attack, 288.
Soap-suds for insects, 161, 256, 275, 287, 302.
Soap-wash for insects, 160, 270, 279, 317, 320.
Soft soap for insects, 163.
Soluble phenyle for repelling insects, 226,

315.
Soot for insect attack, 253, 307.
Soot for repelling insects, 159, 301.
Spanish-fly, 305.
Speyer [Dr. A.], cited, 201.
Sphaeria morbosa, 320.
.^phingicampa bicolor, 199.

— bisecta, 199.

■ — - Heiligbrodti. 199,
Sphingidcc, 174, 317,
Sphinx insolita, 317.

— kalmiffi, 177.

— Myron, 174.

— octomaculata, 179.

— pampinatrix, 174.

— quinquemaculata, 309.
Spilomya fusca, 284.
Spinning mites, 290.
Spittle-insects, 243-306.
Spotted horn-bug, 227-231.
Spraying apparatus, J61.
Spraying, directions for, 162.

Spraying for insect attack, 161, 172, 200, 219,
239, 240, 256, 259, 301, 302, 305, 319.

Spring canker-worm, 313.
spumaria. Cicada, 245.

Philaenus, 245.
Squash-vine borer, 155, 312, 313, 320.
Stag beetle. 228.
Stainton [H. T.], cited, 200.
Stalk-borer, 304.
Staphylinidae, 303.

Starvation for insect attack, 310, 310.
stigma, Anisota, 197, 199.
stimulea, Empretia, 186, 188.
Stinging bug, 316.
Stinging caterpillars, 185, 197.
Stomoxys calcitrans, 221, 222, 225, 308.

cervicola, 222, 308.

cornicola, 220, 222, 308, 310.

[201]

General Index.

343

Strecker, Herman, cited, 186.

Stretch [R. H.], cited, 180(2).

Striped cucumber beetle, 235.

Striped flea-beetle, 301.

Sturtevant, Dr. E. L., insects from, 167, 260,

262, 264, 272.
subspinosus, Maerodactylus, 154.
Sugar mite in England, 294.
Sulpho-carbonatesfor insect attack, 315.
Sulphur for insect attack, 301.

for the elm-beetle, 300.

fumigation for insect attack, 314.

remedy? for the elm-beetle, 240.
Swederus referred to, 232.
Sweet, W. W., insects from, 325.
Swinnerton, Rev. H. W., insects from, 323,
325.

on larch saw-fly, 167, 170.
sycophanta, Anthonomus, 173.
Syrphidiie, 284.

T.

Tachina from Phobetron, 192.
TaehinidcB, 323.
Tachinid fly, 285, 324.
Tachus incurvus, 303.
Tallow and carbolic acid for repelling in-
sects, 226.
Tansy decoction for insects, 159.
Tar for repelling insects, 220, 226.
Tarnished plant-bug, 275.
Tarauinius, Feniseca, 282, 317.
Tarred bands for insect preventive, 259,

313, 318.
Tar water for repelling insects, 226.
tau, Aglia, 188.

telarius, Tetranychus, 287, 321.
TenthredinidcB, 164, 173.
tessellaris, Halesidota, 308.
Tetranychus telarius, 287, 321.
Texas fly, 220, 226, 307, 308.
Thalessa atrata, 305.

lunator, 305, 311.
Thirteen-year Cicada, 322.
Thirteen-year locast, 276, 318.
Thomfe, Sciara, 264. —

Thomas [Dr. Cyrus],cited, 207, 227, 246,253,256.

on grain aphis, 251.
Thousand-legged worms, 296, 307.
Thrips, 302, 304.
.jsji— .Thyreus Abbotii, 175, 177, 306, 324.
_;,-^Thyridopteryx ephemerteformis, 321.
^ Ticks, 290.

tilicola, Sciara, 265.
•^p^-Tinea iridella, 216.
TineidaB, 215, 261.
Tipulid larvcB, 325.
Tityus, Dynastes, 227-231, 321.

Geotrypes, 227.

Searabajus, 227.
Toads for catching insects, 301.
Tobacco dust for repelling insects, 158, 162,
226, 301,

26

Tobacco for insect attack, 160, 161.

Tobacco water for insects, 256, 30i, 302, 303.

Tobacco-worm, 309.

Tomato-worm reported venomous, 186.

tomentosus, Necrophorus, 289.

torpidus, Agrilus, 283, 317.

Tortricidffi, 213.

Toxares triticaphis, 253.

Treat [Mrs. M.], cited, 193.

Tree-hoppers, 245.

Treitschke, cited, 200. ^,

Tremex columba, 305, 311.

Trenching against insects, 200.

trifolii, Mamestra, 323.

Trim flower-chafer, 320.

triticaphis, Toxares, 253.

tritici, Isosoma, 315.

TrombididcB, 287, 290.

Trypeta pomonella, 300.

Trypetidaa, 282, 317.

tuberculata, Dicerca, 286,

Tucker, Dr. W. G., on carbolic acid for

mites, 293.
Twice-stabbed lady-bird, 267.
Tyroglyphidas, 290.
Tyrogiyphus longior, 292.

sacchari, 294.

siro, 291-295.

TJ.

Ubler [P. R.], cited, 242, 243, 245, 306.
ulmicola, Colopha, 303.

Glyphina, 303, 326.
Unarmed rustic, 200.
Underwood, L. M., on mites, 289.
unicolor, Macrobasis, 305, 321.
unijuga, Catocala, 282.
Unrecognized apple-tree attack, 302.
Urocerus Ci'essoni, 311.
Uropoda Americana, 290, 318.

vegetans, 290.
Urticating caterpillars, 186.

V.

■Vanessa Milbertii, 285.
Van Wagenen [G. H.], cited, 234.
Vaporized tobacco-juice repellaut, 302.
Variegated cut-worm, 200-206.
varius, Anthrenus, 267, 268.
vegetans, Uropoda, 290.
ventricosus, Nematus, 156.
vernata, Anisopteryx, 242, 258, 313, 318.
verrucarum, Neuroterus, 308, 324.
vesicatoria, Cantharis, 305.
Vespa maculata, 285.
Virginiensis, Anisota, 199.
vitis, Erythroneura, 302.

Lasioptera, 304, 325.
vittata, Diabrotica, 235, 312.

Phyllotreta, 301.

Sciara, 265.
vittigera. Pentagonia, 286.

344

General Index.

[202]

W.

Walker [F.], cited. 174. 192. 213, 251, 252.
"Walsh [B. D.], cited, 173, 192, 197, 207, 246,

280(2), 281.
Walsh-Biley, cited, 173, 197.
Walsingham [Lord], cited, 216.
Warren, W. G., Julus from, 296.

myriapods from, 326.
Webster, Geo., on sulphur for insects, 241.
Webster [Prof. F. M.], cited, 227, 246, 264.

insects from, 325.

on grain-aphis, 251.
Weed [C. M.], cited, 207, 208.
Wessels, C H., mites from, 291.
Westwood [Prof. J. 0.], cited, 234, 265, 315.
Whale-oil for insect attack, 163, 313.
White flower-cricket, 302, 310.
White grub, 154, 316, 317.

publication on, 308, 312, 315.
Whitehead, Charles, on fruit caterpillars

152.
White-marked tussock, 310.
White-scale attack on ivy. 278.

Wicks, Isaac, experiment on insects with

sulphur, 241.
Williston, Dr. 8. W., cited, 220, 222, 223, 308,

309.
Willow-apple gall saw-fly, 173.
Wire-worms, 310.
Woolly aphis, 160.
Woolly plant-lice on alder, 282.
Working the ground for insect attack, 259.

X.

xanthomelasna, Galeruca, 234-242, 303, 319,

322, 325.
X. 0. dust for repelling cow-horn fly, 227.
Xyleborus pyri, 300, 318, 325.

Y.

Yellow-striped oak caterpillar, 192.

Z.

Zebra cabbage caterpillar, 206.
Zeller [Prof. P. G.], cited, 213, 215.
^BflfeygsBna 8 maculata, 179.
Zygsenidse, 179.

PLANT INDEX.

Acacia, 3Q6.

Acer dasycarpum, 200.

sacchariuum. 187, 200.
Adlumia, 288.
alba, Betula, 187, 197.

Carya, 304.
album, Chenopodium, 209.
Alder, 243, 282.
Alnus serrulata, 243.
Alnus sp., 282.
Alsike clover, 263.
Althaea, 265.

Americana, Corylus, 187.
Larix, 165.
Ulmus, 303.
Ampelopsis, 306.

quinauefolia, 179, 180,
Apple, 151, 152. 160-162. 167, 187, 192, 201-205,
258, 260, 265, 269, 277, 299, 302, 306, 307, 309,
316-318, 320, 321, 324, 326.
Apple, early harvest, 305.
Asclepias cornuti, 282.
Ash, 187, 230, 321.

asparagoides, Myrsiphyllum, 205.
Asparagus, 209.
Aster, 209.

aurantiaca, Roestelia, 321.
Austrian pine, 266.
Avena fatua, 252.
sativa, 250.

B.
Balsam, 260.
Barley, 247, 251.
Beans, 169, 288.
Bear oak, 197.
Beech, 218.
Beet, 209, 314.
Betula alba, 187, 197.
Birch, white, 187, 197.
Black alder, 243.
Blackberry, 245.
Black currant, 256, 274.
Black-knot, 280.
Black oak, 197.
Black scrub oak, 197.
blanda, Rosa, 214.
Blueberry, 245.
Blue grass, 251.

Brinckle's orange raspberry, 232.
Bromus mollis, 252.
Buckwheat,_209, 285.
Bush-honeysuckle, 182.

Cabbage, 157, 158, 205, 209,

Calla, 287.

canariensis, Phalaris, 252.

Canary grass, 252.

Carduus, 205.

Carrot, 205.

Carya alba, 304.
porcina, 304.

Castanea, 187.

Cauliflower, 158, 265.

Centranthus ruber, 205.

Cerasus vulgaris, 254.

Cercis Japonica, 326.

cereale, Secale, 252..

Chenopodium album, 209.

Cherry, 154, I86, 187, 230, 241, 254, 279, 282, 300,

317, 319, 320, 323, 325.
Chess, 252.
Chestnut, 187,

Spanish, 308.
Chickasaw plum, 281.
Chickweed, 205.
Choke-cherry, 281.
Chrysanthemum, 162.
Clover, 205, 262, 272, 312, 31G.
Alsike, 263.
medium, 263.
pea-vine, 263.
Concord grape, 302.
cordata, Sallx, 173.
Corn, 304, 312, 324.
cornuti, Asclepias, 282.
Corylus Americana, 187,
Cotton-wood, 233.
cotula, Maruta, 257.
Crab-apple, 187. 192.
Cranberry, 245.
Crata3gus, 282.
Crocus, 267.

Cucumber, 157, 159, 320.
Currant, 209, 279, 317, 326.
black, 256.

Dactylis glomerata, Q62.

Daucus, 205.

Deutzia gracilis, 182.

Diervilla Japonica, 182.

Diospyros Yirginiana, 187, 233.

Dock, 205.

Dwarf chestnut oak. 197.

346

Plant Index.

[204]

E.

Early harvest apple, 305.

Egg-plant, 320, 322.

Elm, 236-242,258, 300, 301, 305, 314, 317, 319, 322,326.

slippery, 303, 326.

white, 303.
Empusa muscse, 272.
English ivy, 279.

violet, 287.
Entomophthora Phytonomi, 272.
Eupatorium, 205.

purpureum, 285,
Euphorbia, 315.
Europsea, Larix, 164, 165.

F.

fatua, Avena, 252.

ferax, Saprolegnia, 272.

Field pea, 209.

Fig, 319.

Filbert, 162.

fluitans, Glyeeria, 252.

G.

Geranium, 307, 326.
glomerata, Dactylis, 252,
Glyeeria fluitans, 252.
Golden-rod, 284, 285.
Gooseberry, 274.
gracilis, Deutzia, 182.
Graminese, 247.

Grape, 154, 162, 175, 180, 205, 245, 300, 302-306,
310, 311, 326.

Concord, 326.

Muscadine, 303.

Rogers' Seedling, 304.
Grass, 154, 202, 243, 246, 247, 304, 306, 320.

blue, 251.

Canary, 252.

June, 153, 304.

orchard, 252.

red-top, 251,

Timothy, 153, 251, 304.

Hamamelis Virginica, 187.
Hard-hack, 284.
Hard maple, 216.
Hawthorn, 282, 320,
Hazel, 187, 192.
Hedera helix, 317,
helix, Hedera, 317.
Hickory, 304,
Holcus, 252.
Honeysuckle, 209, 244.
Hop, 153, 307.
Hordeum miirinum, 252.
Horseradish, 321.

I.
Ivy, 278, 300, 317.
English, 279.

J.

Japonica, Cercis, 326.

Diervilla, 182.
June grass, 304.

Knot grass, 205.

E.

Lambs' Quarters, 209.
lantanoides, Viburnum, 260.
Larch, 164-172.
Larix Americana, 165.

Europaea, 164-165.
Lemon, 279.
Lettuce, 205.
Linden, 2G5.
Litorella, 205.
Lucern, 205.

M.

major, Plantago, 203.
Malva, 265.
Mangold, 209.

Maple, 153, 167, 168, 197, 200, 215, 279, 303, 305.
313, 317.

soft, 326.
Maruta cotula, 257.
Mayweed, 267.
Medium clover, 263.
Melon, 159, 306, 320, 326.
Mignonette, 209.
Milkweed, 282.
Miner plum, 280.
Mitella, 288.
mollis, Bromus, 252.
monilifera, Populus, 171, 233.
morbosa, Plowrightia, 280.

Sph^ria, 280.
murinum, Hordeum, 252.
muscae, Empusa, 272.
Mushrooms, 265.
Myrsiphyllum asparagoides, 205.

N.

Nasturtium, 289, 322.
nigrum, Ribes, 274.

O.

Oak. 153, 187, 195, 200, 230, 268, 308, 325.

bear, 197.

black, 197.

dwarf chestnut, 197.

red, 187.

scarlet, 197.

scrub, 197.

white, 187.
Oats, 247, 249,
officinalis. Salvia. 273.
Oleander, 279. 317,
Orange, 187,
Orchard grass, 252,

P.
Pastinaca sativa, 282.
Pea, 300,

Peach, 205, 241, 256, 299, 315, 319, 325.
Pear, 151, 152, 187, 192, 265, 275, 299, 323-326.

Buerre d'Anjou, 275.

Duchesse d'Angouleme, 275,
Pea-vine clover, 263.
persicaria. Polygonum, 252,
Persimmon, 187, 233.

[205]

Plant Index.

347

Phalaris canariensis, 252.
Phleum pratense, 153.
Phytonomi, Entomophthora, 272.
Pig-nut, 304.
Pine, 168, 245.

Austrian, 266.

white, 245.
Pinus strobus, 267.
Plantago, 205.

major, 203.
Plantain, 203.
Plowrightia morbosa, 280.
Plum. 152, 154, 256, 27'J, 280. 305. 306, 317,
323-326.

Chickasaw, 281.

sand, 281.

wild, 281.
Poa annua, 252.

pratensis, 153.
Polygonum persicaria, 252.
Poplar, 171, 210, 283.
Populus monilifera, 171, 233,

tremuloides, 210, 283.
porcina, Carya, 304.
Potato, 265, 291, 296, 321, 322.
pratense, Phleum, 153.
pratensis, Poa, 153.
purpureum. Eupatorium, 285.

Q.

Quercus alba, 197.

coccinea, 197.

ilicifolia, 197.

prinoides, 193, 197.

rubra, 197.

sp.? 308, 324.

tinctoria, 197.
Quince, 151, 288, 316, 321, 322.
quinquefolia, Ampelopsis, 179, 180.

B.

Radish, 157. 321.
Raspberry, 197, 232. 321.
Red oak, 187, 197.
Red-top grass, 251.
Rhus typhina, 271.
Ribes nigrum, 274.
Roostelia aurantiaca, 321.
Rosa blanda, 214.
Rose, 162, 214, 315.
ruber, Centranthus, 205.
Rumex, 205.
Rye, 247, 252.

S.
saccharinum. Acer. 187.

Sorghum. 252.
Sage. 273, 274.
Salix cordata, 173.
Salvia officinalis, 273.
Sand-plum, 281.
Saprolegnia ferax, 272.
Sassafras, 233.
sativa, Avena, 250.

Pastinaca, 282.

sativum, Triticum, 252.
Scarlet oak, 197.
Scrub-oak, 197.
Secale cereale, 252.
serrulata, Alnus, 243.
Slippery elm, 303, 326.
Smilax, 205.
SolidagO, 284, 285, 286.
Sorghum saccharinum, 252.
Sorrel, 205.

Sphairia morbosa, 280.
Spinach, 209.
SpirtJea, 287.

tomentosa, 284.
Spruce, 171, 260.
Squash, 155, 157, 312.

Hubbard, 155, 313.
Stellaria, 205.

Strawberry, 156, 159, 205, 209, 275, 319, 321.
strobus, Pinus, 267.
Sugar maple, 187, 216.
Sumach, 270.
Sweet pea, 209.
Sycamore, 308.

T.
Tamarack. 106-7-8.
Thunbergia, 287.
Timothy grass, 205, 251, 304.
Tobacco, 159, 200, 230, 321.
Tomato, 322.
tomentosa, Spirtea, 284.
Trefoil, 205.

tremuloides, Populus, 210.
Triticum sativum, 252.
Trupa'olum, 288.
Turnip, 209, 265, 321.
typhina, Rhus, 271.

U.

Ulmus Americana, 303.

Viburnum lantanoides, 260.
Violet, English, 287.
Virginia creeper, 179, IHO.
Virginiana, Diospyros, 187, 233.
Virginica, Hamamolis, 187.
vulgaris, Cerasus, 254.

W.

Walnut, 324.

Weeds, 205.

Wheat, 247, 249, 251, 263, 264, 265, 325.

White birch, 187, 197.

White elm, 303.

White oak, 187. 197.

White pine, 245.

Wild cherry, 152, 187, 256.

Wild parsuip, 282.

Wild plum, 281.

Willow. 173, 205, 230, 245.

Witch-hazel, 187.
Witch-hobble, 260.
Woodbine, 306.

ERRATA IN FIFTH REPORT.

Page 148
Pa-o 170
P,i-,- 17 i
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Page 343

line 4, for zanthomelseaa read xanthomeliena.

line 7, for Dallas read (Dallas).

line 17, transfer first comma from after ehojrocampa to before.

line 3, for Boisiduval read Boisduval.

line 19, for ae ss read across.

line 3 from bottom, and p- 225, line 12, for Boder read Bodee.

line 9 from bottom, for L. A. Howard read L. O. Howard.

dele flrst and third paragraphs, relating to tobacco feeding.

line 15, for Guer read Giier.

line 14, for subjec read snbject.

line 1. for Trijpetdiaj read Ti'ijpetidce.

line 22, for Thirth read Thirty.

line 3 from bottom, in foot-note, for more read less.

line 17, for Raf. read (Raf.).

bottom line, for he read the.

line 24, for Prionatiis read Prionotus.

line 20, col. 1, transfer 321 to line 21.

line 12 from bottom, for 179 read 177.

read Julus cjeruiiMiciiu'tus, 307, 32fi.

line 21, forOrincriHJ icad ( )i'?ii('r(»d.

line 16, fur 323 read 321.