212 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, '06 



their Monograph of the Rhyncophora from Texas, 1876 ; since 

 then we have seen no published record of the species as of 

 economic importance. 



The close resemblance of this speciee to our common imbri- 

 cated snout beetle {Epic&rus imbricatus) led the writer to 

 question whether or not it too might be wingless, in which 

 case the same means of control would obviously be available. 

 No description of the wings could be found, or any mention 

 as to whether they were functional or not. Mr. E. A. 

 Schwarz of the National Museum, therefore, kindly examined 

 some specimens at my request and writes me : "I have exam- 

 ined several specimens of our common Epiccrrus imbricatus and 

 fail to find any trace of hind wings. Moreover, the elytra are 

 connate, the humeri absent and the metasternum short, all 

 characters indicating a wingless genus. Dr. D. Sharp, in the 

 Biologia Centrali-Americana, divides the family Otiorhynchi- 

 dse into two divisions, the winged ones and the wingless 

 genera. The genus Epiccerus is placed among the latter." So 

 there is still something to be learned about our most common 

 beetles. Lacking wings, the imbricated snout beetle should 

 also be readily controlled and kept from ascending fruit trees 

 by means of sticky bands around the trunks. 



2. The Texas Grape Fidia (Fidia cana}. Specimens of 

 this leaf beetle were received May 17, 1904, from D. Garner, 

 Dripping Springs, Hays County, Texas, who reported them to 

 be ruining his grape crop. May 2Qth he wrote us : "The first 

 I knew of it, it was riddling the tender leaves before the vines 

 bloomed. As soon as the fruit was set they were at work 

 upon it. When we spray our vines they get inside of compact 

 bunches and bite the berries near the stem. They appear to 

 have the trait of ' sulling ' or dropping to the ground as does 

 the curculio." Specimens of their work sent showed the 

 leaves badly eaten, and the berries gnawed exactly as is done 

 by the grape root-worm {Fidia viticida) of the east. So far 

 as recorded, F. cana, as we determined the insect, is peculiar 

 to Texas, and it seems probable that it may prove equally 

 troublesome to grape growers there. 



3. The Southern Corn Root-worm {Diabrotica i2-punctata 



