Q2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, '05 



mens of a large bluish black fly, supposed to be the species 

 in question, were taken. On hot days these flies rested on dry 

 ditches or rocks. When disturbed they rose directly upward 

 out of sight, returning in a few minutes to the same spot. A 

 number of males of Algeria tibialis and Cossus brucci were cap- 

 tured by exposing the virgin females. In certain localities the 

 surface of the ground was overrun by vast multitudes of the 

 so-called " Utah cricket," Anabrus simplex. This grasshopper 

 is some two inches in length and produces a low chirp, less 

 loud than our field cricket. In the morning the crickets for- 

 sook their places of concealment among the sage-brush on the 

 sand hills and attacked the alfalfa, returning in the evening in 

 such numbers that it was impossible to avoid trampling upon 

 them. The cultivation of fields infested by them had fre- 

 quently to be abandoned, the farmers making no efforts 

 to destroy them. 



The trip to St. George was accomplished by wagon accom- 

 panied by a single guide with provisions and blankets. At 

 night they slept on the well thatched roofs of house sheds or 

 shacks, if available, and if not, on the ground, in their blank- 

 ets. They traversed desert regions known as the Buckhorn, 

 Paragouah and Cedar Valleys and the towns of Paragouah, 

 Parowan, Cedar City, and Kanarra, Mormon settlements. 

 The temperature often reached 100 F. The vegetation was 

 generally scanty, consisting of mesquit, cactus and sage brush. 

 Insects were correspondingly few, although flies caused much 

 annoyance at meals. At Bellevue the vegetation became more 

 diversified, ash, cottonwood, a species of prickly leaved oak 

 and other trees besides many shrubs occurred. Here were 

 taken Catocala chelidonia and Sphinx orcodaphne and do/Hi ; 

 also many Coleoptera and Hymenoptera on the flowers of a 

 species of wild tobacco which grew profusely along an irriga- 

 ting ditch. On descending a deep well to secure a blow 

 snake a large number of specimens of Elcodes obscnra were 

 captured at the bottom, which was fairly covered by them. 

 At St. George silkworm breeding was stated to be successfully 

 conducted, 700 pounds of cocoons having been obtained the 

 year previous. Cicindelidae occurred in great numbers along 

 the Virgin river which flows near the town. In a cave, on the 



