Vol. Xxiv] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 467 



Notes and. News. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

 OF THE GLOBE. 



The Lepidopterous Caterpillar in the Bromeliad from Costa Rica. 



In the list of bromeliadicolous insects from Juan Vinas, Costa Rica, 

 published in the NEWS for November, 1911 (Vol. XXII, p. 405"). was a 

 Lepidopterous larva which Dr. Dyar said was an Hepialid. I had cer- 

 tain reasons of my own for doubting this determination, but not being 

 a lepidopterist, and knowing that Dr. Dyar is keen on larval charac- 

 ters, I was bound to accept it. 



Now Dr. Dyar has received his first authentic larva of a Castnia and 

 has told me that he can find no characters to distinguish larvae of 

 Hepialidae and Castniidae. This has caused me to discuss this larva 

 from the bromeliad with him and he now agrees that it is in all prob- 

 ability Castnia. Neither of us could think of records of Hepialidae 

 from monocotyledonous plants, while the Castniidae seem to affect just 

 these plants. Castnia lycus is a pest on sugar cane and other species 

 are recorded from Bromeliaceae (see Stichel, H., Berl. Ent. Zeitschr., 

 Vol. 53, 1008, pp. 207-208, and Kirby, W. F., Handb. Lepid., Vol. 3, 



1897- P. 35). 



Since writing the above I have looked up the larval habits of the 

 Hepialidae and find that they attack cryptogamous (ferns) as well as 

 phaenogamous plants and among these latter several monocotyledons 

 are recorded. Hoffmann states that the larvae of Hepialus lupulinus 

 L. feed upon the roots of Triticum vulgar? (wheat) and Triticum 

 repens (Raupen der Schmetterlinge Europas, 1893, p. 48) ; Meyrick 

 records the same species from several dicotyledons and also the mono- 

 cotyledon Narcissus (Handbook of British Lepidoptera, 1895, p. 800). 

 As far as known the European and American Hepialidae are all root 

 feeders, but in Australia a number of species are known to bore in the 

 stems of plants and the solid wood of trees. FREDERICK KNAB, U. S. 

 National Museum, Washington, D. C. 



A Sealed Paper Carton to Protect Cereals from Insect Attack. 



The United States Department of Agriculture has just issued a 

 bulletin (No. 15) in which a sealed cardboard container for cereals 

 is described, which should do much to protect cereals from insect 

 attack. 



The economic importance of such a container for cereals which 

 the grocer sells by the box is greater than at first appears. Packages 

 may become infested while in the grocer's storeroom or on his 



