322 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



case there were no sweet potatoes or other convolvulaceous plants within 

 half a mile. Many times I accompanied the gardener for sweet potatoes, 

 but failed to find this species either above or under the ground. 



Rhyiicophorus crue?itatiis. — This species breeds in the dying trunks 

 or stumps of the Cabbage palmetto ; before pupating the larva forms an 

 excavation, in which it constructs a cocoon in which to pupate ; this 

 cocoon is from an inch and a-half to two inches in length, its walls being 

 over one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, composed of fibre, cemented 

 with some glutinous secretion. 



Cosso?ms, n. s. — Under the bark of a dead limb of the Rubber tree 

 ( Ficus aiirea) five examples were taken. The basal half of the elytra, 

 metasternura and abdomen are rufous. Length, .12-. 14 inch. 



Scolytidae. — An undescribed species belonging to a new genus 

 (Schwartz) occurs in the dead or diseased bark of the Ficus in incredible 

 numbers. It breeds entirely in the bark, and it is not possible to trace 

 its galleries. Length, .04-. 05 inch. 



NOTES ON THE INSECT FAUNA OF SOMERSET CO., MAINE. 



BY PHILIP LAURENT, PHILADELPHIA. 



The following notes and observations were made during a two- 

 weeks' stay in this county, ending on August 29th. The greater 

 portion of our collecting was done in the neighbourhood of King 

 & Bartlett Lake, and along the road leading out to Eustis. This section 

 of Maine, if not the entire State, is anything but an " entomologist's 

 paradise." The country is mountainous and covered for the most part 

 with a dense growth of spruce, pine, birch, etc. Very little land in the 

 entire county is under cultivation, so that those insects which we 

 naturally look for in such places are almost entirely wanting. Many 

 beautiful lakes are to be found in this part of Maine, but here again the 

 entomologist is doomed to disappointment, as the water of the lakes is of 

 an icy coldness, and very few aquatic insects are seen. The nights are 

 invariably cold and but few insects are attracted to light. In a heavily- 

 timbered country, such as we find in Somerset Co., Maine, it would 

 naturally be supposed that the fallen trees would yield an abundance of 

 insect life, particularly Coleoptera. A search of two hours, in which I 

 overturned many dead trees and removed the bark from many others, 

 resulted in the finding of exactly eight specimens of Coleoptera, and 

 common species at that. Collecting with the umbrella and beating-net 

 was a waste of time, as little or nothing rewarded our efforts. Cicindela. 



