334 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



lengili of tlie larval condition is very uncertain; with plenty of food, devel- 

 opment is rapid; but with lack of food, the larval period is extended to 

 many months. Under normal conditions there are about six moults, and 

 not more than two annual broods in Canada. When full-grown the larval 

 skin splits down the back, showing the waxy white pupa inside, from 

 which, in time, the perfect beetle emerges. (Fig. ig : a, larva, upper 

 surface ; d, under surface ; c, pupa; ^, beetle — all greatly magnified.) 



Remedies. — When once established, this is a very hard pest to get free 

 of. A few individuals will soon re-stock a whole house; so, thorough work 

 is very necessary. As the beetles enter houses by windows, probably at 

 night, fine mosquito netting should be put on early in the season. At 

 house-cleaning time all carpets should be taken up regulariyand thoroughly 

 beaten out of doors. The floors, after thorough sweeping, should be 

 scalded with hot water. When dry, benzine or gasoline should be driven 

 into all crevices with an atomizer. Before replacing the carpets, the 

 crevices of the floors should be well brushed out and the floors dusted 

 with a mixture of equal parts of pyrethrum insect powder and ground 

 cloves. If the odour is not objectionable, strips of tarred building paper 

 may be put round the edges of the rooms beneath the carpets. In chests 

 of drawers, etc., the contents should be frequently examined and small 

 bags containing ground cloves should be packed away in them. The 

 remarkable preference of this insect for articles of red colour has led some 

 to lay rolls of red flannel in drawers to act as traps. These must be taken 

 out and scalded at short intervals. 



BEES COLLECTED BY THE REV. G. BIRKMANN IN TEXAS. 



BY T. D. A. COCKERELL, BOULDER, COLO. 



(Continued from page 267). 



Melissodes grandissitna, n. sp. 

 9. — Length nearly 19 mm.; length of anterior wing about 13 mm.; 

 breadth of abdomen in middle 7 mm.; in all respects like Af. Cofnanc/ie, 

 Cresson (co-type compared), except as follows: Abdomen broader; fourth 

 segment without a bare median area, the broad grayish-white band con- 

 tinued right across ; fifth and sixth segments with the hair purplish-black, 

 except the long hair at sides, which is paler and redder; hair of venter not 

 so red ; hair of inner side of basal joint of hind tarsi reddish-black, 

 ferruginous basally; wings hardly so dark; black hair-patch on mesothorax . 



September, 1905. 



