172 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



inch long, of an oblong oval form, black, with a wide band across the 

 wings at their base, of a dull, pale buff colour, dotted with black. Its 

 legs are short, and it is rather timid and slow in its movements, feigning 

 death for a time when disturbed. 



Collections of insects and birds need to have a constant watch kept 

 on them to keep out these intruders. Camphor, which seems to be 

 offensive to these beetles, is frequently used to deter them from entering ; 

 but where they have entered and begun their devastating work, they can- 

 not be disposesssed by such mild measures ; in such instances purified 

 benzine applied freely to the saturation of the bodies of the insects 

 occupied will destroy the dennestes larvae without injuring the collector's 

 specimens. 



NOTES ON APHIDES. 



BY FRANCIS WALKER, LONDON, ENGLAND. 



The following notes were suggested by " Observations," &c, on 

 Aphides in The Canadian Entomologist for July, 1873. The species 

 noticed on Rumex crisp us seems to have very much resemblance to A, 

 rumicis in Europe ; some other species of N. America do not differ from 

 those of Europe, but have been probably introduced by means of ship- 

 ping. With regard to European Aphides it is well known that the winged 

 female of many species appears in the spring, that the wingless female is 

 more fertile than the winged one, that the winged state is, partly at least, 

 by means of the diminution of quantity or alteration of quality in the 

 food, and that the winged state enables the species to have a change of 

 habitation and thus to continue its race till the autumn. It is also well 

 known that the male and the oviparous female do not appear till the 

 autumn, and W. Curtis in the last century remarked that this appearance 

 was owing to the change in the atmosphere and to the consequent differ- 

 ence in the food. The male is, in a few instances, wingless, but is very 

 generally winged, and the oviparous female wingless, but in some few 

 species the oviparous female is always winged. 



