STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. Ill 



tion of her own species, she often remained motionless, martyr-like 

 enduring attacks from all quarters. How this pest is fostered, or 

 when or how horn, the writer cannot tell; circumstances prevented 

 the examination necessary, at the right times. Professor Riley also 

 desires information. 



THE BIG WHITE GRUB. 



An enemy which has proved very destructive in Sierra Valley and 

 Adcinity is the larva of, as yet, an unknown insect. It is first observed 

 as a large, yellowish white grub about half an inch or even three- 

 fourths of an inch long when extended, it being usually curved so 

 that tlie head and tail nearly touch. It is one-sixtli to one-fifth of an 

 inch thick just back of the head and tapers slightly towards the tail, 

 also flattened slightly, dorsally. It is usually found in a case of locust 

 eggs wliich it has devoured, pushing the empty shells aside, and at 

 last occupying the space where were 21 to 36 eggs. Often it is found 

 a little space below a number of emptied cases as though it had feasted 

 oft' the contents of several nests. 



No one has yet noticed this gormand at his welcome work. The 

 same big grub infests the spretus, doing effective work, and though 

 Professor Riley has taken much pains to learn its life history, having 

 placed this larva for a year in his vivarium, and watched with care, 

 they died without change. Specimens sent him recently from Sierra 

 Valley excite much interest, as it was not known before that this 

 enemy was found attacking air ox. With more specimens to be for-^ 

 warded in the s])ring, he hopes to be able to determine the parent of 

 this valuable friend of man. The writer ventures the suggestion 

 that it will be found to be a species of Tipalidic, or long-legged crane- 

 fly, abundant in our meadows. The grub v/as first noticed last April, 

 26th, in the egg deposits near Loyalton. Thisfall, September 7th, it 

 was detected in great quantities near Sierraville, and afterwards in 

 several infested spots of the valley. A handful of such soil will gen- 

 erally display ten to twenty cases of locust eggs, more or less emptied, 

 and half as many of the flne, fat grubs. 



TIGER BEETLES. 



The larva of all the species of the genus Olcimdela entraps young 

 locusts into their cylindrical holes or seize them with their powerful 

 jaws from the openings, while the swift-running and flying adults 

 attack and devour the largest locusts. These beautiful insects are 

 chief of their order in carnivorous habits and often fight one 

 another with great ferocity. Their bodies are from half to three- 

 quarters of an inch long, the legs about the same length; the color is 

 metallic blue, with green and gold elytra, with white etchings. Most 

 of the species are fond of the hot sunlight, and are often seen run- 

 ning and flying by turns along ahead of one's path. The highly 

 colored external parts make wonderfully beautiful objects under a 

 microscope. 



Other insects or their larva found attacking locusts or their eggs in 

 Sierra Valley are the Antliom.ia egg-parasite, its little larva digging 

 into and devouring separate eggs; the egg-eating blister beetles, 

 CantJiaris; the larva of the two-lined soldier-beetle, Telephorus ; the 

 five-lined beetle, Epicauta, and the singular hair-worm, Gordius. 



