SOCIETY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 231 



scribed, but American entomologists have so far recognized only 

 about one-third this number, though no doubt there are many others 

 not yet described. The TJtripidcv are minute, active insects, mostly 

 less than one-tenth of an inch long, having delicately- fringed wings 

 folded flat upon the back, with free mouth parts, by means of which 

 they can both bite and suck, and two-jointed tarsi without claws. 

 Some authors have placed them in a distinct order — Thi/ramoptera — 

 while others have placed them among the Hbnrptera, Orthoptera and 

 Pseudo-Nenroptera. The specifes in question was described in 1855 

 by Dr. Asa Fitch, at that time State Entomologist of New York, as 

 Thn'ps tritici, or the wheat Thrips, so called because it was first se- 

 cured from wheat blossoms in Wisconsin. It is yellow in color, with 

 the thorax tinted with orange, and the antenna? with dusky annula- 

 tions. The female is larger than the male, the wings in the latter 

 reaching beyond the abdomen, while in the former they do not ex- 

 tend to the tip. The wheat Thrips occur abundantly throughout the 

 season on blossoms of clover, wisteria, apple, pear, raspberry, black- 

 berry and many other plants. Its life history has not been fully traced, 

 but probably is similar to that of related species which are known to 

 pass the winter as adults, and deposit their eggs on the surfaces of the 

 leaves in April or May. There are probably many broods each sea- 

 son. 



The food habits of Thrips have not been very thoroughly 

 studied in this country, but from the scanty observations which 

 have been recorded, it appears that some species are carnivorous 

 and others vegetable feeders. To the former class belong specimens 

 found by Dr. Riley to feed upon the red spider and grape Phyl- 

 loxera, and to the latter the species found by Fitch, Osborne, Per- 

 gande and others, to infest fruit blossoms. The European species 

 seem to be mostly vegetable feeders, for Westwood writes of them: 

 "These insects are found upon various plants, sometimes swarming 

 in immense profusion on various kinds of flowers, especially the 

 large white hedge convolvulus. They are very agile, and often leap 

 to a considerable distance when disturbed. They feed upon the 

 juices of plants, and are often extremely injurious, especially in hot- 

 houses and vineyards, the leaves upon which they reside being 

 marked all over with small, decayed patches. They also especially 

 infest melons, cucumbers, kidney beans, etc. One species infests 

 the wheat, sometimes to a mischievous extent. This species was 

 observed by Mr. Kirby between the internal valves of the corolla 

 and the grain, and taking its station in the furrow of the seed, in 

 the bottom of which it seems to fix its rostrum, and by sapping its 

 moisture, makes it shrink up and become what the farmers call 

 prongled." 



Prof. Herbert Osborne states that he has found what was prob- 

 ably tlie same species as our strawberry midget in apple blossoms, 

 doing serious injury to the style of the pistils. '"A careful examina- 



