|g^ TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



emies. I am not prepared to say whether there are plants which have 

 positively no insects feeding on them ; but I have noticed a few on 

 which I have never seen any, namely, the tansy, the so-called ' old man,' 

 and the hoarhound ; a certain beetle is said to feed on the pie-plant, but 

 I know of no larva. 



But what must we say of the grapevine, the oak, the apple tree ? 

 The two former have at least fifty different insects feeding on each of 

 them ; on the apple tree at least twenty-five. Any one, who has an eye 

 for caterpillars, can find in September and October, on the post-oak 

 alone, caterpillars of twenty-four different species of moths. 



On the subject of generalization I take the liberty to quote from an 

 excellent article on noxious larvae, by Dr. William LeBaron, which will 

 be found in number eight, volume two, of American Entomologist. He 

 says : 



" As a general rule, hairy caterpillars produce moths, whilst spiny or 

 naked ones produce butterflies, sphinges, or sawflies; or all densely- 

 haired caterpillars produce moths, but all the larvae of moths are not 

 hairy." 



Wood-boring larvae belong mostly to the coleoptera, but also to a tew 

 families of the Icpidoptera, namely, the ccgeiidiC, the hepialida, and a few 

 exceptional fortricidce.. The larvae of the lepidoptera can always be dis- 

 tinguished from those of the coleoptera by the presence of prolegs on 

 the intermediate segments. A few coleopterous larvae have one pair of 

 prolegs on the anal segment, but more generally only one such leg. 



All leaf-sucking larvae belong to the order of hemiptera (including 

 homopte)\i). 



All larvre found underground, excepting those which enter it only 

 for the purpose of undergoing their transformations, are divisible ac- 

 cording to their habits, into two sections. First, the subterranean larva.', 

 properly so-called, which lirr underground, and feed upon the roots of 

 plants ; and secondly, those wliich subsist above ground, but burvuvv into 

 it, when not feeding, for the purpose of concealment. 



IN CONCLUSION. 



A few words as a tribute to Entomology, as a. promoter ot ha])piness, 

 of comfort, of wealth, and of humility ; (jf hapi)iness, because she dispels 

 the dread of superstition ; enlightens, elevates, affords recreation, amuse- 

 ment, and instruction. By the practical ajjplicalion of what she reveals. 

 we can do good and benefit mankind, and thus, in the hands of the 

 christian, she becomes the handmaid of religion. She reveals to us, with 

 other natural sciences, the ])alijable evidences of God's infinite wisdom 

 and goodness. \\"hen we contemi)late with the help of the lens, these, 

 to many, insignificant creatures, we see things which were sealed to 

 the naked eye; when we take a lens of double, oi' ten, yea of a^hundred- 

 fold power, we sec still mori'. but never all of it, no more than we can 

 know all (jf the Creator. He is infinite and so are his works, while we 

 and our tools are finite. Whatever bears the seal of his spirit, has a 

 Holv of Holies, into which we cannot penetrate, not even the high priests 

 of science. J. R. Muhleman. 



