23 



HARRIS TO HENTZ. 



Milton, Marcla 10, 1827. 



The only living insect I have seen since November was a 

 minute Tipula, which is just appearing, and occasionally a lazy 

 fly, roused from its winter's sleep by the sun and the heat of 

 our apartments. Neither with Lamia amputator nor Stenoeo- 

 rus garganicus am I acquainted. We have, however, a small 

 insect QStenocorus putator Peck) which you have in your col- 

 lection, and which is well known here as injurious to the oak, 

 by pruning its branches. You may have an opportunity of 

 ascertaining whether your insects proceed in the same manner. 

 The female of ;S'. putator deposits an egg on the limb, the grub 

 penetrates to the pith, which it perforates to some extent, and 

 when it has attained its growth it eats off all the woody parts 

 of the branch at one point, leaves the bark only to support it, 

 retires beyond the point of division, closes its aperture with 

 castings of the wood, and remains at rest awaiting the 

 winds of winter to bring it, with the amputated limb, to the 

 ground ; it then assumes the pupa state, and in spring emerges 

 from the branch, and in its perfect state. Many undoubtedly 

 perish from the violence of the concussion produced by this 

 fall, but many still survive, to commence the work of destruc- 

 tion anew. The severed limbs, which are strewn in abund- 

 ance on the ground, exhibit an appearance of having been 

 removed by a saw, so regular is the point of separation ; and 

 by splitting these fallen branches at dillerent times, the insect is 

 observed in its various stages of larva, piipa, and imago. 



For your beautiful drawings of the ChremastocheiU I give 

 you my best thanks ; they will appear with a note on the species 

 in the first number of the next volume. [They are published 

 now for the first time. PI. iv., figs. 4-6.] I examined the 

 mouth of another specimen of C. JTentzii, which I obtained 

 from Fenton's collections, and find the upper lip (lahrum) 



