32 THE EEPORT OF THE Xo. 36 



bergamot, Painted Cup (Castileia) and Orange Lily. The insect is about eight 

 millimetres in length, slightty over a millimetre wide across the thorax, entirely 

 black, except for a patch of dusky orange on the disk of the thorax which serves to 

 throw into relief, but still indistinctly, a pair of black spots at the centre. In the 

 same district several leaf-eating beetles were observed in great abundance; on oak 

 bushes AUelahus analis — over a score being counted on a single twig; on two or 

 three species of undergrowth a large black Pachyhrachys; and on Fragrant Sumach 

 {Bhus canadensis) the larvte and l^eetles of Blepharida 7-hois. Last year we 

 ventured to claim for this larva absolute immunity, due to its disgusting coat of 

 liquid excrement. To our astonishment we observed this day a large yellow plant- 

 bug regaling himself on these unsavory morsels with all the relish of a sand boy 

 picking ovit periwinkles with a pin. 



On July 1st, during a tramp about the Big Swamp, ]\Iurray Township, north 

 of Wooller, three or foiir specimens of Leptura chrysocoma were found feeding in 

 the blossoms of that beautiful flower, the Swamp A''alerian (7. silvatica). They were 

 right out among the tamaracs almost in the heart of the swamp. Besides tamarac, 

 a very few wliite pine and several spruce trees stood in this corner of the swamj^. 

 On July 2nd, at the same spot, Leptura chrysocoma was found feeding round the 

 edge of the swamp, rare on fleabane, occasional on valerian, and abundant on yar- 

 row heads; over 30 specimens Avere captured. 



On July 5th a trip to some woods east of the Otonabee River, just north of 

 Hiawatha, yielded good results. On some dying balsam a pair of AcantJiocinus 

 obsoletus and a pair of Xylotrechus undulatus were taken. On some fallen beech 

 three species of Agrilus were seen, including hilineatus and ohsoletoguttatus ; also 

 seven specimens of Neoclytus erythrocephahis, two of Xylotrechus colonus, two of 

 Urographis fasckitus, and a single specimen. of Hoplosia niihila. Of this last, four 

 specimens have Ijeen taken aliout Peterborough since 1914, three on basswood and 

 one on beech, confirming the hearsay statement of Blatchley in regard to the hosts 

 of this beetle. Some fallen beech were examined in another quarter on July 14th, 

 and a large number of Xylotrechus colonus and Urographis fasciatus were taken on 

 the under side of the trunks. On July 10th and 13th, a newly felled grove of Mdiite 

 pine Avas visited. Trunks, limbs, branches, tAvigs and foliage were all carefully 

 examined, as well as the surrounding shrubs and herbage. Two species of Mono- 

 hammus were found abundant, confiisor and scutellatus, Avhile a j:hird, titillaior 

 was taken occasionally. These were mostly on the trunks ; about limbs and branches, 

 especially where broken and piled up — decay iDcing further advanced here — were 

 found several specimens of Acanthocinas obsoletus and Leptostylus sex-guttatus; 

 - besides these, eight or nine specimens of Neoclytus muricatulus were captured, run- 

 ning rapidly over the trunks and limbs in the hot sunshine. Till 1916 we had 

 never seen this insect except on white pine, but two specimens were captured this 

 July on white spruce, one on July 14th near Peterborough, and the other at the 

 end of July in the Algonquin Park. Close by these pines, both fallen and standing, 

 three Acmaeops were taken, two Acmaeops pratensis (on yarrow heads) and a single 

 Acmaeops proteus. During the same trip a very minute specimen of Pogonochaerus 

 mixtus was noticed on the bark of a pine log. Three or .four only of these beetles 

 have been taken on white pine during ten years of collecting, and it has never ap- 

 peared common till this season. During the second week of July two hosts were 

 discovered for the little Lamiinid Hyperplatys aspersa. These were the American 

 aspen {Populus tremuloides) and the staghorn sumach {Rhus typhina) ; as several 

 other borers were fou]id in the same company, the two accounts are kept separate. 



