450 ZOOLOGY. 



this imported euemy of clover made its first appearance in the same 

 county which, three years before, furnished him with " another Euro- 

 pean beetle affecting the same plant — the Hylesinus trifoUi, or ''clover 

 root-borer." (A. N"., XV, 750-751, 912-914.) 



Insect Antidote. — AVith enemies so numerous and increasing the agri- 

 culturist must be on the alert, and to render his labor remunerative re- 

 quires to have antidotes to their ravages at a minimum cost. The seeds 

 of species of Pyretlirum — P. roseum and P. cmerariwfolium — ground to 

 powder, furnish one of the most effective insecticides. The Fyrethrum 

 roseum "the only species of its genus," according to Dr. Eodde, "which 

 gives a good, effective insect powder, is no where cultivated, but grows 

 at an altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 feet," in Asia, the Caucasus, and south- 

 ward. The P. cinerariccfolimn is a Dalmatian species, of which little is 

 known, but which is said to be cultivated in Dalmatia. In spite of the 

 jealousy of the natives of the countries where these plants grow, seeds 

 have been imported into the United States, and Professor Eiley planted 

 some in Washington, in the fall of 1880, which "came up quite well in 

 the spring, and will perhaps bloom the i)resent year." It would seem 

 that the Pyrethrum is quite an effective insecticide, and its acquisition 

 and retail at a moderate cost will be doubtless a great boon to the agri- 

 culturist. For detailed information as to cultivation, manufacture, and 

 use of the plant we must refer to Professor Eiley. (A. N., XV, 242, 569- 

 572, 744-748, 817-819.) 



Carnivorous Beetles partly Jierhivorous. — Even insects that are gen- 

 erally "beneficial to the agriculturist by preying on his enemies, some- 

 times turn round and become destroyers of crops. Species of Carabidse 

 and Coccinellidfe, e. g., have been found to change their usual carniv- 

 orous habits for a herbivorous diet, according to Professor Forbes, of the 

 Illinois State laboratory. Eepresentatives of 17 different species of 

 Carabidaj were examined, and 11 of them were seen to have in their 

 stomachs "either the spores of different fungi, the pollen of flowers, 

 or the seeds of grasses and grains." The Coccinellidse were ascertained 

 to be to even a still greater degree herbivorous, and one of them — the 

 Megilla maculata — " was proven to feed also upon the anthers and pollen 

 of grasses," and, in fact, to almost rival in its herbivorous tendencies the 

 squash-beetle {Epilachna borealis), which had been supposed to be excep- 

 tional in the family for its herbivority. The Megilla had been charged 

 before with sometimes injuring crops, and a farmer of Saint Inigoes, 

 Md., reported to Professor Eiley considerable injury done by them "to 

 corn by eating holes in the blades, and specimens of blades that were 

 perforated and riddled accompanied the beetles." 



So far, however, is this tendency to change of diet from being au 

 unmixed evil to the agriculturist, it has been urged by Professor Forbes, 

 that it renders these insects more valuable to man. In his own words, 

 "as a prudent sovereign finds it worth while to maintain a much larger 

 lighting force than is necessary to the ordinary administration of his 



