ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 



Cupes concolor, Westw. Some years ago I captured one of these beetles when 

 beating shrubbery on the edge of a small lake, but it did not turn up again until this 

 year, when one was found in my bed-rcom on the evening of July 28th. It had appar- 

 ently flown in the window, attracted by the electric lamp. 



Saperda lateralis. Fab. On June 24th I captured near Hull a beautiful example of 

 this elegant longi'^orn. My only previous capture of the species was made with a paddle 

 as I was crossing the Ottawa. My canoe was in mid-stream when I saw a rather uncom- 

 mon looking beetle flying by, and I could just reach it with the paddle, to the wet surface 

 of which it stuck ; such are the accidental captures which do not throw much light on the 

 localities to search for further specimens. 



Chalmys polycocca, Lac. This beetle was more than usually abundant the past sea- 

 son, and did considerable damage to blackberries, the foliage of which was often so badly 

 riddled as to be virtually destroyed. The beetle is readily recognized by its almost glob- 

 ular, bronzed and corrugated body, and the grub." can be easily found, as they live in 

 black ob-conical cases which are quite conspicuous upon the riddled leaves and stems. 

 A number of the larval cases were collected and kept in breeding jars with a hope of 

 securing parasites, but only beetles were obtained. From one pupa case, however, there 

 sprouted a small slightly club-shaped fungus about 4 mm. long. 



Phyllodecta vulgatissima, Linn. This beetle occurred in great abundance upon wil- 

 lows on an island below the city, and during the months of July and August the beetles; 

 and their larvae almost entirely destroyed the foliage of some low-growing species. The 

 beetle had never previously been observed in such numbers near Ottawa. 



Diahroiica longicornis, Say. This insect was described in 1824 from specimens 

 found near the Rocky Mountains, and is a common species in several of the United States, 

 especially in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. It has been frequently a very serious pest to 

 corn, in the roots of which the grubs burrow. A very complete account of its life-his- 

 tory and ravages may be found in a report by Prof. Forbes (10th Rept. of State Eatom- 

 ologist, Illinois), which contains good illustrations of the various life stages of the insect. 

 I do not find that it has ever been recorded from Canada, nor can I find any mention of 

 the northerly and easterly limit of its distribution. It will therefore, I think, be of con- 

 siderable interest to record the occurrence of this pretty little greenish beetle at such a 

 far easterly point as the head of the Bay of Fundy. On Sept, 8th, 1890, I found it quite 

 abundantly on the Big Tantramah Marsh near Aulac, New Brunswick, which is almost on 

 the boundary line between that province and Nova Scotia. It may be added that these 

 and similar dyked lands are always spoken of as the " marsh." The beetles were found 

 upon the flower-heads of the common large thistle (Cnicus lanceolatus), apparently feed- 

 ing upon the pollen. Thirty or more were easily secured upon a small patch of the this- 

 tles. But little corn is grown in the neighborhood, nor am I aware of the occurrence 

 there of ragweed, in which the beetle has also been stated to breed, and it seems prob- 

 able that it must find a living in the roots of some of the larger grasses. 



Nacerdes melanura, Linn. This beetle, introduced from Europe, is, according to Dr. 

 Hamilton, rather rare in America. Some years ago I captured one on a wharf in Syd- 

 ney, N.S., and on June 26th last I found another on a building in this city. 



Gorphyra Newmani, Lee. Four or five springs ago I noticed a curious behavior on 

 the part of this beetle. Specimens were twice found mounted upon Meloe niger, but lor 

 what purpose was not apparent, unless they were attracted by the oil exuded by the blis- 

 ter-beetle. The specimen which I have in my cabinet is dated May 22nd. It is a male, 

 as is also the Meloe upon which it was captured. The species is not uncommon here on 

 flowers. 



Meloe sps. ? Frequently when collecting hymenoptera I find upon some of the smaller 

 bees, such as Halictus, the minute triungulin larvae of Meloe, They generally are attached 

 to the posterior femora or to the hairs at the base of the abdomen, and several are some- 

 times found on one bee. One day last season I saw what seemed to me a new species of 

 bee with a red metathorax, but to my disappointment, when I had carefully netted it, I 

 found it to be only the very common Frosopis affLnin, upon which more than half a dozen 



