MAPLE LEAF CUTTER— LEAVES BLIGHTED BY IT. 269 



The cheater's parasite, Phygadeu n Planoscr. Its head is hlack with 

 the feelers and orbits of the eyes broadly white. The antennre are nearly as 

 long as the body, black, with a broad white band beyond the middle, which 

 includes four of the joints and is interrupted on its under side by a black line. 

 The thorax is rough from numerous confluent punctures, which are more 

 coarse and confused on its basal part, the angles on each side of the base above 

 presenting a small tubercle or obtuse tooth. It is black above and tawny red 

 beneath and on the sides, and shows several yellowish-white marks, as follows: 

 a short line above on each side of the anterior middle; the wing sockets and a 

 stripe from them to the head; an oblique stripe above the base of the^interior 

 legs; a spot behind the wing sockets; a transverse square spot occupying the 

 scutel, and an oblique spot upon each side of the base. The abdomen is as 

 broad as the thorax, elliptic, flattened, convex above, concave beneath, the first 

 segment narrowed into a petiole, the following segments abruptly bent down- 

 wards at a right angle with the first; surface with close fine distinct punctures; 

 first segment smooth and polished, punctured each side at its apex, slightly 

 margined by a slender elevated line along each side through its whole length; 

 color tawny red, the five small segments which form the tip black with a slen- 

 der white band on the apical edge of each. Ovipositor half as long as the ab- 

 domen, tawny red, its valves black. Legs tawny red, hind shanks black at 

 their tips, hind feet white, their bases and tips black. TVings glassy-hyaline 

 and iridescent, without spots, their veins and triangular stigma black. 



The following varieties occurred among the five individuals alluded to, two 

 of them being of the first and one of the other variety. 



a. An additional white spot, upon each side of the thorax. 



b. The two short white lines above on the anterior middle of the thorax 



wanting;. * 



3. THE MAPLE. 



AFFECTING THE LEAVES. 



Round holes cut in the leaves, and their pulp consumed in rings and semi- 

 circular spots; round scales containing a small white worm between 

 them, adhering to the surface of the leaves. 

 The Maple leaf cutter, Omix ylcerifoliella, new species (plate 4, fig. 

 5.) 

 In the summer of the year 1850 an affection of the maple trees 

 causing their leaves to turn brown, appearing as though they 

 had been nipped by the frost, was so common in the eastern sec- 

 tion of New- York that it became a common subject of remark. 

 This withered appearance of the leaves began to be noticed the 

 fore part of August and it continued to increase for three or 

 four weeks, and remained until the fall of the leaves in autumn. 

 It was so conspicuous that it could be plainly perceived as far 



