202 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ M»oh 11, 1875. 



caused by the friction of the shank of the legs, as in the vocal 

 performance of the grasshoppers, but traceable to a movement 

 of the head. It has been compared to the shrill cry of the 

 bat, though really it is a louder sound. Many entomologists 

 have discovered the larva; and pupaj in Willow trees. The fat 

 muscular larva of the species is probably a creature of slow 

 growth. The pupa, as seen in the illustration, of an allied 

 Cerambyx exhibits curiously the parts of the future insect. 

 I don't know how it may be with others, but these beetle papaj 

 always bring to my mind the recumbent figures of Crusaders, 

 to be seen in stony stiffness on various antique monuments. 



A pretty beetle, also a visitor to gardens and fond of flowers, 

 is the Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis). The resemblance to a 

 wasp is rather superficial; still, the rapid vibration of its an- 

 tennte and its plan of dodging in and out amongst the leaves 

 are a little startUng ; but the antennm are much longer than 

 those of the wasp, though short as compared to some of the 

 CerambycidsB. The general colour of this beetle is black, the 

 elytra being banded with yellow, some specimens having yellow 

 spots in addition. Though the species is of moderate size, 

 the larval state lasts two or three years. Strangalia armata, a 

 beetle nearly allied to the last named, has a penchant for 

 umbelliferous flowers in field and gardens, popping out of 

 view directly any person approaches it. It has been called 



" armed," because the elytra are deeply cut and toothed at the 

 edges. The contrast of colour in different specimens is strik- 

 ing, the black and yellow being interchanged, some having one, 

 some the other, as the ground colour. 



Not a few gardens are to be noticed, skirted perhaps on two 

 or three sides by a Hawthorn hedge. Much as I love the 

 Hawthorn, the " bonuie May," I question whether it is a good 

 plant to form a hedge of, at least f^r a flower garden ; in the 

 case of a kitchen garden there may be less objection. From a 

 Hawthorn hedge individuals of the species designated Timaroha 

 lasvigata make their way into gardens. I have seen them in 

 I Surrey nursery grounds where their presence occasioned need- 

 less alarm, for the beautiful insect is comparatively innocuous, 

 for apparently the larvie eat nothing but Hawthorn leaves, 

 and it is questionable if the images eat at all. Both bear a 

 ; marked resemblance to each other. The perfect insect has 

 I from its peculiarity of emitting a red fluid from the mouth 

 received the name of the Bloody-nose Beetle; this secretion, 

 however, does not appear to be acrid. To the unaided eye the 

 plump body looks black ; only by the application of a glass do 

 we perceive that the colour is an intense purple, varied with a 

 greenish gloss. The upper side of the body is dotted over 

 with small punctures ; and the tarsi or feet are especially 

 deserving of inspection, as they have broad pads, which 



Fig. 50. — Imago and pupa of Cerambyx Heros. 



strengthen the grip of the beetle on the leaves or twigs, other- 

 wise its heavy body would render it very liable to capsize. 

 The equally fat but still softer larva must be a morceaux to a 

 hungry bird, unless it has an unpalatable flavour. 



Unpromising collections of dead leaves swept-up in corners 

 at random at this season contain some minute pupse of various 

 small but splendid moths, waiting the spring to call them forth 

 in the winged state. Most of the species of the genus Litho- 

 coUctis contain examples of some of our smallest moths, which 

 are splendid in colouring, with wings deeply and delicately 

 fringed ; these pass the winter in the pupa state, when many 

 are killed by the frost or moisture. The balk of these small 

 species do no harm worth mentioning, but there are one or 

 two notable as disfigurers of garden plants. Thus, the elegant 

 species L. emberizffl pennella, of silky aspect, yellowish, and 

 barred with white, has a larva that leaves behind it an uumis- 

 takeable impress on the Honeysuckle. Wherever this insect 

 occurs the foliage of the plant is at first contorted, and by-and- 

 by it exhibits pale patches, and finally the leaves twist and 

 drop off. 



Scarcely any of the species of the genus Lithooolletis have 

 received English names, which is quite as well, since so large 

 a proportion of the vernacular appellations are either silly or 

 inappropriate, such as Carpets, Veneers, Quakers, and all that 

 category. One pretty Lithooolletis a well-known popular 

 author on natural history calls the Brown Dolly, because the 

 brown markings scattered over the white wings bear a slight 

 resemblance to a rude wooden doll. A microscope brings out 

 the beauty of the insect, and shows up the contrast between 

 the eieamy white and the rich brown. As the larva feeds on 



FiK. tjl. — XylopoJa fabiiciana. 



the leaves of Hazel it has received the name of L. corylella. 

 Some of the minute pupce of the genus Neptioula are also 

 detectable in winter, but most of these, having become full- 

 fed, quit the leaves they have been mining, and make compact 

 cocoons of silk attached to a stem or twig. Here, again, we 

 have various tiny yet splendid insects ; thus, N. plagioolella 

 has wings of a brown colour shot with rich violet ; across them 

 runs a bar or stripe of bright silver. Amongst the Tortrices 

 (the familiar, and in some instances troublesome, leaf-rollers, 

 while they are larv«) we have many beautiful moths, though 

 half an inch to three-quarters is about the average size. 

 Amongst those likely to be visitants to our gardens is Xylopoda 

 fabriciana {lig. 51) and Tortrix roborana. 



In closing this series of papers, in which I have not pre- 

 tended to treat the subject I have taken in an exhaustive 

 manner, I would call attention to a valuable little volume from 

 the pen of Sir John Lubbock on " British Wild Flowers in 

 relation to Insects." Though not dealing specially with the 

 work of flower-fertilisation as carried on by insects in gardens, 

 it contains information which will be of interest to every hor- 

 ticulturist. Amongst the curious facts it contains or hints at 

 is this somewhat surprising one — that it has been supposed 

 by some students of this branch of science that the genus 

 Thrips, much disliked, and with good reason hitherto, on 

 account of the ravages committed by its prolific hosts, may 

 aid in a degree in brinfring about the due impregnation of the 

 flowers it frequents.— J. li. S. C. 



HoT-WATEn Joints, — A short time since you printed a com- 

 munication recommending rope and Portland cement for joint- 



