366 MfSCELLANEOUS rNSECTS. 



my vines, as I had a rabbit-proof fence around my field of 1()U 

 acres, which is looked after each day. As far as I know, they 

 had not paired during the period that they were here, though 

 during the day they seek the shade of clods of earth, holes in 

 the checks, under some water gates that connect the checks, 

 and in these places large numbers seem to congregate. For 

 instance, this afternoon my brother turned up a couple of 

 clods, each say four or five inches in diameter, and under 

 them was at least sixty or seventy beetles. The greater part 

 of the beetles have disappeared ; whether they have died or 

 migrated I cannot be sure, but think the latter, for if they had 

 died in such numbers I think I should ]iav(> discovered them. 

 In a slough that is used as a water channel there are pools of 

 water somewhat stagnant, and at some of these I found thou- 

 sands of dead beetles — still not anything like enough to ac- 

 count for the disappearance of the army that was here." 



I sent a specimen of this beetle to Prof. Riley for determi- 

 nation, but he being absent the specimen was referred to Prof. 

 E. A. Schwarz, who rcjjlied as follows, under date of August 

 7th: 



"The tenel)rionid you send, and which has destroyi'd thirty- 

 five acres of grapevines, is Eleodcs (juadric()lli>i — Lee. ; a very 

 common species in the more northern ])art of your State. The 

 species of that genus so numerous and al)un(lant in the region 

 west of the Rocky Mountains are all known to feed upon 

 decaying vegetable matter, and none have hitherto been re- 

 ported as doing damage to cultivated plants. In fact your 

 communication, if correct, would indicate a change of habit 

 hitherto unprecedented in the history of economic entomol- 

 ogy ; and unless furtlici- pi-ool' he brought forth. I can hardly 

 believe that the species referred to is the real author of the 

 damage to grapevines.'' 



Sth. Ants. — Since the S})ring of ISSI. occasionally some 

 fruit-growers would report that the ants were among tlie insect 

 friends of the fruit-growers. In llSSl, the late .lames R. Saul, 

 of Oak Shade Orchard, Yolo C\»unty, wrote me that in his 

 investigation he disco-vered that he was losing some larva> of 

 the codlin moth, and could not account for the loss. The 

 lai'vie wci-c taken from the ap[)K's and pears hefori- tlu'V had 



