4 1 o General Notes. [ M ay , 



rejected them, however, and give this note of warning, especially 

 to lepidopterists to whom they will prove particularly objection- 

 able, as our experience of a {qw weeks suffices to show that they 

 very quickly encourage greasing, and soon produce a relaxed 

 sordid or greasy appearance of the insects. Another objection is, 

 that by deliquescence the pale chocolate color of the cones com- 

 municates to, and discolors the lining of the boxes wherever it 

 comes in contact therewith. They may not be so objectionable 

 for Coleoptera and Hemiptera, though in many families they 

 would certainly prove injurious. We much prefer the old method 

 of protection, viz: the pouring in the box of a little pure benzine, 

 or what is better, according to LeConte's formula, a mixture of i 

 oz. nitro-benzole, i pint alcohol, ^ oz. carbolic acid and i pint 

 pure benzole. 



Injurious Insects in California. — Our California friends are 

 very active in their warfare with the increasing number of their 

 insect pests, and Mr. Matthew Cooke, chief executive horticultural 

 and health officer, has recently sent us a neatly bound little trea- 

 tise on the insects injurious to fruits and fruit trees of California, 

 giving a good deal of valuable practical information which must 

 be productive of great good. Mr. Cooke lays no special claim 

 to entomological knowledge, and several determinations are erro- 

 neous. It is doubtful, e. g., whether Clisiocampa aniericana or 

 Orgyia leiicostiguia occur on the Pacific coast, and other species 

 of these genera must be intended; while the determination, as 

 Nernatus similaris^ of a saw-fly larva injuring pear trees is made 

 without any warrant, so far as we can find, the insect which we 

 have bred from cocoons sent us by Mr. Cooke, proving to be 

 something quite different. These technical shortcomings do not, 

 however, impair the practical value of the manual. 



Sarcophaga lineata destructive to Locusts in the Dar- 

 danelles. — From communications by Mr. Frank Calvert to mem- 

 bers of the London Entomological Society, and a report of a 

 committee appointed by said society to inquire into the matter, it 

 appears that Gidipoda cruciata Charp., which is the destructive 

 species there, is preyed upon by parasites closely related to those 

 which attack our Caloptenus sprctus, and very much in the same 

 way. Two Dipterous species are worthy of note, viz., a flesh-fly, 

 ( Sarcophaoa lineata Fall.) and a bee-fly ( Callostonia fascipennis 

 Macq.). Of the Sarcophaga, Mr. Calvert remarks : 



" I beg leave to call your particular attention to the larva that is 

 found in the body of the locust, no longer a matter of doubt. Each 

 locust has from one to three of these larvae, which are seen on tear- 

 ing open the neck and thorax. When the locust dies the larva, which 

 is very active, leaves the body and buries itself in the ground with 

 haste — proved by experiments I have made. The head is provided 

 with a couple of black hooks which can be dravv^n in ; these 

 hooks are used when the larva is in motion, and to bury itself. 



