1G8 



I'SrCHE. 



(M:lv iSSi.). 



strawlicny as ^. iiebulosus^ saying fur- 

 ther : 



"The names I now give you are ab- 

 sokitely typical as fiir as Leconte's col- 

 lection goes. Last summer his iiealth 

 was so poor and his eyesight so decep- 

 tive that I do not wonder that some of 

 his comparisons were erroneous." 



VV'lien wc further notice that he was 

 separated from his collection when he 



wrote me, it need not surprise us that 

 for once Jove nodded. 



So far as tiie paper in Psyche is con- 

 cerned, the errors will he eliminated if 

 piibcscens is changed to ncbiilosmt 

 wherever it occurs, as a reexamination 

 of all the collections referred to shows 

 that they consist of nchulosus only. 



nlinois stiite laboratory of i.ntural Iiislory, 

 17 April 1SS4. 



PROTECTIVE SECl^E'l'IONS OF SPECIES OF ELEODES. 



BV SAMUEL WENDICI.I, WII.I.ISTON, NKW nA\EN. CONN. 



In connection with Dr. G : Dimmock's 

 interesting article^ on the glands oi)ening 

 externally in certain insects, it may be 

 of interest to gi.ve some results of se\er- 

 al years' observations of certain tcncbri- 

 onidac on the Kansas plains. The 

 following species, belonging to the genus 

 Elcodcs^ viz., R. acuta, E. S7itura/is, 

 E. iricostaia, E. obso/cta, E. cxtricata, 

 E. langlcollis, and E. k/sp/7abris, are 

 abundant in the regions east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, some of them verv 

 aiuuulant, antl with one or two exccj)- 

 tions, they all, when distmbed, eject a 

 pungent, vile-smelling liquid. Perhaps 

 the most disagreeable of these, in this 

 respect, is E. longicoUis., a beetle about 

 two and a half centimetres long, which 

 will eject a stream of fluid from the anal 

 glands, sometimes to the distanc;; often 

 centimetres or more. This liquid has a 

 strong, persistent odor, and leaves a 

 brown stain upon the skin. Whether 

 acid or alkaline in its reaction 1 cannot 



'Psyclic, Sept.-Oct. 1S82 [1 Marcli 1SS4I, v. 3, p. 

 3S7.401. 



sa\'. but its effect u]").')n the skin is ver\' 

 much like the first solution of carbolic 

 acid, though less strong. Several times 

 I have had small quantities reach my 

 eves. \\ ith disagreeable efibcts. Both 

 sc.xes arc equallv pro\ide(l with the se- 

 cretion, and, in in.lividuals which have 

 not been exhausted, it is directed back- 

 wanl with considerable force, as I once 

 learneci to ni\ entire satisfaction. I had 

 seized a fine, laige pair oi E. lotigicollix 

 b\' the thorax and held them up. at 

 \\ hat I deemed a safe ilist.mcc, for them 

 to eject their vile secretion before plac- 

 ing them in my collecting bottle. Lhi- 

 fortunatch tliev were provided with an 

 unusualiv large (juantitv, and, both eject- 

 ing it sinndtaneoush , I I'cceived jt on 

 m\ fice and hands. A very noteworthx 

 hal)it, moreover, in the species of this 

 genus at least, and a constant one is that, 

 when approached, they stand almost 

 vertically with the abdomen directed n])- 

 wards ready the moment they are 

 touched, to eject their mephitic secretion. 

 Among the species given in the forego- 



