90 



Forbes scale in check. The Forbes scale would sometimes become 

 quite injurious and j)eacli trees would often ])c killed. It was his 

 observation that the C hinihicnis was largely instrumental in con- 

 trollint^ this species, and while he had observed the wheel bug' to be 

 very conmion, yet he had never noticed that it fed on the larva of 

 this beetle, 



Mr. Felt stated that he desired to congratulate Mr, Marlatt on his 

 efforts in searching for the native home of the San Jose scale and pro- 

 curing its natural enemies. He stated that there were no wheel bugs 

 in New York State, so that this insect could not have a hand in destroy- 

 ing parasites. He stated that there were very few of the O. hivulne- 

 rus. So far as his observations went, he considered the ladybirds 

 most valuable as enemies of plant-lice. Flant-lice were very abundant 

 in Albany in 1897, and ladybird larvse were so very luimerous as to 

 attract considerable attention. 



Ml". Hopkins remarked that there was great difficult}^ in determin- 

 ing the dili'ercnt species of closely related scolytid beetles, and sug- 

 gested the importance of a close study of closely related species in all 

 stages to definitely determine their distinctness. As an example, two 

 scolytids had been described from Germany as ditferent species, but 

 were afterwards considered the same. After a close stud}', however, 

 he had found that the two European species belonged to two quite 

 distinct genera. On close stud}^ he had found striking differences, not 

 only in habits, but in structure. 



The next paper was presented by Mr. Quaintance. 



ON THE FEEDING HABITS OF ADULTS OF THE PERIODICAL 



CICADA. 



( Cicada septendcciiii L. ) . 



By A. L. QuAiNTAXcE, Cnlh'(/e Park, Md. 



But little accurate observation seems to have Ijeen made on the 

 feeding habits of the adults of the periodical cicada, or so-called 

 seventeen-year locusts. A review of the rather scant literature on 

 the subject indicates also that considerable diversity of opinion pre- 

 vails among entomologists and others as to the extent to which they 

 feed, and, on the whole, the opinion probabl}' prevails at the present 

 time that the adults, particularl}' the males, feed but little, if at all, 

 during their }>rief aerial life of about thirty days. The first note in 

 reference to this point which I have seen is })y Messrs. Walsh and 

 Riley, in the American Entomologist, Vol. I, p. 67 (1868). It is here 

 stated, under a general discussion relative to the sting of the period- 

 ical cicada, that "the beak is an organ which both sexes of the 

 cicada possess, and by which they take their nourishment. AV^e have 



