87 
several inches. Where the larvie are very numerous the plants will die 
before the larve are grown, and most of the latter will perish; only 
such as are situated near ‘or below the ground will survive. Empty 
pup of two species of parasites were observed within the burrows of 
the larve, both apparently belonging to the Ichneumonide. 
Asaremedy, the collecting of the beetles may be recommended. Dur- 
ing early morning and evening they may be found either on the cur- 
rant bushes or the surrounding trees, almost always at rest on and 
within dry and dead leaves from which they can be shaken into an 
umbrella. During their operations upon the plants in the day-time itis 
difficult to get near them as they are very quick on the wing and ex- 
ceedingly shy. Collecting and burning the infested plants during 
winter, and also the whitewashing of lower parts of plants may have a 
good effect; this should be done about the end of May. 
(Diabrotica soror Lec.) 
This beetle occurs occasionally in such numbers as to become ex- 
ceedingly destructive to fruits and vegetables. As yet the earlicr stages 
have not been studied. All attempts to get eggs and larvie have so 
far been a failure on my part as wellas on the part of other entomol- 
ogists. A large number of the beetles were kept in confinement for 
weeks with various living plants without any results. The larva, without 
doubt, will be found to have the same habits as the other species of the 
the group,—feeding upon roots of various plants. Fortunately this 
insect is preyed upon by a dipterous larva, which without doubt de- 
stroys the greater number of them, in certain years at least. As early as 
1886, while at Los Angeles, Mr. Alexander Craw, of that city, showed 
both Mr. Coquillett and myself the larva infesting this beetle. I did 
not succeed in breeding the same until June last, and Mr. Coquillett re- 
ports recently of his partial success in this particular.* 
THE TENT-CATERPILLARS. 
(Clisiocampa spp. ) 
From year to year these worms become more and more numerous 
upon fruit trees. Mr. Stretch in his paper on the genust cites six species 
as occurring on this coast,—C. californica Packard, as feeding upon 
Quercus agrifolia; C. fragilis, Stretch, from Nevada; C. constricta, 
Stretch, on Quercus conomensis; C. strigosa, Siretch, from Yosemite 
Valley; C. erosa, Stretch, from Oregon ; and CO. thoracica, Stretch, as 
feeding upon Willow. The genus, however, seems to be far more nu- 
merously represented. In addition to this I have bred one species from 
the Sierra Nevada Mountains upon Ceanothus and wild cherry (Prunus 
demissa); 2 second species was found to be very abundant in Los An- 
* Insect Life, Vol. II, No. 3, p. 74. 
t Papilio, Vol. I, No. 5, pp. 63-69. 
