99 
THE GREEN-LINED MAPLE-WORM. 
For the third time, now, many of our soft-maple trees in the city of 
Lincoln have been entirely defoliated by the larvee of Anisota rubicunda, 
This insect has been steadily increasing for the past three years, and 
if it does not‘soon die off by some epidemic disease or is killed by para- 
sites the growing of this tree will be very difficult. This state of 
affairs is due entirely to the negligence of our citizens in general, who, it 
appears, can not be induced to spend the little time necessary for the 
destruction of insect pests that attack their shade trees, garden and 
farm produce, and flowering plants. The entomologist can not kill all 
the insects, good and bad, in the country; neither are his words of 
advice heeded in the least when he tells how each insect enemy is to be 
gotten rid of by means of the least labor and expense to those who 
should be most interested. 
THE BLUE-GRASS WEEVIL. 
For the past two years Sphenophorus parvulus Gyll. has been in- 
creasing quite rapidly in numbers, so that now it has come to be one of 
our commonest beetles in the city of Lincoln, at least, if not elsewhere. 
From the fact of its frequenting sidewalks, or being concealed under 
boards, sticks, and stones that were left lying about on the University 
campus, and on lawns elsewhere in the city, I began an investigation as 
to its probable breeding place. This study has led to the discovery of 
its feeding upon the roots of the common blue-grass (Poa pratensis). 
So plentiful has the insect become in some lawns that the sod has been 
entirely killed over large patches. 
The larva is a short, thick, whitish grub, like those of other species 
of the genus, and measures from 4 to 5 millimeters in length when fully 
matured. The beetles appear twice a year, 7. ¢.,in the spring and early 
fall, the insect probably being double-brooded. Some of the beetles 
may come out in fall, while the remainder may lie over winter as pupe. 
The fully matured larve were found early in June, while others were 
observed last October. Damp and well-watered lawns appear to be in- 
fested fully as badly, if not worse, that those that are dryer, although 
they do not show the injury nearly so quickly in the former as in the 
latter case. 
While looking for larve during the latter part of last May, numerous 
specimens of a small white ‘“ hair-worm” Mermis or Gordius, or some 
allied genus, were found scattered through the soil. These were only 
obtained at very damp places under trees on the University campus, 
and as a rule were tightly coiled. Whether these would have or had 
been in any way connected with the Sphenophorus larve, I do not know, 
as I am not sufficiently well acquainted with these forms nor with their 
life-histories. Various ground-beetles (Carabide) and their larve cer- 
tainly do devour the larvze of Sphenophorus, since the former were also 
quite common in the localities where the latter abounded. No experi- 
