58 



PSYCHE. 



[April 1S91. 



the nature of my patient's complaint, 

 before I could obtain the honour of an 

 introduction to you, a circumstance 

 which I have greatly regretted ever 

 since. I however saw Mr. Peale's mu- 

 seum, & found that Mr. Titian Peale 

 was making a collection of insects ; 

 among these I observed that which per- 

 forates the apple tree, known here as 

 the apple-tree borer. This (which I 

 presume to be of the Cerambyx family) 

 I was informed had been described by 

 you. Please inform me the name it has 

 received, & where I shall find your ac- 

 count of it. There is another insect 

 very destructive to our Peach trees, 

 boring around the trunk near the root, 

 & which from the chrysalis (for I have 

 not as yet obtained the perfect insect) 

 must be the larva of a Cossus, or some 

 other of the wood eating lepidopterous 

 caterpillars. Length of the larva one 

 & a quarter inch (legs 16.) colour 

 white, with a reddish tinge. Do you 

 know it ? The Locust tree is infested 

 by a large species of this kind, which is 

 described by Prof. Peck, in the Mass. 

 Agricult. Papers, by the name of 

 Cossus Robinice. This, as I have as- 

 certained, also perforates the Black 

 Oak (Quercus tinctoria Bart.). The 

 Peach tree is subject to the attacks of 

 a Buprestis, which perforates such 

 branches as are old & incline much. 

 The name of the species I do not know. 

 Length rather less than \ inch. Colour 

 of the elytra dull brassy brown, with 3 

 or 4 irregular longitudinal lines. Abdo- 

 men above green ; below brilliant cupre- 

 ous. I am particularly desirous to ob- 

 tain information respecting our native 



species of Lytta, or Meloe. In Boston 

 Lytta atrata Fabr. is sold for Lytta 

 vittata ; & some of our Physicians have 

 confounded L. cinerea under the same 

 name vittata. This is not important 

 in practice ; but is so in nomenclature. 

 Are not all three, together with Lytta 

 marginata, of the genus Cantharis of 

 De Geer, Geoftr., Oliv., Lamark, & 

 Latr., as defined by Leach in Brewster's 

 Encyclopaedia? What species have 

 you in Pennsylvania? Are any kept by 

 apothecaries for the purpose of vesica- 

 tion? By what names are they sold? 

 On what plants are they principally 

 found? At what times? And are they 

 easily procured ? Lytta atrata and 

 cinerea are very common here : vittata 

 and marginata I have seen in collec- 

 tions only : none others have I yet found. 

 Do you know the oeconomy of these in- 

 sects ? Do the larvae live and metamor- 

 phose in the earth ? Any information, 

 or reference to authors on the subject 

 will be gratefully received. Illiger's 

 Magazin 1.256 has been quoted; but I 

 have not the work to consult ; if you 

 have access to it, pray give me the sub- 

 stance of his account. It is my intention 

 to draw up a description of these species, 

 for some of our medical journals, in 

 order to correct the mistakes in the 

 names of the species, and your observa- 

 tions, if you will favour me with them, 

 shall be duly acknowledged. 



Has the moth from the apple-worm 

 been described ? and by what name ? 

 The gregarious caterpillar, which infests 

 some trees in autumn, enclosing whole 

 branches in a web, and devouring all 

 but one membrane of the leaf, giving it 



