9S 



FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF 



its body of minute ash-gray- 

 scales or short hairs, and 

 whenever these are rubbed 

 off, which happens almost as 

 readily as on the wings of a 

 butterfly, the original black 

 color of its hide appears. It 

 i- attacks not only potato vines, 

 but also honey-locusts, and 

 especially the English or Windsor bean, and I found it quite abun- 

 dant on the Early Snap bean at Hermann, last summer. It also at- 

 tacks the foliage of the apple-tree, and likewise gnaws into the young 

 fruit. 



THE BLACK-RAT BLISTER-BEETLE -Lytta murina, Le Conte. 



This species (Fig. 40 b, male) is sometimes found upon the potato 

 in the month of July, and early in August. In 1867 it was found by 

 Mr. D. W. Kauffman, to swarm on the potato vines near Des Moines, 

 Iowa; but I have not yet met with it in Missouri. 



THE BLACK BLISTER-BEETLE— Lytta atrata, Fabr. 



This species is very similar in appearance to the Black-rat Blister- 

 beetle; the latter being distinguishable from it only by having four 

 raised lines placed lengthwise upon each wing-case and by the two 

 first joints of the antennas being greatly dilated and lengthened in 

 the males as shown at Figure c. The Black Blister-beetle appears in 

 August and September, and is very common on the flowers of the 

 Golden-rod. I learned from several parties, while attending the Oc- 

 tober meeting of the Meramac Horticultural Society, at Eureka, that 

 it had been quite numerous on the potatoes in that vicinity, and that 

 they did much damage in some patches. The severe drouth of the 

 summer had retarded the development of the tubers, so that this 

 beetle attacked the vines before the latter were formed; but as a gen- 

 eral rule, it makes its appearance too late in the season to do great 

 damage. 



THE MARGINED BLISTER-BEETLE*— Lytta marginata, Fabr. 



[Fig. 41.] This species (Fig. 41) may be at once recognized by its 

 r general black color, and the narrow ash-gray edging to its 

 wing-cases. It usually feeds on certain wild plants ; but I 

 found it quite abundant on potatoes last summer, both in our 

 own State and in Illinois. It appears not to attack the Peach 

 Blow r variety, for Mr. Wm. Brown, of Eureka, informs me that 

 he had a patch of Quaker Russetts by the side of another 

 .patch of Peach Blows, and while the former were entirely 



eaten up by it, the latter were untouched. 



*This is the name formerly given by almost all entomologists to this species ; and a most ap- 

 propriate one it is, in view of the remarkable ash-gray margin of its black wing-cases (elytra). But 

 of late years it has been discovered, that, as long ago as the middle of the last century, and several 



