126 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



odoriferous organ indicated by two pencils 

 of hairs at the base of the abdomen. The 

 flowers of a species of Lantana are yellow 

 the first day, orange the second, and purple 

 the third, and Dr. Miiller entered into in- 

 teresting details with respect to the species 

 of butterflies that respectively visited the 

 flowers in their different conditions of 

 coloration, proving considerable appreci- 

 ation of color in these insects. Finally, 

 he alluded to a secondary sexual character 

 existing in the genus Calidrxas and some 

 others, the costal margin of the anterior- 

 wings being sharply serrated in the I and 

 smooth in the ? . Mr. Meldola said 

 that in the British Museum there is a South 

 American specimen of Macrosila cluentius 

 with a pr(jboscis 23.5 centimetres (gi 

 inches) in length. 



Early Silk Culture in Virgini.-\. — 

 How many times silk culture has prom- 

 ised to be one of the great industries in 

 this country, and then almost passed out 

 of sight and mind, may lie inferred from 

 the following reference to silk culture in 

 Virginia which appears in the second edi- 

 tion of Evelyn's Sylva, published in Lon- 

 don, Eng., 1669. In speaking of the va- 

 rious products of the world, the author 

 says : " I will also instance in that which 

 is now in good forwardness ; Virginia has 

 already given silk for the clothing of our 

 kings ; and it may happen hereafter to give 

 clothes to a great part of Europe and a 

 vast treasure to our kings. If the silk- 

 worm shall thrive there (of which there 

 seems to be no doubt) the profit will be 

 inexpressible." After two centuries, we 

 can still say " there seems to be no doubt " 

 of the success of the silkworm in Virginia, 

 and all there is wanting is that Virginians 

 shall go to work and raise the silk. — A. S. F. 



Vitality of the Sheep Scab. — Writ- 

 ing under date of December 12th, 1879, 

 Mr. F. C. Lewis, Chief Sheep Inspector of 

 New Zealand, says that Mr. W. McLaugh- 

 lin of Papatoitoi, in the month of October, 

 1877, placed some five or six acari, with a 

 small quantity of wool and scab matter, 



between two flat pieces of glass, having theH 

 edges inclosed by gummed paper. The 

 original insects have died ; but about ten 

 young acari, of various sizes — the largest 

 about the sixth of the full size — were alive 

 last month, and have been preserved for 

 future examination. These experiments, 

 says the Pacific Rural Press, as well 

 as others that might be adduced, de- 

 monstrate the tenacity of life pertain- 

 ing tothe scab insect, and confirm the 

 necessity that exists for prolonged and 

 careful precautions being applied in cases 

 of sheep infected with the scab dis- 

 ease. 



Cabbage-worm Parasite. — We notice 

 that correspondents of the agricultural and 

 horticultural press when referring to the 

 Pteromalus purparum, or Imported Cab- 

 bage-worm parasite, generally state that 

 the female fly deposits her eggs in the pupa 

 or chrysalis. This however, is incorrect, as 

 any one can discover by gathering some of 

 the infested full-grown caterpillars and 

 placing them in a close box to undergo 

 their transformation. The flies, instead of 

 laying their eggs upon the chrysalides, de- 

 posit them in the caterpillar while this is 

 feeding on the cabbages or other closely 

 allied plants in the garden. The minute 

 parasitic grubs resulting, bore into and feed 

 upon the fatty substance of the unfortunate 

 caterpillar, but do not kill it, or prevent it 

 from crawling away and successfully pass- 

 ing into its chrysalis state. But after this 

 change the parasites continue to eat until 

 the entire substance within the chrysalis 

 skin is destroyed, the skin itself protect- 

 ing them until the following spring, when, 

 having changed to flies, they break through 

 the shell of their victim, and escape. — 

 A. S. F. 



Floating Apiaries. — Last year a very 

 interesting experiment was tried by Mr. 

 C. O. Perrine of Chicago, who believed 

 that he could very materially extend the 

 honey-producing season by floating his 

 apiary on a barge down the Mississippi 

 late in the season, and then returning 



