THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the same size as the others The piliferous spots 

 are reddish without pale annulation. The chrys- 

 alis has the cremaster less swollen at tip, but 

 otherwise, except in smaller size, is iindis- 

 tingiiishable. 



The egg is so similar to that of Alctia that it is 

 doubtful whether there are any constant dis- 

 tinguishing characters; the ribs in the single 

 specimen examined are somewhat fewer in num- 

 ber and consequently more marked. 



That this is the "Cotton Worm" of Bahia is 

 interesting from the fact that Aletia was described 

 by Hiibner from that place. If, as we cannot 

 well doubt, Mr. Grote has correctly determined 

 HUbner's figure of Aletia to represent Say's 

 Noctua xylina, it will also yet be found there. 

 There is a possibility, however, that the figure 

 has misled, and the description of Hiibner is 

 certainly of no value as a guide. 



The cotton bolls contained the following in- 

 sects, which all appear to have fed upon the 

 seeds : (l) a small Tineid, badly rubbed but 

 distinct from the species so abundantly found in 

 the U. S. under similar conditions and which is 

 figured by Prof. Glover as possibly T. granella. 

 but is, as Mr. Chambers informs us, a new species 

 of Laverna. It is, however, a different species. 

 (2) A species of Hypothenemus, apparently not 

 differing from //. hispidulus, which has also been 

 found in diseased cotton bolls in the U. S. and 

 on the Bahama Islands and which also bores in 

 the twigs of the dead plants. (3) Two specimens 

 of a Paratenetus, differing from the allied North 

 American P. punctatus which is found in diseased 

 cotton bolls in the U. S. by its very strongly 

 dentate thorax. (4) One specimen of a Diplocalus 

 not occurring in the U. S. (5) Four specimens 

 of Anrocinis Jasc'iciilaliis, a cosmopolitan beetle 

 found in articles of commerce and frequently 

 observed in diseased cotton bolls in the Southern 

 States. 



The large bug is the Cotton Stainer (Dysdercus 

 sutia-ellus H. S.) also found in the U. S. and 

 greatly injurious to cotton on the Bahamas.] 



Answers to Correspondents. 



[We hope to make this one of the most interesting and in- 

 structive departments of the Entomologist, All inquiries 

 about insects, injurious or otherwise, should be accompanied 

 by specimens, the more the better. .Such specimens, if dead, 

 should be packed in some soft material, as cotton or wool, and 

 inclosed in some stout tin or wooden box. They will come 

 by mail for one cent per ounce. Insects should never be 



ENCLOSED LOOSE IN THE LETTER. 



Whenever possible, larva: (7. t?., grubs, caterpillars, maggots, 

 etc.) should be packed alive, in some tight tin box — the tighter 

 the better, as air-holes are not needed — along with a supply of 

 their appropriate food sufficient to last them un their journey : 

 otherwise they generally die on the road and shrive! up. If 

 dead when sent, they should be packed in cotton moistened 

 with alcohol. Send as full an account .as possible of the habits 

 of the insect respecting which you desire information ; for 

 example, what plant or plants it infests ; whether it destroys 

 the leaves, the buds, the twigs, or the stem ; how long it has 

 been known to you ; what amount of damage it has done, etc. 

 Such particulars are often ntu only of high scientific interest 

 but of great practical importance.] 



Hemispherical Larva at bottom of Ant Hill. 

 — Will 'you favor me with the name of the speci- 



men which I inclose? It was found in the 

 bottom of an ant hill. One specimen died before 

 it was put in alcohol — the black one. 



I am glad you have started your Entomologist 

 again. I sincerely trust it will prove a success. 

 — D. S. Sheldon, Davenport, Iowa. 



The curious objects you send, which, in the 

 shape of body and sculpture of the upper surface 

 resemble very closely certain kinds of naked 

 snails, are the apparently full grown larvae of a 

 two-winged fly {Aficrodon gloliosus), belonging to 

 the family Syrphidic. There seems to be but 

 little known of the life history of these insects. 

 Packard, who figures the larva, puparium and 

 imago of this species (-vV/t- " Guide to the Study of 

 Insects," 3d ed. p. 39S, Fig. 317), says that the 

 larva was found by Mr. .Sanborn, under sticks, in 

 company with shells. What relation these larvae 

 have to the ants is not known, and we should be 

 very glad to receive from you further facts on 

 this subject. Mr. Schwarz informs us that while 

 looking for beetles in the hills of a reddish ant 

 near Ann Arbor, Mich., he found this larva in 

 the innermost portion of the hill. 



Chrysalides dug up in Cotton Field, mis- 

 taken for those of the Cotton Worm. — Will 

 you oblige me by mailing to me a copy of the 

 Communication referred to in the inclosed slip 

 from the " Trihuiw : " 



Prof. Riley in a communication just made public, upon the 

 hibernation of the cotton-worm, states, as a summary of our 

 present knowledge of the subject, that the .Metia never hiber- 

 nates as egg. larva or chrysalis, and that it survives the Winter 

 only in the Southern portion of the cotton-belt in the moth or 

 perfect stage. Hibernation seems more common in the West- 

 ern part of this belt than the Eastern portion, and consequently 

 it is here that the earliest appearance of the worm is noticed. 



If what that paper states is really "a summary" 

 of the knowledge arrived at with reference to the 

 hibernation of the Cotton Worin, I acknowledge 

 myself, vulgarly speaking, "stumped." The 

 fact is that in the process of plowing (in sandy 

 land) during the past month, 1 have noticed 

 hundreds of the larva or chrysalis of the Cotton 

 Worm, alive and kicking, healthy looking, 

 thrown up. — Robert Worrel, St. Joseph, La. 



We can only refer you to what we have said on 

 the subject of hibernation of Aletia in chapter 10 

 of Bulletin No. 3 of the U. S. Entomological 

 Commission as reprinted in the January num- 

 ber of this magazine. We recommend that 

 30U carefully compare the larvae and chrysalides 

 found in the ground and supposed by you to 

 be those of Aletia, with the figures we have 

 given. If this comparison does not satisfy you, 

 keep your chrysalides, covered with a little soil, 

 in a closed glass jar, and compare the moths 

 which will issue therefrom with the figure of 

 Aletia which we have given. We hope you will 

 then be convinced that your supposition is wrong. 



Aleurodes on Oxalis. — Inclosed are leaves 

 from the "Oxalis" infested with an insect new 

 in my experience ; be so kind as to say what it 

 is. I fail, with the lens I have, to determine which 

 are eggs and which are larvae. I shall be very 



