THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



203 



be miicli smaller, and, judging from the working 

 of the larva, they are probably laid singly on the 

 leaves. 



Army Worm Notes and Inquiries : Its 

 Work on Clover. — Our Camden Microscopical 

 Society has been very active in the study of the 

 Army Worm (so called), that has been so very 

 destructive throughout New ]crsey. As Prof. 

 Lockwood made a statement to the effect that a 

 clover field was destroyed, I made special eflbrt 

 to ascertain if this was generally the case, but 

 failed to receive one reply (to my many inquiries) 

 that confirmed Lockwood's statement. I have 

 ten or fifteen answers which state that the clover 

 was uninjured, wliere other grasses were entirel)' 

 destroyed. As you have had considerable expe- 

 rience in the study of this pest, I took some in- 

 terest in the matter, and endeavored to find the 

 work you issued, but nowhere could I see a 

 copy, or could any one tell me where to look for 

 it. So I was left in the dark ; and if 5'ou could 

 spare but a few minutes to give me a line or two 

 in reference to this debated question of clover, it 

 will add to my indebtedness to you for the very 

 kind favors received. — L. T. Derousse, Camden, 

 N. J., July (>, 18S0. 



As a rule, the Army Worm does not injure 

 clover ; and we have frequently known it to pass 

 through a field, cat out all the grass, and leave 

 the clover practically uninjured. On the other 

 hand, where clover and timothy have been sown 

 in rye, and the worms appeared in the field while 

 the clover was yet young, we have known them 

 to absolutely destroy it. We published an ac- 

 count of this insect in the July number, and you 

 will find some other matter on the subject in the 

 present number. Our principal articles on the 

 insect were published in the Sth and gth Ento- 

 mological Reports of Missouri. 



Ichneumon from Stomach of Blue Bird. — I 



inclose a ll}'menopter eaten in quantit\' liere bv 

 Blue Birds in February. This particular one 

 was taken from the stomach of a Blue Bird shot 

 here Feb. 27, 1S80. Will j'ou give me the name? 

 — S. A. Forbes, Normal, ill. 



Our esteemed correspondent having omitted 

 his usually careful and guarded method of mail- 

 ing, the specimen reached us crushed to pieces. 

 The fragments were sufficient to show that it be- 

 longs to the genus Lainpronola, but beyond this 

 we cannot safely venture on determination. 



Leaf-miner on White Oak. — If not trespass- 

 ing too much on your time, may I ask you the 

 name of an insect that is now affecting the leaves 

 of the White Oaks here, and making the trees 

 look as if Cicada seplcincleciin were al)Out. Its 

 larva lives between tlie upper and lower surfaces 

 of the leaf mines, the cellular tissue and the 

 leaf shrivels and curls, and turns brown, giving 

 the tree a half-dead appearance. They are now 

 going into the chrysalis form, and I have some of 

 them put away. I suppose they will issue shortly, 

 or, at any rate, before the leaves fall. The larva 

 is about Y% in. in length. — E. W. Claypolc, An- 

 tioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, July 4, 

 1880. 



The Leaf-miner which you send, so far as wc 



can determine with certainty from the dried spe- 

 cimen, is that oi Lit/iocolletis. Mr. V. T. Cham- 

 bers, who has great familiarity with these little 

 miners, and to whom wc referred your specimen, 

 says that, without doubt, it is his L. cincinuati- 

 clla. It is sometimes very abundant, and in- 

 jurious, on the White oak, as you describe. The 

 parent moth has the front wings of a deep golden 

 or tawn3'-yellow color, and with four elbowed 

 white streaks, shaded with black powder-like 

 patches. Do not hesitate to ask questions, es- 

 pecially if accompanied with specimens. 



Screw Worm : Its Parentage in Doubt. — 



In describing the parasites of Aletia, you men- 

 tion (p. 3g, of Bulletin) Sarcophaga sayract-nur, 

 giving figures of lly, and larva, &c. The name 

 being borne by our blow-tly, and conferred by 

 some on the "screw-worm fly," so common here, 

 leads me to ask you for information about this 

 latter. Alusca (Callip/iora) Tomiloria; Sarcophaga 

 carnaria ; S. georgiiia ; I\htsca ^LttcHia) ca:sar — 

 all these deposit eggs or larvae on i/cad, putrid 

 tlesh, manure, excreta, &c. ; but the "screw-worm 

 flv " oiilv deposits living larva) on blood, or bloody 

 lii'iiig liesh. I suppose, while in Texas, you met 

 with specimens of the " screw-worms " and the 

 fly, and I desire you to impart the name of the 

 fly to me — I mean the technical name. 



I have tried to get sight of the fly, and have 

 asked several old Texans to describe it, but they 

 are indefinite, and contradict each other ; so I 

 am at a loss. Several cases have occurred in mj' 

 knowledge where persons were blown by the 

 "screw-worm fly," and one proved fatal — the 

 larva being in the nose and frontal sinus. They 

 frequently kill calves, sheep, hogs, and other an- 

 imals. 



I have been called on by professional men 

 living at the North, to give a description of this 

 lly, and report its ravages on animals and men. 

 If you can describe it, or refer me to some book, 

 or furnish me any Departmental report on it, you 

 will greatly oblige me. — A. R. Kilpatrick, Nava- 

 sota, Texas, June 14th, 18S0. 



We really wish we could give you the informa- 

 tion asked for regarding the parentage of the 

 Screw Worm. In truth, however, we have been 

 endeavoring in vain for some years to get speci- 

 mens of the fly which was absolutely known, 

 without doubt, to be the parent of that worm ; or 

 to get the worms themselves, when mature, or 

 just about ready to contract to pupa, so that we 

 could breed the fly from them. So far our efforts 

 have been unavailing. We have what has been 

 sent to us for the fly, and, as stated on p. 21, it 

 is Lucilia tnacellaria Fabr. If you can help us 

 to mature worms, or pupae, you will place us 

 under great obligations. If, when fully grown, 

 they are taken from wounds and placed in moist 

 earth, in a tight tin box, they can be safely trans- 

 mitted to us, and wc engage then to answer your 

 questions. 



Silk Culture : How to Dispose of Cocoons. 



— I and very many Germans came, a few years 

 ago, from South Russia to Kansas, to make this 

 beautiful land our home. We brought the seed 



\ 



