2 04 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



of the White Mulberry tree and some silk-worm 

 eggs. The worms produce a large, sound, and 

 deep yellowish cocoon. 



The first j'ears in America we only raised a 

 small number of worms, but finally raised more, 

 until we found that there was no market for the 

 cocoons. 



Several months ago, I wrote to a Silk Manufac- 

 turing Co., in Paterson, N. J., and. after a few 

 weeks, received a letter from the Silk Associa- 

 tion of America, New York, written bv Wm. C. 

 Wyckoff, Secy., whose reply was: "That there 

 is no market for sound cocoons in this country, 

 as there is no filature." (I had told them that 

 we had prepared the cocoons as it was the cus- 

 tom in Europe, viz. : that we had choked them.) 

 He informed me that the pierced cocoons would 

 be bought by Cheney Brothers, of South Man- 

 chester, Conn. But his advice to me was, to 

 address a letter to you, and to ask for informa- 

 tion concerning the possibilities of silk culture 

 in this country. 



What is your opinion about the filature? We 

 had filatures in the old country, and we always 

 sold the silk made up in threads. — C. F. Durk- 

 sen, Marion Co., Kansas. 



We cannot do better than to send you a 

 marked copy of our Manual on Silk Culture in 

 the United States, wherein you will find some 

 suggestions in the line of your inquiries. We 

 agree with Mr. Wyckoflf that the sale of the co- 

 coons in this country is, at the present time, but 

 of little profit ; but we have no doubt that if our 

 farmers persevere in their efforts to produce co- 

 coons, some capitalist will establish a filature. 

 Meanwhile, we advise all those who have raised 

 cocoons the present season, to communicate 

 with Mr. E. Fasnach, of Raleigh, N. C, who 

 has, we believe, made arrangements whereby, as 

 agent of a French house at Marseilles, he will 

 purchase such cocoons at a price which, though 

 not as remunerative as it should be, will be much 

 in advance of that paid by Cheney Bros, for 

 pierced cocoons. 



Best Cotton Worm Destroyer. — I am in re- 

 ceipt of a report made by you in regard to the 

 Cotton Worm, and sent to me through Hon J. H. 

 Acklin. As I am largely interested in the cotton 

 crops of this portion of the country, liaving made 

 large advances to the planters, 1 respectfully de- 

 mand of you to inform me which is the best poi- 

 son to kill the worms, and what is the best 

 machine used ? — J. G. Dauterive, Laureanville, 

 La., June 25, 1S80. 



We can only state that your inquiries as to the 

 most reliable poison for the destruction of the 

 Cotton Worm, and thebest machines and methods 

 for the applications of these poisons, have been 

 discussed in our Bulletin on the Cotton Worm. 

 You will also find the prices of the different 

 machines, as well as the addresses in said bulletin. 

 The poison which we deem best, as there shown, is 

 London Purple, and the cheapest mode of applying 

 depends entirely on circumstances and the con- 

 veniences at hand. We hope you will have no 

 difficulty in deciding for yourself on the difl^erent 

 machines described. You ought to be able to 



Chilocorus 



UUULNERLiS. 



obtain London Purple from any of the large drug- 

 gists ; if not, you might send direct to the manu- 

 facturers. 



Twice-stabbed Lady-bird. — I inclose a beetle 

 which a friend tells me he has found in large 

 numbers on the limbs of his cherry trees this year. 

 Will you tell me its name (in the next Kntomolo- 

 gist), and whether it is injurious? — H, N. Patter- 

 son, Oquawka, 111. 



.The species is the Twice-stabbed Lady-bird 

 {Chilocorus Inviiliierus Muls., Fig. 109). The nu- ' 

 merous species of the Lady-bird family are among 

 the most beneficial insects, as they feed, in both 

 the larva; and imago states, on 

 Plant-lice and scale insects so 

 injurious to vegetation. Your 

 specimens should be protected 

 and encouraged as much as possi- 

 ble. Their presence, in large 

 number on limbs of cherry trees, 

 simply indicates that the trees 

 have been badly infested by some species of Plant- 

 lice, probably the common black Cherry Aphis. 

 h. short description of the larva of your species is 

 given on p. 132 of this magazine. 



Pseudo-scorpion. — C. H. S. Davis, M. D., 

 Miridi'ii, Ct. — The drawing you send fairly 

 represents Chclifcr cancroides Linn., which be- 

 longs to the Family C/mrnetidis, or Pseudo-scor- 

 pions. This species is not infrequently met with 

 in old, rarely used books, in cracks of furniture, 

 etc., while allied species occur under dr)' bark of 

 trees and under decaying leaves. The Pseudo- 

 scorpions are known to prey upon mites, spring- 

 tails, and other small and soft insects. You will 

 find a figure (not a very good one) of your species 

 in Packard's Guide to the Study of Insects, 3d ed., 

 p. 658. 



Bluebirds feeding on parasitic and preda- 

 ceous insects. — I send three more larv:c from 

 stomachs of Bluebirds. I have now examined 

 thoroughly 59 stomachs of this species — 10 taken 

 in February, 10 in March, 14 in April, 9 in May, 

 6 in June, 8 in July, and 2 in September — and 

 find, to my astonishment, that the species is much 

 more destructive of parasitic and predaceous 

 insects than the thrushes. I have made my esti- 

 mates of the ratios with the greatest care, testing 

 them in every waj' I could think of, and I am sure 

 they are nearly right. Of the 59 specimens, 10 

 per cent, of the food was spiders, 8 per cent. 

 CaralndiC, and 4 per cent. IchneumonidiE, making 

 a total of these three kinds alone of 22 per cent. 

 — S. A. Forbes, Normal, III. 



The specimen marked "c," taken from a bird 

 shot at Normal, 111., March 9th, 1880, is the larva 

 oi Lcucaiiia unipuncta Haw., the common Army 

 worm. This is a most interesting fact, and throws 

 much light on the hibernation of this interesting 

 insect. The specimen is in the fourth larval 

 stage, and the earliness of the season precludes 

 the possibility of its having hatched this year, and 

 renders it well nigh certain, that, like so many 

 other Noctuid larvae, it had hibernated in that 



