THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



205 



state. The only other explanation permissible 

 is tliat the bird had flown from some Southern 

 region, where the Liiicaiiia larva had had time to 

 hatch and develop, on account of the greater 

 earliness of the season. But the freshness of the 

 specimen renders this highly improbable. 



That marked "c " is the larva of the Tclcpliorus 

 hilincatus (Say), which you will find described in 

 our 4th Missouri Report, p. 2g. Its habits are 

 tlierc set forth, and it should be classed among 

 the beneficial insects, being one of the few 

 enemies of the Apple worm. 



That marked "<;"' is a nearly full grown larva 

 of Xcphclodes violans Guen. It is our No. 453, 

 and we have been familiar with it for many years, 

 having reared it in 1871, after many previous 

 futile efforts. It is quite common in Northern 

 Illinois and Missouri in early spring, when it 

 may be found on Blue-grass sod, generally con- 

 cealed under some stone or board during the day, 

 though we have occasionally found it feeding on 

 some grass stalk in the hot sun during the day 

 time. The larva is found full-grown as soon as 

 spring opens, so that it undoubtedly passes the 

 winter, like so many other Cut-worms, in the 

 larva state and of different sizes. This insect is 

 quite common and widespread, for we have found 

 that the larva had been quite common in 1S71 

 around Ithaca, N. Y., on Blue-grass sod and 

 under clover. It was first described by Mr. G. 

 H. French in \.\\e Prairie Farmer ioi h.^x\\ 6, 1878. 

 Being one of our largest cut-worms, and quite 

 peculiar on account of its geiieral bronze ap- 

 pearance, we have characterized it in our notes 

 as the Bronze-colored Cut-worm. 



Extracts from Correspondence. 



No Cotton Worm in Eastern Florida yet. — 

 June 2Sth, examined Mr. St. John's cotton, and 

 fields adjoining ; no Aletia. 



June 29th, examined Burk's cotton. I have 

 given much attention to this field, as Aletia did 

 much injury here last Sept. ('79). I feel confident 

 that Aletia has not yet appeared. The cotton 

 was planted very early, and the bolls are some of 

 them fully grown. The rust mite is doing con- 

 siderable damage, and the ground is strewn with 

 dead leaves. There is, notwithstanding, a good 

 show of bolls. I also visited Norton's cotton, 

 which is younger. Norton's orange trees were 

 badly infested with the louse, causing rust on 

 fruit, as I reported May zSth. The damage done 

 is very apparent in the j'ellow color and dusty 

 appearence of the leaves, but the insects them- 

 selves are now much less numerous. — H. G. 

 Hubbard, Crescent City, Fla. 



Swellings on roots of Cow Peas caused by 

 Anguillula. — Mr. Carrier's crop of cow peas I 



reported, some days ago, to be attacked by a 

 disease of the roots, causing them to form tuberous 

 enlargements. These enlargements arc solid, 

 succulent, and contain scattered through the tis- 

 sues, transparent white sacculi, containing germs 

 or cells of some sort. Where rotted, the roots 

 are filled with mites, the gravid females of same 

 color, and nearly or quite as large as the sacks. 

 I, at first, thought it possible that the mites and 

 the sacks were in some way connected ; I now 

 think I can make out the young of earth-worms 

 or their embryos within some of the sacks, and I 

 also find young worms already hatched in the 

 tissues. The worms are white, the largest speci- 

 mens seen perhaps half an inch long. That the 

 worms should be the cause of the enlargement 

 seems to me almost incredible, but if the sacks 

 are truly their egg capsules, their number and 

 regular distribution throughout the entire mass of 

 the tuberous swellings, appears to point to that 

 conclusion. The irregular masses of oblong egg- 

 like cells, found applied to the base of each sack, 

 I am unable to understand. The eggs of the 

 mite are plainly seen in the rotten parts affected 

 by them, and are deposited singlj'. They are 

 besides quite large and pearly. — H. G. Hubbard, 

 Crescent City, Fla. [The worms belong to An- 

 guillula. — Ed.] 



Destroying Pea Weevils. — A year ago I sent 

 to NewYork for a small quantity of Dan.O'Rourke 

 peas. When they came to hand, I opened the 

 bag carefully and found them badly infested with 

 the Pea-bug or Weevil. I immediately closed 

 the bag before any of the bugs escaped, then took 

 some kerosene, diluting it about one half with 

 water, and immersed the peas in this a few min- 

 utes, and when removed the bugs were all dead. 

 The peas were plaivted and grew well, and thus 

 far I have seen no other pea-bugs in this part of 

 the country. — Isaac D. Pasca, Meadow Creek, 

 Nevada. 



Poplar Stem Gall-lice Fed on by Squirrels. 

 — I send you to-day some galls, with a few lice 

 in some of them. The)- may not interest you, 

 but to me their work at least seems marvelous. 

 The leaves are from a large Populus vtonilifcra, 

 growing irr the lawn of Mr. Frank Cornell, of 

 this village. The gall, as you see, is in the pe- 

 tiole. For some reason this yields to the weight 

 of the leaf, and the leaves coine floating down in 

 the stillest weather. The ground is almost 

 covered with them. Is this breaking up of the 

 home of the insect an advantage — aiding it in 

 spreading, or will all come to grief whose houses 

 are thus scattered? — W. A. Henry, Ithaca, N. Y., 

 June 14, 1880. 



[After stating to Mr. Henry that this falling of 

 the leaves was unnatural, and urging him to try 

 and ascertain the cause, we received the follow- 

 ing letter : — Ed.] 



To-day I settled the question of what opened 

 the galls on the petioles of Populus. As hinted 

 in my last letter, it is the work of the common 

 Red squirrel. This morning early three were 



