28 



leaf-miner, anotlior the nympli of a small tree-hopper, while in confine- 

 ment nearly all the species will attack voraciously almost any small 

 insect they can seize with their curved jaws. 



As no effort seems to have been made previously to identify the spe- 

 cies of these important predaceous insects found ou cotton, I give 

 below the results of my work in this direction, believing it just as 

 important to know the names of those insects beneficial to us as it is to 

 know those which are noxious or injuriims. 



The eggs of all these species are laid in clusters on either the upper 

 or lower side of a leaf, suspended on delicate threads, and might easily 

 be mistaken for the spores of some fungi. All appear very much alike, 

 and scarcely any specific difference can be detected between the eggs 

 of the different species. 



The eyed lacewing ( Chrysopa oculata Say) is known at once by having 

 a black ring on the second joint of the antenna:^, black antennal sockets, 

 a broad black line below the eye, four black spots ou vertex, and by 

 the prothorax having three black points on each side. 



The white-horned hicevfin^ {Chrysopa alhicornis Fitch) agrees very 

 closely with the previous species, but the first joint of the antennae is 

 annulated with sanguineous, the four spots on the crown conjoined and 

 forming two black bands, while the prothorax has only one black point 

 at the sides anteriorly. 



The black-horned lacewing {Chrysopa nigricornis Burm.) resembles 

 somewhat the preceding, but with the head without black marks or 

 lines, except one on each side of the clypeus and sometimes a line or 

 spot beneath the eye ; the first and second joint of the antenme are 

 pale, not annulated with black or sanguineous, the flagellum being black 

 at basal one-third, while the prothorax usually has a black point at 

 the anterior angle, although sometimes wanting. 



The stripe-horned V^cewiug {Chryso^ia lineaticornis Fitch) is closely 

 related to C. nkfricornis Burm., but has the basal joint of antennae with 

 a black or dusky line above, the prothorax with a fuscous line along 

 the sides, while the head is spotted with fuscous anteriorly. 



The slender lacewing {Chrysopa attemiata Walk.) is a pale greenish- 

 yellow species and the form most commonly met with on cotton, all the 

 veins of the wings being pale green, more rarely with some of the veins 

 obscured or dusky, the head with a sanguineous line below the eyes and 

 with the palpi varied with fuscous or black. 



ORDER PLATYPTERA. 



The insects belonging to the family Psocid.i} are more or less social 

 in their habits, especially at the approach of cold weather, and when 

 immature resemble the biting lice or Mallophaga. They are scaven- 

 gers, feeding upon decomposing animal and vegetable matter and upon 

 fungi. 



