269 



first noticed by a Hartford druggist who, upon applying to tlie wholesale dealer 

 from whom he bought tlie chocolate, was told that the little white bits were not 

 really alive but were only small lumps of chocolate. 



Sitodrepa panicea again. — Shortly after receiving this insect in chocolate iudge 

 Lawrence C. Johnson sent us from Pachuta, Miss., specimens of the old-fashioned 

 shot-gun wads which had been riddled by this same insect. About a dozen wads 

 were received, each one perforated from top to bottom by many holes, while between 

 the upper and lower surface the substance of the wad was reduced to powder. 



Dipterous Larvae infesting a Turtle. — An Indiana correspondent, Mr. Wm. A. Ri- 

 ley, has lately sent specimens of a larva closely related to the Screw Worm {Lucilia 

 maceUaria) which was found beneath the skin of a turtle, between the hind legs. It 

 is evidently a si)ecies of the genus Lucilia, and doubtless identical with the larva 

 mentioned by Mr. F. W. True in Science (vol. iv, p. 511). also taken beneath the skin 

 of a turtle. A somewhat similar instance is mentioned by Dr. A. S. Packard in the 

 America)) XatiD-alifit (vol. xvi, p. 598). 



Injurious Snails in Bermuda. — One of our correspondents, a seed dealer of Phil- 

 adelphia, sends us specimens of a snail, Bulimus decollaf)is, known as the Broken-tail 

 Snail, with the statement that they were received from Bermuda, where they had 

 recently appeared in great numbers on Amaryllis beds. Although these creatures 

 are rather outside the inoviuce of entomology, we have been considerably interested 

 in the accounts of the damage which they do in several of the West India islands, 

 particularly in Bermuda, and we would suggest to such of our correspondents as are 

 suffering from the inroads of these pests to apply for an interesting little pamphlet 

 recently published by the Queen's Printer in Bermuda, Mr. G. V. Lee, under the 

 auspices of the Board of Agriculture, entitled "Five Essays, etc.. History of the 

 Spiral Snails and the most expeditious, efficacious, and economical method of effect- 

 ing their extermination." 



On the Habits of three California Coleoptera. — Our agent, Mr. Coquillett, has 

 sent us, under date of March 6, some interesting notes on three species of California 

 Coleoptera. Odo)) tota caUfo)-nica was bred in September from larva? mining the leaves 

 of Ceanothus infegerrivius collected August 22. We have also received specimens of a 

 Chalcidid bred from these larvje. CopUiDis J)inat)i8 was found in its burrows in the 

 main stems of growing plants of a species of Cnicus, September 28, and these burrows 

 also contained larvte, evidently of this species. Coi)i)u-ns adspers)is was taken from 

 dead and dry stems of a weed, probably Ch)-)j8opsis villosa, January 20. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



AN ENEMY OF THE SCREW WORM FLY. 



We are indebted to Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of tbe Division of 

 Ornithology and Mammalogy, for a vial containing a large number of 

 the pnparia of the well known Screw Worm {Lucilia maceUaria} which 

 had been sent to him by Mr. H. P. Attwater, of Rockport, Tex., with 

 the memorandum that they were being scratched out of the ground and 

 eaten by the Caracara Eagle {Polyhorus cheriway). This eagle is a 

 common subtropical carrion bird in that part of the country, which also 

 feeds upon small mammals and lizards, and is abundant enough, in case 

 this habit should be at all common, to do considerable good. 



