395 



surprisingly like a cluster of dried and llattencd eggs, and it was at first suspected 

 tliat tlu-y uiight lie those of riatyjisyllus, for which we have been lookinj^ for many 

 years, but u]>on examination they proved to bo niueh too large, and are undoubtedly 

 epithelial cells which have been cast oft". Their resemblance to eggs or minute co- 

 coons is, however, very striking and deceptive — [May 81^ 1892.] 



Blister Beetles in Texas. 



First letter. — Inclosed find some insects which the natives call the Spanish Fly. 

 They prove very destructive to Irish potatoes, and when those are not to be had, toma- 

 toes, beets, etc. , are not despised. They do not seem to breed here. A patch of jiotatoes 

 at night might not have an insect in it, but in the morning they are covered. They 

 fee<l together in swarms and seldom fly in the daytime. They will commence to feed 

 on one row and follow it clear across and do not often jump across to adjoining rows 

 till the end of the patch is reached. We kill them mostly with hot water and burn 

 them with coal-oil fires on a long stick with a swab saturated. I am now trying 

 Paris green. They are feeding on potatoes where apjdied, but appear as lively as 

 ever.— [William Pocock, Texas, ,May 22, 1892. 



Eeply. — * * * The insect which is damaging your potatoes is one of the Blis- 

 ter Beetles known as Ephaufa lemniscata, i>reviously referred to in the current vol- 

 ume on page 77. Your neighbors are nearly right in calling them the " Spanisli 

 Fly," as they belong to the same family and possess in some degree the same vesica- 

 ting properties. This, and several allied species, frequently do considerable damage 

 throughout the Western States to the potato crop, as well as to beans and many gar- 

 den vegetables. The Paris green treatment which you have begun is comparatively 

 successful, and although at first jou may be unable to see any markedly beneficial 

 results a little persistence on your ])art will eventually rid your vines of the insect. 

 In some parts of the AVest the plan has been followed of driving the insects with the 

 wind into a windrow of hay or straw or other dried vegetation, which is then burned. 

 The beetles do not breed upon the potato, but in their early stages are jiarasitic upon 

 the eggs of locusts and other insects. — [May 28, 1892.] 



Second letter. — I send specimens of an insect which reached here last night in 

 considerable numbers, and which innnediately began an attack on various ])lants, 

 and the name of which I would like to know. — [J. O. Skinner, Surgeon U. S. Army, 

 Texas, May 13, 1892. 



Rei'LY. — # » « -pi^^ insect is one of our large Blister Beetles know? as Macro- 

 b(i'<is atrivittata Lee. This and other species are frequently abundant in the Western 

 States, and when occurring in numbers often do great damage to cultivated crops. 

 They are most interesting from a biologic standpoint, from the fact that they are 

 hypermetamorphotic, the larvjB undergoing several distinct metamorphoses. They 

 are, in the main, parasitic in their early stages on the eggs of locust. — [May 18, 1892.] 



The Twelve- spotted Asparagus Beetle. 



I send some insects which are on the asparagus plants on a farm adjoining mine. 

 I have examined five other beds on neighboring farms and do not find them on any 

 of the other beds. The Asparagus Beetle was very thick on this bed, so the owner, 

 Mr. Veach, cut down every stalk save about four, which he left for experiments. He 

 cuts now as fast as it is fit. This red beetle api)ears in considerable numbers on the 

 stalks that are left, but does not seem to eat either the asparagus or the larva' of the 

 Asjiaragus Beetle. What are they and what do they feed on ? Are they injurious or 

 not? — [A. P. Gordon-Cumming, Carroll County, Md.. June 6, 1892. 



Reply. — The insect is congeneric with the Asparagus Beetle and is known scien- 

 tifically as Criocerisl2-punctatHi>. Like the Asparagus Beetle it is a comparatively 

 recent importation from Eurojte, and was first noticed near Baltimore. It si)reads 

 slowly and still occupies only a limited region in Maryland anil tlu; District of Co- 

 lumbia. It feeds upon asparagus in all of its stages, and is not known to have 



