251 



differ slightly from those described by Westwood in the coloration of the legs, but 

 this is too unimportant a character to base a new species upon. Prof. Westwood 

 mentions the same insect in The Gardener's Chronicle, November 27, 1869, p. 230. I 

 send you by same mail a copy of No. 4 of Vol. 1 of In-i CT Life, on p. 121 of which 

 you will find a note of our observations on this subject. 



If you have plenty of material the most careful observations will be desirable, and 

 if you can send us specimens of the work it will facilitate matters. We shall gladly 

 publish any detailed account of your observations which you may care to write. — 

 [December 3, 1889.] 



A Flaxseed Mite. 



I send you something by to-day's mail that greatly puzzles me. My lather, who 

 has just returned from Kansas, brought with h m the bottle which I inclose, contain- 

 ing speciraenswf a mite, or what appears so to me, which is found in amazing quanti- 

 ties in a warehouse in Paola, Kans., among flaxseed, of which about four thousand 

 bushels was in store there. Crawling masses of these mites several inches deep could 

 be seen on some of the floors and the owner feared they would destroy the entire 

 stock. I have openel a number of the seeds without finding any of the mites on the 

 inside unless the seed happens to be somewhat crushed. I conjecture that the ware- 

 house may be somewhat damp, and that these creatures are feeding on the debris of 

 broken seeds, bits of hulls, stem-, etc., which are in a state of partial decay. There 

 was an almost unendurable stench in the compartments where the mites most abound- 

 ed. What do you think of the matter? The owner of the infested seed is Mr. Z. 

 Hayes, of Paola, Kans. — [Mary E. Murtfeldt, Kirkwood, Mo., December 10, 1889. 



Reply. — Yours of the 10th instant with specimens came safely to hand. The mite 

 which is found in such amazing numbers in flaxseed in Kansas is a species of Tyroglij- 

 phus diff'ering from any familiar to me ; it is quite different from T. longior, the com- 

 mon flour and cheese mite. You are probably right in considering that the creat- 

 ures were feeding upon the debris of the broken seeds, and that they were attracted 

 by the state of partial decay.— [December 13, 1889.] 



Abundance of Siberia, acerni. 



Your kind favor of November 2^, 8i;ating that my name had been added to the mail- 

 ing list duly received with the first four numbers of Vol. 2 of Insect Life. I find them 

 very interesting and instructive, and would ask you to accept my heartfelt thanks 

 for them. 



By far the most destructive pest in this city is ^geria acerni. Nine-tenths of De- 

 troit's shade trees are (soft) maple, and the damage done by the borer above named 

 is Tery considerable. Have seen in June as many as fifteen pupa cases protruding 

 from a single tree. 



The inner bark is eaten, often nearly around the trunk, and as the tree grows it 

 leaves either a large hole in the tree or a constriction nearly around it. Dozens of 

 trees thus gouged and girdled are blown down with every hi-gh wind. 



Trees from two to six inches in diameter seem to suff'er the most from their rav- 

 ages. Have tried several times to remedy the trees infested by painting the holes or 

 rough places in May or June, thinking the moth would not deposit her eggs on 

 painted trees, but the next year noticed pupa-cases protruding through holes in the 

 paint by scores. 



Any advice you may care to give me will be gratefully received. — [Charles A. Wiley, 

 Detroit, Mich., December 2, 1889. 



Reply. — Your letter of the 2d instant is just received. We are obliged to you for 

 the note concerning the abundance of ^geria acerni in your city. You will find a 

 full account of this insect with illustrations in my sixth Report on the Insects of Mis- 

 souri (1874), pages 107 to 110. lu my experience these worms are invariably found 

 in such trees as have been injured either by the work of the flat-headed borer, by the 



