30 



(c) By those who seek for them there may often be found, in the proper 

 season, large batches of the handsome larvae of Harpiphoriis tarsatus Say, 

 feeding upon the Dogwood, Cornus stolonifera Michx. Each of these larvae 

 when full fed goes in search of a decaying tree, stump or log, and into it tunnels 

 its way, ejecting the f rass and making a clean chamber for itself in which to undergo 

 the pupal change. One fall I secured a number of such chambers with their 

 occupants; and in the spring, when the Harpiphorus flies began to come forth, I 

 was examining a pupa which I had drawn from its cell, when suddenly there broke 

 from it, full of life and fire, with antennae waving, and wings quivering, a specimen 

 of Hemiteles mucronatus Prov. 



I have among other instances witnessed the exit of; 

 Ichneumon laetus BruUe from a Noctuid pupa. 

 Trogus fulvipes Cresson from a pupa of Papilio turnus L. 

 Exochilum mundam Say from a pupa of Datana angusii G. & R. 



(d) Of predaceous insects that seize their victims when in the imago stage, 

 the " Praying Mantis," Mantis Carolina Packard, belonging to the Orthoptera, 

 is a notable example. We were led in our childhood to regard the Mantis religiosa 

 of Europe as a hypocrite seeking to devour the innocent. Must we still look upon 

 it as such? 



The Praying Mantis is not found in Canada; but we have a smaller insect, 

 Mantispa brunnea Say, belonging to another order — the Neuroptera, that is 

 strangely like it in form and is of similar habits. The Mantispa may be found in 

 the flower heads of Solidago, waiting with arms extended to clutch its prey in its 

 deadly embrace. 



I will now, with your permission, give a few examples of agencies affecting 

 destructive insects that feed — (a) at the roots, (b) in the stem, (c) on the foliage — 

 of the green things upon the earth. 



(a) The admirable drawings of the late Charles V. Riley have made the 

 appearance and habits of the beetle Lachnosterna f usca Frohling widely known. 

 In figure 2 of his illustration the larva, or White Grub, as it is called, is seen 

 feeding at the roots of a plant. But, though the creature itself lies hidden in the 

 earth, it does not always escape destructive agencies. A hymenopteron, Tiphia 

 inornata Say, finds it out, and the grub of this insect devours it. 



A more remarkable agent for the destruction of the White Grub is Cordiceps 

 melalonthae. This is a parasitical fungus, much like that which affects the 

 larva of the New Zealand Ghost Moth, Hepialus virescens, and which has 

 obtained for its host the name of Vegetable Caterpillar. 



