56 



THE PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGIST. 



ent, as that belongs to the Myci'tophila Family (Nemoce- 

 rous Di|)tera), and is expressly described as having in the 

 pupa state distinct wing-cases and leg-cases, like all the 

 other species of that group; whereas this species has 

 none at all, being what is technically termed a "coarc- 

 tate" pupa, or, in other words, the true pupa being en- 

 closed in the shrunken skin of the larva so as to hide its 

 limbs. I hope to breed this insect to the perfect state in 

 the coming summer: and as I shall then be better able 

 to complete its history, I will defer till that time making 

 use of the valuable information, with which you now fur- 

 nish me respecting its habits. 



As to the larva spoken of by Mr. Calvin Ward, as in- 

 festing his apples in Vermont, (Pkactical Entomologist 

 II, p. 20,) either he is in error in describing it as "the size 

 of a common pin in diameter and almost i inch long," or 

 it must be a distinct species from yourg. The larva of 

 your species, as received by me from Connecticut, is 

 about 0.15 inch long and 4i times as long as wide. Per- 

 haps Mr. Ward described his larva from memory only, 

 and not from actual measurement; in which case mis- 

 takes are very apt to occur, even with good entomolo- 

 gists. 



C. Horan, Ky. — If you could send me specimens of 

 your diseased grapes, I could say, with some degree of 

 certainty, what ailed them. At present I can only guess 

 and grope round in the dark. You assume that it was *'a 

 bug or beetle that destroyed your grape crop last sum- 

 mer," and yet you acknowledge that you "are entirely 

 ignorant of the habits or even of the appearance" of this 

 supposed insect. If it really was an insect that punctured 

 your grapes, as the common Cureulio punctures a plum, 

 i.t is an entirely new fact. No insect is known to infest 

 the grape in this manner, in the Northern States, though 

 very possibly some such insect m.ay occur in the South. 



But I suspect that what ailed your grapes was the com- 

 mon "Rot," as distinct from "Mildew," which last is 

 sometimes incorrectly called "Rot." "Mildew" usually 

 appears at first in the form of white cottony patches on 

 the lower surface of the leaves, and finally attacks the 

 berries when they are no biffgcr than peas, causing them to 

 shrivel up and never grow any larger. The true "Rot," 

 on the contrary, according to l3r. Engelmann, "makes its 

 appearance onlt/ on nearly fult-groicn berrie'i, exhibiting 

 in the first stage a discolored spot on the side of the ber- 

 ry, about i inch in diameter, with a dark dot in the cen- 

 tre ; after which the berry gradually shrivels up and 

 turns black." (See Report of the Agricultural Department, 

 1863, p. 332.) Let us see how this agrees with your state- 

 ment of facts. "This season," you say, "I had ten thou- 

 sand vines in vigorous bearing, and they set a fair crop 

 with some Rot [Slildewl'j in the early part of the season. 

 About the time the grape hud nearly attained its usual size, I 

 noticed that the berries were all stung or punctured, each 

 of them bearing a small black speck, and by the time they 

 should have ripened there was not a handful of them on 

 the vines, but the ground under the vines was filled with 

 them. I learn from other cultivators, that a number of 

 other vineyards in the State suflfered in the same man- 

 ner." 



"Mildew" and "Rot" are each of them produced by a 

 distin'.'t microscopic Fungus, similar to the "Oidium" 

 which some years ago played such havoc in the Europe- 

 an vineyards; and. as in the case of the "Oidium," the 

 most approved remedy is dusting the vines from time to 

 time with sulphur. If, on the other hand, it should be 

 some unknown insect that is preying on your grapes, I 

 can indicate no remedy until I find out who and what 

 the culprit is; and to do this I must have fresh speci- 

 mens of the infested fruit to experiment on. Next sea- 

 son yon may probably be able to suppl^ me, in case you 

 conclude that it is not the "Rot" that is troubling you. 

 In any event, let me know the results which you arrive 

 at. 



Wm. Uuir, Missouri. — The white conical galls, J inch 

 long, and about thrice as long as wide, with a few blood- 

 red thorns scattered round the basal part of each, which 

 you say were "found on the leaves of young oaks," are 

 produced by an undescribed species of Gall-fly (Cynips) 

 — the same genus which makes the well-known "Oak-ap- 

 ples" on the Black Oak (Quercus tinctoria.) Both the gall 

 and the fly contained therein a-e closely allied to the Cy- 

 nips tubicola of Osteu Sacken, but still are quite distinct. 

 That gall occurred on the Post Oak 'Quercus obtusiloba), 

 in clusters on the underside of the leaf. I should be glad 



to leorn on what species of Oak yours grew, and wholher 

 it grew in clusters on the lower surface of the leaf like its 

 ally. As the insect producing this Oak-leaf gall belongs 

 to the Order Hymenoptera, and that which produces the 

 leaf-galls on the Clinton grape-vine to the Order Homop- 

 tera, of course the occurrence of the two galls on the 

 same spot of ground was merely accidental. 



The larvse found in ash cord-wood, and supposed to be 

 those of a Borer, are the larvse of some species of Digger 

 Wasp, which had made its nest there. The cocoons are 

 too much broken to say with any certainty to what genus 

 of Wasps they belong. None of the boring beetles make 

 any cocoon at all ; and the larvse of Boring Moths — the 

 Peach and Currant Borers for example — are quite differ- 

 ent from yours, and make a very different cocoon. In a 

 future paper, I propose to explain the natural history of 

 our Wasps, and will, therefore, drop the subject for the 

 present. 



M. S. Hill, Ohio. — The Cicadas ('"Locusts") which you 

 now send, belong to the same species sent before — name- 

 ly, the common seventeen-year Cicada (C. sepiendecim) — 

 only they are more mature and highly colored. Similar 

 variations occur in many species of insects. As to the 

 difference in the song of the two, which you noticed, that 

 was probably caused by the "drum" of the male not be- 

 ing as yet fully matured and hardened. Young male 

 singing birds make similar imperfect attempts, when 

 they firsts. begin, as bird-fanciers call it, to "record." I 

 must confess, however, that I do not at present recollect 

 any analogous case among insects. 



The "small whitish-green worms, about J inch long," 

 which you describe as eating their way backwards from 

 the edge of the loaf of the Grape-vine, "in rows of fifty to 

 a hundred," must either have been very young individu- 

 als of Procris americana, (See Practical Entosiologist I, 

 p. 10,) or some species unknown to me. The larva of that 

 moth grows to be overi inch long; but possibly you may 

 only have noticed your larvte when very young, as you 

 say that their numbers were not "sufficiently large to in- 

 jure the vines to any great extent." 



W. H. S., Illinois. — The shining black beetles, with four 

 redtlish sjiots on their wing-cases, and not quite i inch 

 long, are the Tps i-signatus of Say, with a single specimen 

 among them of the closely-allied Ips fasciatus of Olivier. 

 You say that they "eat into apples and pears, apparently 

 burrowing into holes made by some other insect or by a 

 bird," and that you "have found 10 or 12 in one hole in a 

 single apple." Many }-ears ago I received specimens of 

 the i-stgnatus from jiinnesota, with a statement that 

 they burrowed extensively into sweet corn. I forward- 

 ed some of your specimens to Dr. Houghton of Philadel- 

 phia, and he rei>lics that they do not resemble the "click- 

 beetles" which attack liis fruit in a similar manner, be- 

 ing less than half as long and broad, and differing other- 

 wise. The genus Ips belongs to the Xitidiila family of 

 Beetles, which also includes the Nitidula bipiisluhita — a 

 small, oval, dingy-black insect, with two red spots en its 

 back — often found in great numbers preying on old 

 cheese and sometimes on bacon, 



F. T. Pember, N. Y. — The supposed lulus, which you 

 say that you have "often seen feeding on turnips, both be- 

 fore and after thoy were removed from the ground," is prob- 

 ably the I'olydesmus complanatus spoken of by Dr. Fitch, 

 as destroying the roots of young cabbages, onions, &c. 

 (See Practical Entomologist II, p. 3j.) it differs from 

 true lulus in the body being "flattened," just as you de- 

 scribe it, instead of perfectly cylindrical, and in hav- 

 ing no perceptible eyes, whereas every species of lulus 

 has two very distinct eyes. You say yourself that 

 it has only "something liise 20 pairs of legs," whereas 

 lulus has usually almost a hundred pairs, the number in- 

 creasing as the animal grows older. I shall be glad to 

 receive the promised specimens. 



Milton Conrad, Penna. — The facts you mention about 

 the "gapes" in chickens being caused by a worm burrow- 

 ing in the lungs, are very curious, and, I believe, new. If 

 you can send me a specimen, I can tell at onoe whether 

 it is the larva of some insect, or whether it is an intesti- 

 nal worm belonging to the same Class — Entozoa— as the 

 Tape-worm, Ac, and never changing into a « inged in- 

 sect. Preserve it, if convenient, in a vial with alcohol, 

 or else enclose it in a quill, tightly corked at ciu-h end, 

 without sull'ering it to dry up, and adding a little alcohol 

 before the second cork is put in. 



