﻿18 SEVENTH ANNUAL KEPORT 



the eyes of those whom he attempts to teach, however much his show 

 of erudition may awe his French readers. 



First, then, we are informed that our insect should be referred 

 to the genus Chrysomela^ or else — admitting the subdivisions of that 

 genus — to the sub-genus Polygramma of Chevrolat. Considering that 

 before M. Carritre wrote, Crotch had made the former jeference, and 

 Melsheimer many years previously, the second — thifs information is 

 not novel. 



Secondly^ we are gravely told that another error '• more difficult 

 to comprehend, because it is pure nonsense," consists in calling the 

 insect by the specific name of decempunctata ! Since no American 

 entomologist has ever called it by that name, and it was first so desig- 

 nated in a foreign journal, by mistake, M, Carriere might have saved 

 himself the exhaustive effort to comprehend it. 



Thirdly, M. Carriere considers the juncta of Germar as a syno- 

 nym of 10-Z^wea^a Say, a thing which no entomologist at all informed 

 would think of doing to-day, after the characters of the two have 

 been so well defined in this country. 



Fourthly^ he undertakes to define this amalgamated species, and 

 does it in so bungling a way that only general characters are given, 

 and the most distinctive features omitted. Yet with complacency he 

 speaks of this definition as "these details which we have deemed 

 necessary to particularize and firmly establish the identity and the 

 character of C. decemlineata ! ! '''' 



Fifthly^ we are gravely informed that our beetle is not a fly 

 {moucJie) — most interesting information, since no one in America calls 

 it a "fly." 



Sixthly, we are told that Colorado is the vulgar name for the 

 insect — a statement which shows that its author is as good a geographer 

 as he is entomologist. He then declares that no remedy has been 

 discovered "for that which is employed is no less redoubtable than 

 the evil itself;" ridicules (as do all who have no proper knowledge of 

 the important part played by parasitic and predaceous insects in keep- 

 ing the vegetable feeders in check) the idea of benefit to man from 

 predaceous insects; and closes by recommending certain remedies, 

 which have been proved useless here and are the conceptions of in- 

 experience. 



Such are some of the more glaring errors in this production of a 

 gentleman who plays the role of instructor to the American entomolo- 

 gists. In short, instead of deriving his information from trustworthy 

 sources, and ascertaining what had really been written by Americans 

 on this subject, as every cautious critic would have done, M. Carriere 

 gets all he possessed at second hand from the poor translations, in cer- 



