149 



of them in colors, and one a map showing the distribution of the 

 insect ; a description of Barnard's monitor moth trap, with an 

 iUustration ; an account of experiments with Paris green on apple 

 trees and tent caterpillars, and also with kerosene emulsion on 

 plant lice and red spiders ; and a paper on cranberry insects, with 

 illustrations of the tip worm, the vine worm and the fruit worm. 

 The second bulletin, No. 20, contains a brief history of the canker 

 worms, the apple tree tent caterpillar, fall web-worm and the 

 tussock-moths, with directions for their destruction. 



A Beneficial Fly. 



On several occasions we have received at the insectary a long, 

 slim, worm-like larva, found under carpets, and supposed to be 

 injurious to woolen fabrics. This larva is about eleven-sixteenths 

 of an inch in length, as large as an ordinary pin in the middle, and 

 gradually tapering towards each end. The head is conical, nearly 

 twice as long as broad, and of a reddish-brown color, while the 

 body is whitish translucent, and together with the head comprises 

 apparently twenty-one segments. There are a few short hairs on 

 the head, and on each side of the three following segments. There 

 are also a few hairs on the twentieth segment, and a pair of anal 

 prolegs on the last segment, which is smaller and shorter than tbe 

 one before it, and easily overlooked. 



This larva proves to be the young of a fly long known in Europe 

 by the name of Scenoj^iniis fenestralis Linn., and was redescribed 

 in this country by Say under the name of Scenopimia palUpes, and 

 by this name it was figured and described by Dr. Packard in his 

 " Guide to the Study of Insects " (page 401). The adult fly is 

 about one-fifth of an inch in length, metallic-black in color, with 

 dull yellowish-brown legs and slightly gray wings. 



The larva of this insect was generally supposed to feed in rotten 

 wood, and was also thought to be destructive to carpets ; but it is 

 now known that it is carniverous, and feeds upon other insects. 

 Professor Lintner reports that they feed on the larvtv of clothes 

 moths, and this observation has also been made by others. We 

 have lately discovered that they feed on the larvae of the Buffalo 

 carpet beetle, and I have one before me feeding on carpet beetles. 

 Some time ago I kept two of the larvte in a bottle with a piece of 

 flannel, but both died, and I could not discover that they ate the 

 flannel or injured it in any way. This little fly, being destructive 

 both to clothes moths and carpet beetles, is a friend to house- 

 keepers, and therefore should not be destroyed. 



