254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



from one to six or eight holes of the size of a pin, or larger, and 

 I found a number last Friday about an inch under ground hang- 

 ing to young stalks with much tenacity. When very numerous 

 every stalk is killed. Some fields two or three years ago were 

 wholly destroyed by this insect." 



It is a rather large black weevil, with a long narrow sub-cylin- 

 drical body, and with coarse gray punctures. The head is black, 

 finely punctured, with still more minute punctures on the beak. 

 At the base of the beak just between the eyes is a small oval pit. 

 The beak is nearly one-third as long as the body ; it is curved 

 downward, slightly compressed, with the tip seen from above 

 dilated slightly, and triangular. On the prothorax is a long 

 lozenge-shaped smooth black median area, with two smooth spots 

 on the side near the front ; these with two longer diverging spots 

 behind form an inverted Y on each side of the body. Behind 

 are coarse gray punctures. The wing covers are marked with 

 rows of coarse punctures along the stride much larger than those 

 of the thorax. On the smooth spaces between the striae is a row 

 of more or less crowded minute punctures. On the base of the 

 elytra near the outer edge is a low smooth tubercle, and a 

 larger one near the tip. On the extreme tip of the abdomen 

 beyond the elytra are two short diverging rows of fine stiff" tawny 

 hairs, which stand out straight from the end. The legs are 

 black, the tarsi reddish piceous. Beneath, the body is black 

 and thickly punctured. It measures .40 of an inch in length. 



Until we know more of its habits, its mode of life in the larva 

 stage, and its native food-plant, we are at a loss to suggest rem- 

 edies against the attacks of this insect. When the corn is ob- 

 served to be suffering from their punctures, they should be 

 picked off" with the hand, and the young blades of corn carefully 

 watched. These weevils are so large as to be readily detected 

 after a little practice. I have detected this insect at Hyannis, 

 Mass., June 25 ; hence farmers in this State should be on the 

 watch for this formidable insect-pest. 



Habits of an Asilus Fly. — During the preceding summer, 

 Messrs. F. W. Putnam and C. Cooke discovered the burrows of 

 Proctacanthus Philadelphicus, our largest species of robber-fly. 

 These flies, in the adult or winged state, prey on other insects, 

 and while usually beneficial, are sometimes, as in the case of 

 the " bee-killer," Trypanea apivora^ described by Dr. Fitch, 



