INSECT NOTES. 217 



Syrphus maggots. The chief enemy which had for two sea- 

 sons confronted the " alder blight " was a syrphus fly, which 

 could be seen hovering near the colonies for the purpose of 

 depositing eggs. The maggots hatched from these eggs fed 

 greedily upon the large soft bodied plant lice, but the enormous 

 numbers of the plant lice did not seem to be materially lessened. 

 The winged forms were plentiful last fall, 1905. This spring 

 the colonies were common but not so numerous as for several 

 seasons past. The syrphus maggots work industriously and 

 often white " wool " upon the alder stems was found to cover 

 more maggots than plant lice. It seems likely that the syrphus 

 flies could clear the vicinity of " alder blight." Late in the 

 summer, however, it was discovered that the syrphus flies no 

 longer had the " alder blight " to themselves. A rival appeared 

 in the form of the Harvester butterfly. 



The Harvester, Feniseca tarquinius. (Fig. 19). During Sep- 

 tember caterpillars of the Harvester could be taken in almost any 

 colony of " alder blight " in the neighborhood. Like the syrphus 

 maggots, these caterpillars burrow beneath the woolly secretions 

 of the plant lice and are covered from sight. The full grown 

 caterpillar is slightly more than one-half inch in length and slug 

 like in shape. The body is drab colored and the head a shiny 

 brown. The 12 segments of the body are deeply creased and 

 scalloped along the lateral margin. There is a mid-dorsal line 

 of black dots with an orange spot at each side. Each orange 

 spot is lined laterally with black. The body is well covered 

 with black bristly spines to which flocculent masses from the 

 alder blight becomes attached. The curious chrysalis (Fig. 20) 

 of this insect is a half uncanny, wholly fascinating little object 

 with the dorsal aspect possessing a remarkable resemblance to 

 a monkey's face. The adult butterfly (Fig. 21) expands about 

 one and one-fourth inches. The colors of the upper surface of 

 the wings are black and tawny. The black spots are subject to 

 much variation in form and size. 



So industriously did the Syrphus maggots and the Harvester 

 caterpillars feed upon " alder blight " that by the end of Sep- 

 tember hardly a colony of this plant louse could be found in the 

 vicinity of Orono. 



Alder blight covered by ants. In connection with a series of 

 observations which were being made this season on alder blight, 

 an interesting bit of ant work was noticed August 30. A colony 



