]28 THIRTIETH REPORT ON THE STATE MUSEUM. [16] 



dently matured, and had assumed their quiescent pupal state 

 within the skin of the larva, first rent by a split along the back 

 for the escape of the perfect insect. At this stage they pre- 

 sented characters which led me to refer them, in all probability, 

 to the genus ANTHRENUS. 



In October, the first perfect insect emerged. Being entirely 

 new to me, they were sent to Dr. LeConte, the distinguished 

 coleopterist of Philadelphia, for determination. He returned 

 answer that they were the AntTirenus scropTiularice a species 

 well known in Europe for its destructiveness, but now for the 

 first time detected in this country. 



Notice of the discovery was communicated by me to the 

 Albany Institute at its meeting of October 17th, 1876, and a 

 report of the same published in the Albany Argus of October 

 21st. Owing to the interest attached to the introduction in our 

 country of -another addition to the already formidable list of 

 injurious insects of European origin, the paper, or extracts 

 therefrom, appeared in several of the journals of this and 

 adjoining States. Through the publicity given it, I became 

 informed of the presence of the insect in many localities 

 in New York and other States. Examples of a beetle, believed 

 to conform to the brief description which I had given of A. 

 scropTiularice* and known to possess the like habit of feeding 

 upon carpets, were sent to me by Mr. A. S. Fuller of the Rural 

 New- Yorker, for comparison. The species had been in his 

 cabinet for some time, under the name of AntTirenus lepidus 

 Le Conte, having received the first examples from Oregon in 

 1871 or 1872. Later, in 1874, specimens referred by him to the 

 same species were found abundantly in a dwelling in Market 

 street, New York, and thereafter in various parts of the city 

 and neighboring localities. The examples reared by Mr. 

 Fuller from larvae taken in New York city were clearly identi- 

 cal wi'th A. scropJiularicB. Upon informing Dr. Le Conte 

 that examples of this species were in cabinets under the name 

 of A. lepidus and requesting an explanation, he wrote me 

 that the latter name had been given by him to a form which 

 he had found on flowers at San Francisco and San Jose in 

 1850 ; * that it differed from the A. scropTiularice of Europe in 



*A. lepidus, breviter ovatus, supra niger, thoracis lateribus albo-squamosis, gutta nigra 

 inclusa, elytrus fasciis tribus angustis suturaque albo-squamosis, macula antica suturali 

 aureo-squamosa ornatis, basi parce albo-squamosis. Long. .11 In San Diego, Cal. Proc. 

 Acad. Nat. Sci. PMa., 1854, p. 112. 



