12 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Ja"- 



Phytonomus Punctatus Fab. — The appearance of this weevil in this 

 vicinity for the first time and in numbers, is one of the remarkable inci- 

 dents in Coleoptera occurring during the year just ended. The first speci- 

 mens were taken about the first week in May and the last the early part of 

 November. At irregular intervals it appeared very abundantly, and but few 

 days passed without at least one or two specimens being observed. It is 

 singular that, when this insect makes its appearance in any locality, it is 

 always in numbers. Mr. Reinecke, of Buffalo, in August, 1884, recorded 

 an invasion of this species at that place, in the Buffalo Freie Presse, 

 which was reprinted in the " Brooklyn Bulletin" of September, 1884. 



, Charles Liebeck. 



A CocoANUT Pest. — The Ujiited States Consul at Santiago de Cuba 

 has made a report to the Secretary of State in regard to a mysterious 

 disease prevailing in that country which at one time threatened to anni- 

 hilate all the plantations producing cocoanuts for market and export. 

 Small shipments of cocoanuts are constantly leaving Santiago for the 

 United States, and the Consul says he has sought to discover the origin 

 of the disease which has affected them. Opinions of scientists differ as to 

 the cause and nature of the disease. The Consul says that it has been at 

 last definitely ascertained that the destroyer of the cocoanut tree is an 

 insect of diminutive size, barely visible to the naked eye, and probably a 

 Coccid. Prof Gundlach, of Havana, recommends that all cocoanuts re- 

 ceived in the United States be dipped into boiling water upon arrival, and 

 that the bags they are shipped in be destroyed. E. M. Aaron. 



Erebia epipsodea var. Sine-ocellata described in Can. Ent. Dec, '89, 

 p. 239, by Dr. Henry Skinner, the author informs us, is probably a synonym 

 of Epipsodea var. Brucei described in a few words by Mr. Elwes, 

 Trans. Ent. Soc, London, June, 1889, p. 326. The latter description 

 is as follows : "minor absque ocellis fascia rufa fere obsoleta," habitat 

 Summit County, Colorado, 12,000 feet altitude. It is but justice to Dr. 

 Skinner to state that his description was in the hands of the editor of the 

 "Canadian Entomologist" at least six weeks before Mr. Elwes' descrip- 

 tion was received at the libraries in Philadelphia. E. M. Aaron. 



Home-made Cork.— Mr. F. M. Jones, of Wilmington, Del., describes 

 a very good lining for insect boxes as follows : " I made a rough wooden 

 press and procured about a barrel of the fine cork which white grapes are 

 packed in, mixed it with weak glue and pressed it into sheets between 

 white paper. The sheets when pressed must be about three-eighths of an 

 inch thick to turn out properly. It answers very well and costs almost 

 nothing." H. Skinner. 



Rare Beetles on the New Jersey coast. — Among many good things 

 taken on Brigantine Beach, N. J., just after the September storm, by which 

 the whole island, except a few of the coast sandhills, was submerged, may 

 be specially noticed : 



