Miscellaneous. 351 



Another family of beetles whose hitherto almost untarnished repu- 

 tation it seems to have fallen to my lot to soil is the Coccinellidae. 

 With the exception of Epilachna borealis, Fabr., the larva of which 

 feeds upon the vines of the gourd family*, these insects in our 

 country have been considered strictly carnivorous, although several 

 European species are known to deviate from this rule. 



This season, specimens of Megilla macniata, Deg., have been taken 

 while feeding upon the pollen of the dandelion (Tnraxacuin dens- 

 leonis) ; and it is not at all improbable that the pollen of other plants 

 also forms a part of their diet, as thej' are rather common upon the 

 blossoms of plants and fruits. 



No accurate estimation of the value of the Coleoptera could be 

 obtained without including the Telephoridse. Besides Chaidio- 

 (jiiatlms peniisiiJvanicus, Forst., which has been found feeding upon 

 the larva3 of the ConotracheJus nenupliar, Hbst. f, and Telephorus 

 biluieatus, Say, which is such a powerful auxiliary in checking the 

 ravages of the western locust Xi Podahrus fomentosas, Say, has been 

 observed feeding upon the cotton-wood gall-lice, PempMgns ^wpidi- 

 veri'e, Fitch, and P. popidkaidis, Fitch. These beetles some- 

 times place themselves at the opening of the gall, occasionally as 

 many as four together, and catch the mature lice as they attempt an 

 egress, and sometimes plunge their flat head and thorax into the 

 cavity and draw forth and devour large and small indiscriminately. 

 During the latter part of June and the beginning of July these beetles 

 are very abundant, not only upon trees affected by gall-lice, but upon 

 other plants also. — Illinois State Lah. of Nat. Hist., Nov. 1880. 



Oiant Squid (Architeuthis) abundant in 1875 at the Grand Banks. 

 By A. E. Veerill. 



From Capt. J. W. Collins, now of the U.S. Fish Commission, I 

 learn that in October 1875 an unusual number of giant squids 

 were found floating at the surface, on the Grand Banks, and mostly 

 entirely dead and more or less mutilated by birds and fishes. In 

 very few cases they were not quite dead, but entirely disabled. 

 These were seen chiefly between N. lat. 4-1° and 44° 30', and be- 

 tween W, long. 49° 30' and 49° 50'. He believes that between 

 twenty-five and thirty specimens were secured by the fleet -from 

 Gloucester, Mass., and that as many more were probably obtained 

 by the vessels from other places. They were cut up and used as 

 bait for codfish. For this use they are of considerable value to 

 the fishermen. Captain Collins was at that time in command of the 

 schooner ' Howard,' which secured five of these giant squids. These 

 were mostly from 10 to 15 feet long, not including the arms, and 

 averaged about 18 inches in diameter. The arms were almost 

 always mutilated. The portion that was left was usually from 3 to 

 4 feet long, and, at the base, about as large as a man's thigh. 



One specimen, when cut up, was packed into a large hogshead 



* Am. Eut. 0. s. vol. ii. pp. 12 & .373. 

 t Am. Ent. o. s. vol. i. pp. 35 & 51. 

 X Report U.S. Ent. Com. vol. i. p. 302. 



