Feb. 1886.] 
ENTOMOLOGY. 
WRIGHT & BATES, 
73 Hanover St., Boston, Mass., 
ASSOCIATE EDITORS. 
Address all communications for this department as above. 

Editorial Note. 
In this number we inaugurate a series of articles 
on the Sphingide of New England. They will 
consist of descriptions of the various members of 
this family which are known to occur within the 
limits of the territory mentioned. 
We would request the communication of notes 
of capture in this territory, and also of any ob- 
servations on the habits or peculiarities of the 
family. 

Practical Entomology. 
BY WRIGHT AND BATES, 73 HANOVER ST., BOSTON. 
(Continued from page 15.) 
COLEOPTERA. 
PECULIARITIES: Insects of this order are 
mandibulate, or furnished with jaws, and their 
anterior wings are converted into hard corneous 
shields, protecting the posterior wings and ab- 
domen. 
LOCALITIES WHERE THEY ARE GENERALLY FOUND. 
The Carabidae are generally to be found under 
stones, chips, logs, &c., especially where the soil 
is damp; in the winter some varieties may be 
found hidden under and in the crevices of the 
bark of trees. They especially frequent the edges 
of woods and the banks of small streams. 
The Cicindalidae will be found iu early spring 
and summer flitting about in the roads, pastures 
and sand banks. Diving in and swimming about 
on the surface of the water are various members 
of the families of Dytiscidue, Gyrinidae, Hydrophi- 
lidae, and Parridae. 
The Silphidae are found under the excrement 
of cattle, especially cows, and in and under the 
carcasses of dead animals. 
The Staphylinidae may be found under the 
stones and chips, under the bark of dead trees, in 
and around ants’ nests, and carrion in fungi, on 
the leaves and flowers of plants, and in the ex- 
crement of cattle. 
The Searabidae or Lamellicora beetles are to be 
found flying about at dusk, and also hidden un- 
der the excrement of cattle, and in the dried car- 
casses of dead animals, while many spend. the 
AND OOLOGIST. 29 
most of their time on the leaves and flowers of 
plants. 
The Elateridae and Buprestidae haunt the pas- 
tures and the edges of woods, where they may be 
seen flying about in the sun or basking upon the 
bark of trees and on the flowers. They are also 
found in the winter under the bark of trees. 
The family of Fireflies, or Lampyridae, must be 
looked for in warm weather flitting about the 
fields, especially in the evening, or on the leaves 
and flowers; in the winter they are found in large 
numbers hidden in the crevices of the bark of 
trees. 
The Cleridac: The larvee of this family are 
carnivorous, but the beautiful little beetles are to 
be found in the warm season in great numbers 
on the flowers. 
The adult beetles of the family of Meloidae are 
found in the grass and around the flowers which 
the bees frequent. 
On the flowers and trees are large numbers of 
Chrysomelidae and Coecinellidae, and the latter are 
in the crevices of the bark in the winter. 
The Curculionidae are to be met with on the 
flowers and fungi, and under the stones and bark. 
TIME AND METHODS FOR COLLECTING, 
For active beetles, the spring and autumn are 
the best times for most varieties, for in summer, 
with the exception of the vegetable feeders, they 
are scarcer. At these times the collector must 
yatch every spot, for they seem to be found 
everywhere; beat the trees, sweep the grass fields, 
drag the streams, sift the dirt and leaves, examine 
the flowers, in fact, look everywhere. In winter 
the plan is different. A few small bottles of alco- 
hol, a pair of small forceps and a hatchet are all 
that is really necessary, though a box or satchel 
will be needed if the larvee are to be preserved 
and reared. Chip off the bark from the trunks 
of the rough-barked trees, such as the oak, pitch 
pine and white pine: strip the bark from dead 
trees, and if the tree is decayed chop the trunk 
into small pieces; the beetles will often be found 
in the very centre of the trunk of decayed trees, 
especially pines and birches. 

Breeding of Attacus Cynthia. 

The rearing of the silk worm has become an 
important industry in the United States, and ow- 
ing to the lack of hardiness, and the tendency to 
disease of the Bombyx mori, the introduction of 
a race of insects possessing the silk producing 
power and without these disadvantages, is an im- 
portant object. One of the most desirable insects 
for- this purpose is the Attacus Cynthia. This 
