THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



T9 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



eliborhood . and von dosirc to luarn something of 

 itsnuturalfiistovv. Tin- iii^^pct, whii-h liii.; Imiwnish black 

 wing-covers, nun-iiiiil \wth inilc \.ll.,«. mii.I a yellow 

 thoriix, with a <-,-ntral lihi.'k -|int , ;,(mI ii |i:.i-li nT r,,s,- color 



each side of it, uii.l wlii. 1, »,i- r. ..-,<.. A jn - 1 .-"luUtion, 



is the PAo/inu» 7)yni/i» 111 l.inn.ii^, :.inl i~ kimu ri all iiver the 

 West by the naiui.' uf lliu • ' i'uc-ilv." li i.^ luil, strictly 

 speaking, u tly, but a true beetle, bolongini; to the order 

 toLEOPTKHA, and the family Lampyhid-e. 



[Fig. 0.: 



bodied insects. At times these ' ' lire-fly 

 sist almost entirely on yoimg carth-woriu>, i "i v\' ikim 

 found them abundantly in soil, on which im m ^( UiU hi lia.l 

 grown for at least one year, and where incon-i'iuiiic i- th. r. 

 was scarcely another animal to be found, besides these two 

 —the "flrc-fly" larva feeding upon the earth-worm, and 

 the latter subsisting on the earth itself. 



Each segment of the larva has a homy, brown iilnte 

 above, with a straight white line runnini; knicritudinallv 

 through the midiUe, and another, s.iiii. whai i ih\. il .jm . ..ii 

 each side. The sides are soft ami i i>-r-, nl<n > <1, ;ni>l ihr 

 spii-acles which are white, are ila.,;l ,,ii a -iiiawlni 

 elevated, and nearlvoval, dark brown |iairh. oii ili. uml. a 

 side it is of a creain e.ol.n-, wiib lu.. bn.Hii ,iu:i< in iln- 

 centre of each M-^'in.iit, a- >li..\\ n . nlar-r.i at e. The head 

 (magnifled at /) i> iliMi,ai,^lih r.n a, lii, within the first 



front, iut the 



adhere to them after 



amusing to watch one, as it tli 



stretches this ^'houppe'* fan-like c 



vedi 



etractile 



•ad. 



ivashcs itself. 



When full grown, or during the latter part of June, it 

 forms an oval cavity in the earth, throws oil' its larval skm, 

 and becomes a puna as represented at b. In tliis staj^e it is 

 white, with a tinge of crimson aluiitr tlie back and at tliu 

 sides, and after a rest of about ten da\s, it throws oU' its 

 skin once more and beeom.-s a beetle l["ke llie one v.ai have 

 sent. The light, which is of a )iln)splii>iescent nature, is 

 emitted from the tipof the under side ul the ubdunieu, two of 

 the segments being of a sulphur yellow color, in contrast 

 with the rest, which are dark brown. This light is emitted 

 both by the larva and pupa, though not so strongly as in the 

 perfect insect. 



There are other species belonging to this laniilv which in- 

 habit North America, and whicli i mii a IilIii ^n I these are 

 doubtless iwpularly known as in r several 



districts. In some of them the li 

 wingless, with but very short 

 species both sexes are winged, a 



quite 



gigantic Fly, 

 examination, v 

 future article, i 

 its natural histi 

 Linnxus, and i 

 "Crawler," ai 



;iU three of yon forwarded for 

 lustrate in"all its stages in a 

 t line to give a brief account of 

 lie name is CorydalU comulus, 

 me parts of the West called a 

 ^ a '•Hellgramite." 



A Hew Grape-root Borer.— W. D. F, Lummia, Makanda, 

 ^f • — The gigantic borer, about two inches long, and six 

 times as long as wide, which you find boring the roots of 

 the gi-ape vine a little below the surface, and which in the 

 last two years has, as vou say, already destroyed two vines 

 for you, kiUiuKthem suddenly, one of them with ten bunches 

 uf grapes on it, has been also received by us from other 



■ith the same account of its habits. 

 1 e from two and a half to two and 

 , of a yellowish white color, with 

 iH 11 head, and with the front joints 

 » idcr than the rest, and the first 

 any of the others. No such larva 



beetle, 1 



so far as our d.'scrii.ticm •iocs, and whi 

 tember, 1807, in decaying pine wood, w 

 of June, l(i68, the Cylindrical Prioiiu. 

 dricum, Fabr.) We have also receiv 

 which was found by Mr. O. B. Galusha 

 in Southern Illinois, boring in the root < 

 in several l.avl^oltla- We-teni state- Mi 



orange. 

 (.:. W. Sp 

 hope to b 



oM.Minvr.i inaiiN \ines, this year, in Dr. 

 . vmriaiil in -t, I.oni, rounty. Mo. AVc 

 i.rlict brctb- iVoin this irrape-root borer, 

 tainly furnish ligures of tlie insect both 



in the larva and in the beetle state, with a complete account 



of its depredations . 

 Bugs on Grape Vines Mistaken for Chinch-Bugs.— Co/ . 



Fred. Herkcr, Lebanon, I//— You are quite ri-ht in ^^avin- 



that the thmrli-bn- has. in i-iTtain conntios in Illinois'" 



1 demon [the Chinch-bu 

 allets, but the bud of t 

 lauiier in which anott 



wither an. 

 with, but . 

 ' ' bite oir ■ 

 iust tile >a 



ring, which is very 

 is , and which lays 

 canes. Unless we 

 lies with its beak 

 ausing the stem to 



ling out the sap so vigorously from the 

 ill a quick succession of drops from their 

 uticle we propose to give a short account, 

 d by figures, of all the diflerent insect 



Leaf-Bugs. — CAas. H. Peck, Albany, N. r.— The very 

 much flattened, oval, whitish bug, about one-eighth of an 

 inch long, which jou find in such swarms on the leaves of 



the bassw(M.d, in c.jiupanv with tlieir larvie and their 

 moulted skin-', are thi' l:lI-■<^vn,„l T.raf-bnc (Tiuc/is [monan- 



thMtilicr \\ .1 ':i \ -:nl,, ,,., til.. ^^,■anlMl■,. I,..al- 



bUg(T,n,;. . .■ . - ,,|n:il , a .-.In- 1. .11 . .■^,■,■v- 



leaves'ofih ■ >., - ■ I . -i. iii i..lk. .-.ill ii. the 



wluch til 

 small Le 

 dcstructi 



IS Erijllironeura) , which are s< 

 I'nioii to the leaves of the grape 



Several answers to conespondcnts have been unavoidably 

 crowded out of this number, and will have to lie overtill our 

 next. Our readers will bear in mind that all queries lo bo 

 answered iu time must be received by the lOlli of Ihe month, 

 preceding publication. 



