40 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Bark-lice on Apple Xrees.^. 0-. Flech, Dixon, 

 Ms.— The bark-lice you send are the common imported 

 or oyster-shell species; and there is not, so far as we 

 can see, a single living egg under any of the scales on 

 the twigs received. Some of these scales are the old 

 last year's ones, formed in August, 1867, only about 

 five per cent, of which you found, as you say, to con- 

 tain eggs in March, 1868; but many of them are appa- 

 rently this year's scales, perfected in August, 1868, and 

 which then must have contained, each of them, scores 

 of minute oval white eggs. The question now recurs, 

 <'What has killed 95 per cent, of last year's eggs in 

 March, 1868, and ahnost the entire crop of this year's 

 eggs in September, 1868?" Vfe answer, judging fi-om 

 the peculiar appearance of many of the scales sent, that 

 this must have been done by a minute microscopic Mite , 

 which preys upon these eggs everywhere in the North- 

 em States from New York to Illinois , and the natural 

 history of which has been given in detail by the senior 

 editor of this journal, in his annual report, printed in 

 the Transactions of the Illinois State Horticultural So- 

 ciety for 1867 . It certainly cannot have been done , as 

 you suggest, by the cold winter of 1867-8; for, near 

 Eock Island, His., the thermometer was, during that 

 winter, once as low as 27" below zero, and yet no effect 

 was thereby produced upon the Bark-louse eggs in that 

 neighborhood . In a future article we propose to illus- 

 trate the natural history of the different kinds of Bark- 

 lice that trouble the farmer and the fruit grovcer . 



The " Saddle-baclt " C ater pillar Siml £ax- 

 ter, Nauvoo, 111.— The brown flattish caterpillar, armed 

 with prickly horns, and with a bright green saddle- 

 shaped patch over the middle of the body , which con- 

 tains a round brown mark on its back , is the larva of 

 Ein^retia stimiulea, Clemens. You say that you "found 

 similar ones three years ago on a common Morello 

 cherry tree, and having just touched the back of my 

 hand with one soon found their dangerous quality, but 

 stopped the pain by dipping my hand in lye water. 

 These I send were found to the number of ten on a wild 

 frost grapevine, and the finder's hand soon swelled up 

 with watery pustules, accompanied with intolerable 

 itching and a kind ot fainting of heart; happily a doc- 

 tor was at hand, and in four hours the patient was 

 better. ' ' Their prickles have long been known to have 

 this stinging quality. They feed on various fruit trees, 

 and have also been found on the rose and on Indian 

 corn. They belong to an anomalous family oi moths , 

 and as you may have observed , they have no legs , but 

 glide along with a snail-like motion. 



0. A. Eenyon, MoCrregor, Iowa. — The caterpillar ta- 

 ken from an apple tree, "of a mud-turtle shape and ap- 

 pearance," which you send, is of the same "Saddle- 

 back" species spoken of above. 



The Reg:al Walnut Caterpillar— J/. Copley, 

 Copley House, Bnghton, Ills. — The immense green cat- 

 erpillar, measuring five inches, partly covered with 

 long prickly horns, and having cream-colored patches 

 along the sid -s, reached us in tine condition. You say 

 you found i„ on a black walnut tree in your door yard, 

 and that it was kept for some time in a bird cage, 

 where it appeared contented, and was noticed at times 

 to drink water. It is the larva of the Regal Walnut 

 moth {atheroma regalis, Packard), a moth which 

 sometimes expands over six Inches, and whose colors 

 are rust-red, slate-color and yellow. The caterpillar 

 enters the ground and becomes a black chrysalis during 

 the month of September, and the moth makes Its ap- 



ery, and it also occurs on the butternut and sumach. 



Tlie Hessian ny—Fi-ed. D. Carson, ' ' Northern 

 Farmer," Fond dm Lac, Wis.— The specimens of wheat 

 straw which you sent contained the "flaxseed" or 

 pupa state of the Hessian fly. You say that upon care- 

 ful search and inquiry you are convinced that much of 

 the wheat crop has been damaged by it the present sea- 

 son in your section . The fly appears during the fore 

 part of September, and generally disappears by the end 

 of the month . Wheat sown so late that it does not come 

 up till after its disappearance generally escapes its rav- 

 ages. We bred nothing but parasites from the speci- 

 mens you sent, and they will probably be less trouble- 

 some next year. 



Red Cedar Caterpillar — Roht. Peter, Lexington, 

 Ey. — The troublesome caterpillar which has been spoil- 

 ing your red cedar trees, and which clothes itself with 

 a case made of the leaves of the cedar stuck together 

 with a kind of silk, :inil carries its case with it on Its 

 predatory travel- (ill il i^ lull irniwn. wlu-ii it hangs it- 

 self up by a >ilk >lnii- lo a twi- t.. pa-s the winter; 

 is the larva nf Tlnir;,h>jii, nj.r ,j,h, m, r^' f.u ,iu.->—ii. moth, 

 the male of which is l.hick,' with "hi.s.-y wings, and the 

 female of which is perfectly wingless and legless, and 

 never quits her case . The male escapes from his case 

 during the month of September. The eggs pass the 

 winter protected by and contained within the female 

 case. The nature of the insect forbids its spreading to 

 any great extent, and it can be readily checked by des- 

 troying the cases In winter tune . 



^I^heat-niidge Winter killed.— .7 P . Alexander, 

 Independence, Mo.— You say that tliis llv iia- lieretofore 



iiiltiiic m your 

 I liiiM a single in- 

 i aiul vou ask if 

 that killed them. 

 I particular insect 

 very year , and depends 



been the greatest enemy t( 

 neighborhood, but that you i 

 fested stalk during this yearS 

 it was not the open, snowless 

 The sudden increase or decre 

 is something which is observe* 



on so very many contingencies , that it is always dil 

 cult to ascertain the true cause. It is assert 

 that the Chinch-bug is frequently killed by hard, bleak 

 winters, when there Is but little snow on the ground, 

 and we think It quite possible that the Midge is sus- 

 ceptible to the same severe weather. 



Gra.Tfe-vlne'BoTeT- Alfred Barter, Mniil City, Mo. 

 The "grubs" which cut off y.nir main. viiirs three or 

 four inches below ground, are half uinwii specimens of 

 the same borer spoken of under the head (jf "Anew 

 Grape-root Borer," on page Ui of our tust number. 

 Since you set your vines last spring, "using green oak 

 stakes," these grubs are doubtless not yet a year old. 

 During the session of the "Mississippi VaUey Wine 

 Growers' Association," we ascertained that this in- 

 sect is far more common than we had supposed, and 

 that Mr. Husmann of Hermann, Mo., has been ac- 

 quainted with It since 1850. 



Col. Jno. B. Hogan.— The root-borers which you 

 send, and which liave destroyed a great number of 

 your vines, are the same as the above. 



Hair Lines. — Our readers will bear iii miiid 

 that all our illustrations which are enlarged for 

 the purpose of making their characters more ap- 

 parent, will have a hair-line accompanying them 

 to indicate the natural size. When no such line 

 appears, the illustration is supposed to be of the 

 true size, unless otherwise stated. 



To OUR Subscribers in Canada. — Parties in 

 Canada, who wish to subscribe for the American 

 Entomologist, can obtain it, postage free, by 

 remitting one dollar to the Bev. C. J. 8. Bethune, 

 Secretary to the Entomological Society of Can- 

 ada, Credit, C. W. 



Erratum.— In Number 1, on page 19, column 

 2, line six, for "joints" read "joint." 



NOTICE. 



respecting noxious or otlier insects, should 

 be accompanied by specimens, the more in number the better. Such speci- 

 mens should always be packed along with a little cotton, wool, or some such 

 substance, in any little paste-board box that is of convenient size, aiid Ticver 

 enclosed loose in the letter. Botaulats like their specimens pressed as flat aa a 

 pancake, but entomologists do not. Whenever poasible, larvie (i. e. grubs, 

 caterpillara, maggots, etc.) should be packed alive in some tight tin 



r the better— along with a supply of their appropriate food 



on their journey ; otherwue they generally^ die on the 



icn^t tS!al 



vel up to nothing. Along with the specimens send i 

 •" "■■ habit "' ■ "" 



what I 

 rigs, 01 

 you ; wnat amount oi aamagc it 

 not only of high scientific intetef 



