no . 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



•rlassy wings, and the female with a tail-like 

 ovipositor almost as long as her body. The 

 third is much smaller than the other two, and in- 

 stead of a single parasite attacking a single vic- 

 tim, as is the rule with those two, eight or ten 

 of them may often be found inside the almost 

 empty skin of the poor gall-making larva. Tliis 

 last parasitic larva produces a small uniformly 

 black fly with unitormly glassy ^frillgs {Pteronia- 

 /it.s); and what is remarkable, they lie in a little 

 bunch in the larva state inside the central celt of 

 the gall all through the winter, and do not 

 cnicrni' in the winged form until the following | 

 spi-iiiL:: wlirica^. the other two species make I 

 tlicir apiicavaiicf in the winged state the very [ 

 same summer that the gall is generated. Be- 

 >ides the above three Chaki's-Hie--, which occnr 

 in large number.-, we have also bred from Ihe 

 Oak-apple of the Black Oak, a single small Tck- 

 /leiimoii-ay (Bracon), which is probably para- 

 sitic on the larva of a small moth {Gelechiu ;/al- 

 kvrjenitella, Clemens) occasionally found as a 

 fTuestin that as well asiu two other galls. 



As to the other galls figured above, \vc have 

 only space to say that the Plant-lice of the p:im- 

 gall arc extensively preyed upon by a 

 small six-legged larva, with Avhite cottony lila- 

 Tncnts growing out of his back, which produces 

 a brown Lady-bird with a red tail {Scymaus 

 iHHiiorrhons, Lee.) ; and that the Plant-lice of 

 Ihe Sumac gall are, in the State of Xew 

 York, infested by the larva of a Syrphus fly, 

 -omewhat similar to that figured on page 83, of 

 which we have succeeded in breeding two indi- 

 viduals to the perfect fly state. For specimens 

 of these larva^ we have been indebted to Dr. "\V. 

 M. Smith, of Xew York; and according to Dr. 

 Le Baron, the fly belongs to the same genus 

 (Pipiza) as that just now referred to. and is 

 also like that insect, a new and hitherto iinde- 

 scribed species. 



THE BOGUS COLORADO POTATO-Blt;. 



( Donjphora jimcta . Gcrniar. ) 



In a recent article we expressed our opinion 

 that this insect could not live upon the potato 

 vine, although it feeds naturally upon the close- 

 ly allied horse-nettle. Mr. W. Julich, of Xew 

 York, writes us word that at Xewport Xews, 

 in the neighborhood of Fortress Monroe, Va., 

 he has seen thousands of this insect upon the 

 horse-nettle, but never seen a single larva upon j 

 certain potato vines which grew in the imme- 

 diate neighborhood, though he had occasionally ! 

 observed the perfect beetle sitting upon, but j 

 not feeding on, these potato vines. i 



ANTS AND APHIDES. 



We oliiii Ml- it stated in the papers tliat tlii re is a 

 species of iiiseet e:illed A/fkie, tliat produces u honey- 

 like siil)st;iiire, uliieli is fed upon by ants. 



Also, tliut :iiic>tlier familv of these ApJiidtt are domes- 

 lie^ited liv tile lints, and li\ e with them in the ground. 



If tliei'e is :iin tiuili in tliese .stories will you please 

 inform me tlir.iu-li your puper, and also whether this* 

 honey-like -ul.^Miire i~ tlje excrement, or some pecu- 

 liar provision ul n;iluie. .\i~o. whether the Aphides axv 

 common anion- all -perie- of ants. \\. B.tTCUEI.OR. 



■\Vaverly, fa. 



The Plant-lice belonging lo certain gen- 

 era, almost invariably secrete a fluid resemb- 

 ling honey in sweetness. It issues in limpid 

 drops not only from the end of the abdomen, 

 but from two •• honey tubes" wliich are placed, 

 one on each side, just above it. The beaks of 

 these Piant-lice are continually employed to 

 pump np the jnices of the plants which they 

 attack, and the.ee juices, after passing through 

 their systems, are exuded as described above, 

 ami bear therefore some relation to excrement, 

 being in fact little else but the faeces of the lice. 

 Ants are very fond of tliis sweet liquid, and 

 may always be found amongst tho.se aphides 

 which secrete it. though the latter are not neces- 

 sarily •• common among all species of ants." 

 For example, it has been shown by Dr. Fitch 

 thai no ants ever haunt the Grain Plant-louse 

 {Aphis avenw, Fabr.), which in certain years 

 and certain districts does so much damage to 

 our crops (jf small grain. But although this 

 s|)ecies of I'lant-louse has full-sized honey- 

 tnbes. it does not appear that it ever exudes 

 any honey-dew; which Inlly accounts for the 

 ants not visiting them. As to those species of 

 Plant-lice that, as you correctly phrase it, " are 

 domesticated by the ants and live with them in 

 the ground," they mostly belong to a genus 

 {Pemphigus) which yon will find figured on 

 page 82 (Fig. 71), and which, unlike the genus 

 Aphis, has no honey-tubes at all. AVhy, then, 

 you will ask. should the ants domesticate them, 

 seeing that these Plant-lice secrete no honej-- 

 dew? They do it for -the sake of the sugary 

 matter which is exuded from the bodies of these 

 Plant-lice in the form of a whitish cottony sub- 

 stance; and we have ascertained that they often 

 bring these sugar-producing lice home to their 

 nests from the roots of certain plants, and keep 

 the sugar-producers there till after a few hours 

 a sufficient crop of the coveted dainty has been 

 elaborated and harvested. After which they 

 carry the Plant-lice back to the roots whence the 

 due supply of sap is derived, just as a dairyman, 

 after milking his cows, drives them back to 

 pasture to elaborate a fresh supply of milk from 

 the herbage that they find there. — Eds.] 



