188 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Egga of Cat-irarin jnottis—Gustrmis Pauls, 

 Eureha, Mo.— The belt of miuute eggs, of a tiesh-color, 

 and all fastened closely together on the twig of one of 

 your Peach trees, we have figured in the annexed cut 

 (Fig. 131) , a showing the belt , natural size , and i giving 



[Fig. 131 2"! " v.!r„°r"°_'"r!!r.iT_T-'^ 



out after we received them. It 

 is not often that we ean tell all 

 about an insect from its egg, 

 but the moment we saw those 

 which you sent, we knew from 

 their curious pattern what they 

 were. They are in fact the eggs 

 of the Unarmed Rustic (Agrotis 

 inermis, Uarr.), anil the worms 

 which hatch from thorn are 

 among the most di'strui-tivo of 



th( 

 has bet 



produces it are figured (PI. I, 

 Figs 1 and 2). It has heretofore 

 been supposed that all cut- 

 Coior-(a and J) flesh-color, womi moths deposit their eggs 

 on or near the surface of the ground, but here we 

 have a clear case of their being depositetl far away 

 from the ground, and we have seen these same eggs 

 deposited on both Apple and Cherry twigs and on 

 Mulberry leaves. The shells of these eggs are ex- 

 tremely thin, and of a delicate glistening pink color, 

 and they are always devoured by the young larviB 

 soon after the latter hatch. These larva; are at first 

 of a dirty yellow color, covered with black shiny 

 elevated spots. They have the full complement of 16 

 legs, but the two hindermost pair of abdominal prolegs 

 are much longer than the two foremost pair, and the 

 worms have at this time the peculiarity of looping up 

 the back when in motion, in the same manner as does 

 the notorious Canker-worm, while tln^y cuii nNo let 

 themselves down by a web. For a whilr iIh y li\ .■. for 

 the most part, in company on llir lra\i~, l.ui altri- the 

 first moult, strange to sayl liny luv, ilnii- hiujiiiig 

 habit, the legs havinir liecDiiu- of n.aily . .jiial >izc. 

 They can no longer let tliciii-clvrv down tiy a web, and 

 they now disperse and lic^rin to v]i,,w the tiiie Cut-worm 

 characteristic of hidinu' during' tho liay lime ju.st under 

 the surface of the ground, anil of t iittiiiu' olf our vege- 

 tables. 



T. A. Throp, Troy, 7Z?s.— The belt of eggs which you 

 found attached to one side of a Mulberry tree are of 

 exaetlv the same kind as those sent bv Mr. Pauls. We 

 I'arefuilv counftMl them and fou:,(l then' were no less 

 than ri42. 'I'brsc wcrr. Ihv'IkI a donl.t. di-posited by 

 a sin^'le moth A\itli Midi rrriindily. N it to be won- 

 deri'd at, that I'Ut-wornis ajipiar >o .^uiliiiiily and plen- 

 tifully in our fields and gankiis, when wo rollect that, 

 as we have experimentally proved, each egg will pro- 

 duce a fat. greasy worm, two inches long, in the in- 

 credibly short space of three weeks! 



Emory S. Foster, Bushhurg. Mn —The e--s which vou 

 find attached to your Conoonl -rai"- \in.-~, lnlonC'- to 

 the same species of moth. 'IIm > -!h,ii|,| ii, il,.-troved 

 wherever found. Your noi-hliMi-. \\v. \, iinsh. was 

 last year troubled with the woiin- uliioli iln y pi-o- 

 duce". 



AVorlcs on Natural History — Byron Carson, 

 FinJluy. Hancock Co., O/iio.— Yon ask what works we 

 would "recommend to an); one "desiring a thorough 

 knowledge of Natural History." AVc reply that to 

 enumerate the works necessary to such a thorough 

 knowledge would require awhole number of the Ento- 

 mologist. First and foremost we advise you to com- 

 mence to read carefully the Great Book of Nature, and 

 as you have subscribed to us for the American Naturalist, 

 you will find at the end of each number of that period- 

 ical a tolerably ftilUist of works on Natural History, and 

 the proper information as to how^ they can be obtained. 

 We have already advised as to the best works for the 

 beginner in the study of Entomology. (8ee pp. 39 and 

 120 of present vol.) 



Snow Fleas— iT". JI. G. Bradt, Eureka, Tfw.— The 

 minute black insects which you send, and which you 

 found in countless myriads on the surface of the thaw- 

 ing snow, are known by the name of Snow Fleas. 

 They are the Podura nickola of Dr. Fitch, and may be 

 found at almost any time during the winter at the foot 

 of trees, under the bark of which they live . In such 

 situations they are not readily noticed, but as 

 soon as the sun becomes sufficiently warm to rouse 

 them into activity, they issue forth and seem to be at- 

 tracted by the snow, upon which, congregating by 

 millions, they become at once conspicuous and cause us 

 to wonder at their sudden appearance. They jump by 

 means of a forked " spring tail ' ' placed on the under 

 side, near the extremity of the body. Their food 

 consists of decaying vegetable matter. 



Fuzzy Galls on Blackberry Vwisa — Jonathan 

 !! : ■ . ir, .,,''-,.., //^^ -The ■.'lobular, reddish, seed- 

 'il.' . !i -!'-■,'■ IhhIi,.- v.iiirli vnii timl iil;ii'od close together 

 ;i in ' ^iii.-i I.I 'I I. .iriiiiiKl lii.' raiir^ n I' your blackberries, 

 ' I'll ..;ii 1111,1-111111- .iliMiit oiir-irnih of an inch in 

 UiaiULiUi-, and oaoU fc'i\iiiy ri»o lu one or more long 

 .spines, are in reality Cy nips -galls peculiar to the 

 blackberry, and caused l)y a four-winged fly — the 

 Diastrophus cuscutaiformis of Osten Sacken — of a pitchy 

 browner black eolor with red feet and antennae. As 

 you rightly remark, many of them have been gutted by 

 the birds, but if you open those which are not thus 

 gutted you will find, at the present time, the pupa of 

 the future fly lying snugly within the hollow gall. 



Pithy Galls on Blackberry Twigs— 7". IK. 

 Gvrihin, i;, i,rijflon-n, Ohio.—'V\\e large, dark red, pithy 

 swelliiii; wliioh you find on your blackberry twigs, anil 

 which looks not luilike a dried and crinkled apple, 

 is a polythalamous gall, prodiuoil by a Miiall four- 

 winged fly belonging to the vi i\ -aim -i nu-; and of 

 much the same appearance as tliai -pok, n of above, in 

 answer to Mr. Uuggins. This lly \sas nanud Dias- 

 trophus nehulosus by Osten Sacken, and together with 

 the other species referred to, was described in the 

 " Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Phila- 

 delphia," vol, II., pp, 36-39. By making a trans- 

 verse section of the gall, you will find near the centre a 

 number of oblong cells which are at present occupied 

 by pupie. Both these blackberry gall-makers are 

 attacked by parasites which doubtless serve to prevent 

 their untlue i 



ITIoth Egffs— .4. M. Shults, Iroy, Lincoln Co., 

 Mo. — The belt of pale, cream-colored eg»s encircling a 

 twig (of what tree?) apparently are those of some 

 moth, but of what particular species we cannot tell 

 unli-- V.I Iiiv, a 111 111. The o-u- of the Tent Caterpil- 

 lar iinii' i ■ I III' : - I illiT, ar.' fa-inii'il closer together, 

 and .11 I III a -"11 "I \aniish. We have 



lorni'iii i'liii'i iii-i -iicli t-u- a- \ oil now send, from 

 C. U. IJal.bui. ol L.inoU City, low a, who found them, 

 encircling the twig of a Honey Locust. 



/. Huggins, Woodhurn, Ills.— The circle of eggs which 

 you took'from an Apple tree are of the same kind as 

 the above. 



Horse-bair Snakes — A. M. Abbott, Union Grove, 

 Jlls.— The popular notion that these animals are ani- 

 mated horse-hairs is nothing but a superstition. Like 

 every other living creature, including ourselves, they 

 spring from an egg in the first instance. They are not 

 true insects, but belong to the Class of Worms; and 

 just as man h.as intestinal worms that live and thrive in 

 his body, so many insects are infested internally by 

 these .so-called horse-hair snakes. We have ourselves 

 seen living specimens six inches long, that came out of 

 the gigantic caterpillar of the Cecropia mojji; and have 

 often seen smaller ones come out of grasshoppers . 



Viii. Calwell, Sparta, 

 the root of the Dor- 

 chester blackTjerry is o\iilontly MOiie kind of ftingoid 

 growth and not the result of in-oct work. 



SPECIAL. IirOTICE. 



D. n. BRIGGS, Norton, Mass. 



