180 



THE AMERICAN 



taken in the house, were respectively th( 

 <'heese-t1y {PeophUa casei) and the common Krown 

 Spice-beetle (Ptimishrunmue). 



Food for Trout— -S'eM areen d- CoUinn, Mmnfmd, 

 N. }'.— If you will send us specimens of the worm 

 which forms such desirable food for your young trout, 

 we may be able to suggest some method of propagating 

 It artificially. Without sjiecimens we are entirely at a 

 loss as to the character of the worm in question. 



'Irout Enemy— ^. Sterling, CUreland, Ohio.—Hae 

 ■A short article on the subject in this number. 



Best Practical AVorks on Kntomolo^y- /^r. 

 0. S. Frankliti, CMUcothe, Okio.^yo entomological 

 work ever written, con.lcnses so much valuable in- 

 formation on the general facts and details of the Science, 

 as Westwood's Introduction to the Modern, Clmei/irution 

 «/ laseeta. (London, 18;W-40, two large octavos with 

 133 blocks of outline wood-cuts, and colored plate ) 

 It is now out of print, but is occasionally to be had of 

 hook-dealers. Kirby and Spence's Introduction, (Lon- 

 don, 1857, one stout duodecimo; no plates, price about 

 •*2.00) is a pleasantly written work, fraught with much 

 valuable information on the general subject. Harris's 

 /«./»/■/-,„.■, ]„,:,i., is in-crinineutly ^Ae practical work for 

 iho .Vnirii,;ui sliid.iit. (Orange -Judd & Co., New 

 York; prkr .-^l.dii iinr.,l,,red, iJiO.OO colored). Xext 

 wi- slioiil.l a.l\is,. yini Id get Packard's Guide to tlie 

 Mu.hi ,,r Ii,s,.i,, which has olten been mentioned in 

 mir cnliiiMiis; anil last, Imt not least, the Iteports of 

 I'itcli. Walsh, Sanborn, and Eiley. If you are conver- 

 •<ant with the French or (Jerman languages you may 

 find several desirable books by sending for catalogues 

 to B. Westcrmann .t To. or Ballierc Hros of Xew York. 



or to any olhc- ,„■„„, iit book-dcMlci->, We have in 



'■"'''"J- »" ^ II'-'-' I':iil' In;.y, lor l.r. Pack- 

 ard has signally lailcl l..,uiNctohis /.«/,/,. that popular 

 character, u iiidi would have rendered it so much more 

 valuable as a text-book. It is a valuable scientific 

 work, and we doubt whether it is' possible to make a 

 popular text-book that covers a-s much ground as tloes 

 the Guide. 



Hair-Snakes- Z-. W.M . Wt,t Ilummer.U.n. (>.- 

 ■I'he popular belief that these so-called • -Hair-snakes' ' 

 are "animated hairs' ' is of course a fallacy. Neither 

 are they "generated by the common field cricket," 

 though they are olten foiuid protruding from the anus 

 of crickets and grasshoppers, in which they are para- 

 sitic. The species you refer to wa« probably the \'ary- 

 ing Hair-snake {Gordius mriue, Leidy;. Two species 

 (G. i-arius, Leidy, and G. a>/auticus, (imel.) are com- 

 monly found throughout tne country, but the former is 

 most abundant. Both species occur most abundantly 

 on the banks of fresh water ponds and sluggish rivers. 

 riicy ai-c exceedingly prolific, and Prof. Leidy says 

 1 hat a $ of .( . r„ri,i.s laid (i,(;24,800 eggs. It is generally 

 believed that these eggs, which are extremely minute, 

 are drank in by insects and other animals, in whose 

 bodies they hatch and develop, but from which abiding 

 place they must finally depart in order to meet and 

 copulate with some mate. Hut from the fact that these 

 liarasitic worms are found in many insects which .ire 

 never known to frequent water, such as many of the 

 straight- winged Flies {Orthoptera), (iround - beetles 

 (C«/aJa,f), and even Spiders, this theory hardly sat- 

 isfies, and we are consequently glad to inform you that 



we expect shortly to publish an article on these curious 

 parasites, from I>r. Leidy himself. These hair-snakes 

 belong to the Intestinal AVorms (Entozoa), which are 

 Kinged Animals (AnTiCff.,VT.\), and have nothing 

 whate\er to do with the true snakes, wliich are Back- 

 bone Animals (VKRTunu.MA). 



EggT'sack ot some unknown Spider— -t. En- 



gelmann, Shiloh, Ills.— The curious egg- 

 sacks which Mr. K. \V. West found 

 hanging from the twigs of an apple 

 tree, and which we illustrate here- 

 with (Fig. lOil), are those of a spider 

 belonging, in all probability, to the 

 genus Epeiru, and perhaps those of the 

 common Epeira rulgaris. Hut we can 

 not tell until we hatch the eggs with 

 which the sack is now crowded . You 

 will doubtless find full grown speii- 

 mens of the .spider on this same tree 

 next May or .Juno. 

 Do Worker Bees Sting the Drones to Deatti ! 

 —M. W. v., Middhtoivn, Ct—U is 

 by apiaria 

 drones wh 

 careful ob; 



operation, and as it is also believed by many eminent 

 naturalists, we see no reason to doubt the say-so of 

 Milne Edwards in his Manual of Zooloijy, though we 

 can say nothing from our own observation. 



^ /, //!<2.— The Ked 



Middhtoivn, Ct—U is generally believed 

 that the workers do sting to death the 

 the mission of the latter is ended. Many 

 lers assert that they have witnessed the 

 d as it 



Herm.) is an 

 nute species. 



but likewise docs 



Red Spider— .ff. II. rf', -7. , . 

 Spider (7>om^/./;"»i [ 7'. ' 



importation from Kiiioji^ . i i- 



pale yellow when youii,:^, luciiiii 

 It is best known in the greeu-hi 

 much damage in dry seasons on trees (especially ever- 

 greens) in the open air. It thrives best in a dry atmos- 

 phere, and we have found no ditticulty in getting rid 

 of it by a free use of its natural enemy— water. If a 

 little soap is mixed with (lie svater it will be more ett'ec- 

 tual, aiul we also recommend the insecticide used by 

 y\. Clocz, and described on page 86 of this volume. 



Preserving: Insects — Jos. McGtiade, Foil, Ripleij, 

 .)/;■««..— We commence in this number a series of arti- 

 cles which will give you the desired information. 

 Meanwhile, if you need full directions immediately, 

 we will send you a small pamphlet containing an article 

 on the subject, upon receipt of 30 cents. 



R. E. Whitne;/, Lamar, Mo. — Your (luery is answercil 

 in the preceding paragraph. 



Insect Named— -V. Barrett, Waukesha, IVi'«.— The 

 flies you send are the Psociis eenoirus of Burmeister, 

 belonging to the Order of Net- winged Flies (Neukoi'- 

 TERA). They feed on the lichens found on the bark 

 of apple trees, as we have ocularly demonstrated, and 

 are therefore harmless. Certain minute species of the 

 same genus, however, and which arc known as book- 

 lice, are very destructive to books and to insect collec- 

 tions. 



To Destroy Plant-lice — B. F. La-.ear, Louisiana, 

 Mo.— IS you cannot so cover your house-plants as to 

 give them a good smoking with tobacco, wash them 

 well with strong soap-suds, or (piassia- water, or sprinkle 

 them with the fine tobacco-dust which can he obtained 

 from tobacco tiictories. 



