182 



THE AMERICAN 



The Hedg-e-Hog Caterpillar— ^;»-ore Burt, Wll- 

 UamshKrij. Mo. — The large caterpillar, covered with stifl 

 black hairs on each end, aud with reddish hairs in the 

 middle of the liody, is the larva of the Isabella Tiger 



[Fij. 115,1 



Moth (Aretia hahella, Hiibn.) The moth is of a dull 

 orange color, with the front wings variegated with 

 dusky, and spotted with black, and the hind wings 

 somewhat lighter and also with black spots . The cater- 

 pillar is one of those which passes the winter as a eater- 

 pillar, rolling itself up like a hedge-hog, and seeking 

 some sheltered place. In the spring it becomes active 

 and ' ' feeds up ' ' on the first green blades of grass which 

 it can obtain, after which it undergoes its transforma- 

 tions in the usual manner. These worms cannot be con- 

 sidered injurious, and the supposition that they cause 

 the lever, whencu- they are called "Fever-worms'" in 

 your locality, is of course unfounded and erroneous. 

 A much larger ami eiiUrely black prickly worm (larva 

 of EcjMnthtria Ka-lhniini. Iliibn.), and closely allied to it, 

 which oi'curs iiuitc abimdantly in the southern swamps, 

 is likewise diiblicd ' • Fi-ver-worm ' ' by tlie negroes, 

 under siniilur false iuipressions of its injurious powers. 

 As the iniasnia of the swamps induces ague, and as this 

 worm is found abundantly in such situations, the two 

 circumstances have doubtless been associated through 

 ignorance, aud some Ethiopean, right from Dixie, has 

 perhaps pei-i>rtuated the name in your vicinity, by 

 iipplyiiiu' if to our more northern Hedge-hog Cater- 

 pillar. Tlir IsMliella Tiger Moth is illustrated at Figure 

 1 12. ,1 giving a liaci; view of the larva, I the cocoon cut 

 olieii so ;is to show (he chrysalis, and c the moth. Thf 

 bectle> which you found under the bark of a fence 

 rail, may bo known Ijy the name of the .Sleek Horinus 

 {fTormuf lirch, Oliv.) They feed on rotting wood. 



Cbick-wecd Geometer^/. Hmjgins, Woodbimt, 

 Ills.— The pretty little orange moth marked with pink. 

 is the common C!hiek-weed Geometer (Hmmatoiih gm- 

 tui-ia, Fabr.), the transformations of which wore first 

 described in the First Missouri Entomological Report, 

 where you will find the insect figured. The many- 

 legged animal is Cermatia forceps, and is comiuon in 

 houses in this latitude. You will tind your Canker- 

 wonii ipieries answered in the .Second Missouri Report. 

 Of (-our.se you are right about the absurdity of the sul- 

 phur remedy. 



Bean-weevU— Ct.y. W. Cojjley, .Utuii, Jlls.—'tbe 

 weevils which infest your beans arc in reality the very 

 same Obsolete Bean-weevil {Bniclms obsoletus. Say) 

 spoken of on pages 118 aud V>i> of this volume. AVe 

 have lately been informed by Mr. J. F. Wielandy, of 

 Jefferson City, Mo., that his father, who is a resident 

 of your county, has been much troubled with the same 

 pest. The little case in the cartridge box is the larva- 

 case of a small narrow-winged moth, belonging, in all 

 proljability, to the genus Solenohiu, and closely resem- 

 bling that of Sohnohia WaUhella, Clem. We cannot 

 believe that it gouged out the twig of the Bartlett pear; 

 but incline to the opinion that this gouging was done by 

 some other insect, and that the case-bearer simply took 

 shelter iu tin' hollow, to .gain protection from the win- 

 ter's blasts. The species has never been bred, aud we 

 should lie glad to have you send us as many cases as 

 you can find. The pretty little leaf-beetle, bearing- 

 some resemblance to the ]'2-Si)otted Diabrotiea is Cero- 

 toma caminea, Fabr. Mtaeiis ri/nthin is the moth you 

 may scud us. 



Bagr-woriu at South Pass, Ills. — 6^. JI. Bal-er, 

 South Pass, Ills.— Xom- insects on Black Spruce, are 

 the notorious Bag- worm, for an account of which sec 

 pp. 35-8 of the present volume. The fact of their occur- 

 ring in your locality is an entirely new one, for we have 

 never noticed the insect during our visits there; nor 

 have we ever heard of its occurring there before. In 

 all probability it is yet confined to your grounds, and 

 upon reading the article referred to abOve, you-will at 

 once perceive how important it is to the South Pass 

 community, that you search for and destroy every one 

 that can be found. A single follicle was, in all proba- 

 bility, originally introduced into your grounds upon 

 spruces from some distant nursery. 



Injured Pear Roots— tf. Pauls, lAireTca, Mo.— 

 The corrugated pear roots l)ear no trace of insect work. 

 We can throw no light on the subject. Perhaps the 

 appearance is produced by their getting too dry before 

 planting, aud thus causing the bark to split open. 



Kgrgs of Oblongr-winged Katydid—^. D. LaJJ, 

 Lawrence, Kansas.— The eggs which you found on a 

 currant sprout are those of the Oblong- winged Katydid 

 {Phyllopttra oUongifolia, DeGeer). They occur on a 

 variety of different trees, and differ from those of the 

 common Broad-winged Katydid in being narrower in 

 width but thicker in depth. 



Insects Named— IK //. Patton, Waterlmry, Conn,. — 

 ^■our insects are: No. 1, Chrysochii^ auratus, Fabr. (see 

 A. E. I, p. 24!t, and 11, p. 27); No. 2, Folistes fuscatus , 

 ]''abr.; >'o. 3, ^ and 2 GaXopternn reticidatum, Fabr. 

 (see \. E. II, p. 31); No. 4, C. termimile, Say. 



TAKE NOTICE. 



by specimeiiB, the more in number the better. Such epi 



always be packed along with a little cotton, wool, or some si 



1 any little paste-board box that is of convenient size, and nt 



i in the letter. Botanists like their specimens pressed as flat B 



tomologists do not. Whenever possible, larvEe (i. e. ttn 



: the better — along with a supply of their appropriate fi 

 them on their journey ; otherwise they generally die on 

 I up to nothing. Along with the specimens send as fliU 

 account as possible of the habits of the insect, respecting which you dei 

 information ; for example, what plant or plants it infests ; whether it destr 

 the leaves, the buds, the twigs, or the stem; how long it has been knowi 

 you ; what amount of damage it has done, etc. Sucn particulars are of 

 not only of high scientific interest, but of great practical Hnportance. 



mar- Our readers will confer an especinl lavor *-- --'■' ' " '"*' 



business character to the publishers, 



substance, 

 enclosed looee t 

 pancake, but i 

 caterpillars, n 



sufficient to lai 



avor by . 



