ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



197 



had penetrated. They afterwards became qui- 

 escent, doubled on themselves, and encysted, 

 so as to resemble tlieir former condition just 

 before emergino; from the egg. In this state 

 they recall to mind the similar encysted Trichiuse 

 in the muscles of man and the hog. 



Dr. Meissner observed no further change in 

 the Gordii, while contained in the insect larviB, 

 nor did he detect tliem after feeding some of the 

 latter to water Beetles. 



Thus from the young Gordius, which has es- 

 caped from the egg and entered upon its para- 

 sitic life in the interior of insect larvae, to the 

 parent Gordius, as it is commonly observed, 

 either as a parasite or living in the water, the 

 circle of the animal's hislory is broken and un- 

 known. 



Perhaps the young Gordii remain quiescent 

 in the May and Caddice-flies until these under- 

 go their last transformation in the air, when 

 they may be seized and devoured by Ground- 

 beetles, which are ever lurking beneath stones 

 and other objects in the vicinity of water, on the 

 lookout for prey. Once eaten by the Beetles, 

 like Trichinas swallowed by the hog, the Gordii 

 may then undergo transformation, and assume 

 the form of the parent Gordius, which is said 

 especially to infest the Ground-beetles. 



EXPLANATION OF FIGORES, ALL OF WHICH ARE 

 MAGNIFIED. 

 Fig. 119 —a. anterior extremity of the female Variable 

 Giirilius (G varius)-. b, the same of the male; c, anterior 

 extremity of the Linear Gordins (G linearis); d. side 

 view of the posterior e\tri'nlity of the m:\le of the s:inie 

 species; e, anterior extr.mity .if tli.^ liolnisi (;onliu~ t (;. ro- 

 Z>rt5<iM), from Kansas; ,/', in'-rriii.r rxiiuniiiy ni ihr t--iii:iir of 

 tlie same species, exhiliii ill- tlir L;viiital |i,.iv. 



nrutriMc- tliu 

 Lurdiriu- th 

 ond circle ol 

 of both circli 



ONE DAY'S .JOURNAL OP A STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



[Tills is one of Mr. Walsh's posthumous 

 papers. The duties therein defined may be con- 

 sidered light, as will readily be imagined, when 

 the number of letters received each day swells 

 to fifteen or twenty, instead of six or seven, as 

 we often find to be the case during the height of 

 the summer season. — Ed.] 



Many persons have an idea that the office of 

 State Entomologist is a snug little sinecure, such 



as the footman was in search of when he told 

 the gentleman who proposed to hire him that 

 he wanted a place where the wages were high, 

 and where there was very little work to be 

 done, except kissing the housemaid. We pro- 

 pose, for the enlightenment of persons like 

 these, to give, in the following paragraphs, a 

 sketch of an average day's work, such as the 

 Bugmaster General of Illinois, or the State En- 

 tomologist of Missouri, has to perform almost 

 every day during the greater part of the year. 



5 A. M. — Rose and went over to the oflSce. 

 Examined my breeding-cages ; found the leaves 

 beginning to wilt in five of them, in two of 

 which I had larvae feeding on oak leaves, while 

 the larvae in the remaining three lived respec- 

 tively upon hickory, plum and basswood. Took 

 my cane and hat, and started out to get a sup- 

 ply of fresh leaves. Had to walk a distance of a 

 mile and a half, because there was no basswood 

 growing any nearer to ray office. Returned and 

 shifted the larvre on to fresh twigs, placed, as 

 usual, in water to keep them fresh as long as 

 possible. Noted in my journal how many larvae 

 in each cage had gone to pupa, and how many 

 had died or disappeared from other causes. 



7 A. M. — After breakfast, and while I was 

 smoking my usual cigar, examined my breeding- 

 jars, and the cages where I keep my pupai. 

 Found that seven moths had come out. Noted 

 in my journal the lot of pup£e from which each 

 of the seven had come out, so as to connect each 

 separate species with its larval history. Killed the 

 moths, and set out their wings in my drying-box. 

 Before I could do this — as all the trays in the 

 drying-box were brimming full — had to remove 

 the setting-pins and setting-braces from a whole 

 tra)', and distribute the dried insects among the 

 appropriate store-boxes, each group in a sepa- 

 rate store-box along with the labels that belong 

 to each species, and indicate its name and his- 

 tory as far as ascertained. Found that, in my 

 breeding-vases, I had reared three species of 

 insects that were quite new to me. Ascertained 

 at once the name of two of them; but, after 

 spending two hours in referring to a dozen dif- 

 ferent authors, lo find out the name of the third, 

 am more in the dark than ever. Surely this 

 must be a new and hitherto undescribed species. 

 If so— but I must see about that to-uight. 



H A. M. — Run up to the post-office for my 

 morning mail. Find there four letters from 

 correspondents, enclosing specimens of bugs, 

 and requesting an immediate answer, two such 

 letters to be answered through the Entomolo- 

 gist, and a package of proof-sheets from R. P. 

 Studley & Co., St. Louis ; also, a lot of political 



