ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



213 



[Fig. 130 ] 



mossy Rose Gall— IF. M. Loche, Eoneoye Falls, 

 y, F.— The moss-like bunches (Fig. 130) of wliich you 

 IbumI eij.'ht on a single rose 

 bu^sll, iiud which attracted 

 your attention from thcu 

 icscMiblance to an old (juid ot 

 tobacfo, are polythalanious 

 galls. They are composed 

 of an agglomeration of liaid 

 cells, many of wliicli are it 

 present vacant, though some 

 yet contain larva'. The gall- 

 fly which causes this gall is 

 the Rhoiites rosa , Linn., au 

 insect which Baron Osten 

 Saclcen found to be identi- 

 cal with a species which 

 malies a similar gall on the 



rose in Europe, where it is Color-Grcen wUpn fre.h, yelluw 



linown as the Bedeguar of "'"" ^'^' 



the rose. The fly xneasures about 0.1& inch in length. 

 and is principally distinguished by the $ having a black 

 tip to her reddish abdomen. The larva of this gall-fly 

 very closely resembles that of the Pithy Blackberry gill, 

 represented in No. 5, at Figure 103, c. It is yellowisli, 

 lias l)ut 12 joints, of which the 4th is very short, and the 

 lltli and 12th quite small; it has 7 pairs of spir.acles, 

 namely, a pair on each of joints 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, a and 10, 

 and a large oval horny yellowish patch on each side of 

 joint 1. The jaws are dark, and the head, in repose, is 

 always bent under on to the breast. A parasitic larva 

 olten occurs in this gall, but may easily be distinguished 

 from the true gall-maker by its white'r and more opaque 

 color, its l:i-jointed and slightly hairy body, the joints 

 lieiiig less deeply separated, and by the absence of the 

 horny piece on joint 1, and the more elongate and less 

 bent forepart of body. 



[Fij. 131.] Punctures on Rose Twig— Oeo. W. 

 Copley, Alton, Jlls. ^The punctures in the 

 stem of the Multiflora Rose, and which we 

 illustrate herewith (Fig. 131), are made by 

 some insect unknown to us, for the purpose 

 of depositing its eggs. There are ten of these 

 rounded punctures, about one-half inch dis- 

 tant from one another , the tibres of the wood 

 being torn in shreds longitudinally, looking 

 very much like hemp, and contrasting strong- 

 l.\ with the crimson and green bark of the twig. 

 I'pon cutting into these punctures the wood 

 is found to be discolored and dead, as far as 

 they extend, and in the centre of the pith, 

 placed longitudinally, is an elongate dull yel- 

 low, opaque, soft, more or less flattened egg, 

 0.22 inch long and 0.04 wide, the anterior 

 end tapering to a tolerably fine point, the 

 posterior end more blunt . From the size and 

 appearance of this egg we infer that it belongs 

 to some Cricket {Gryllid.E), and if we 

 Coior-(s(em) succeed In rearing it we will report re- 



Snout-beetle— J/. T., Vineland, N. /.—The Snout- 

 beetles which you find so numerous, are Bylobius cnn- 

 fums, Kirb. We know nothing of its habits; but the 

 beetles of this genus are timber borers, and usually in 

 pine. 



, IhceuRs 



Xhe Oyster-shell Rark-louse in Missouri— 



B. P. Hanan, Luray, Clarice county, Mo.— The section of 

 a branch ofa Sweet June apple tree, which [Fig. 

 you cut from the orchard of Dr. Wm. H. 

 Martin, of Kahoka, in your county, Is in 

 reality covered with the scales of the com- 

 mon Oyster-shell Bark-louse (Aspidiotus 

 i-onchiformis, Gmel). It is furthermore 

 covered very thickly, and the white eggs 

 underneath the scales are plump and 

 healthy. This matter is of such vital in- 

 terest and importance to the State of Mis- 

 souri, and especially to those living in 

 your county, that we quote part of your 

 letter: 



' 'This tree is rather badly infested, and 

 I find by examination that they (the in- 

 sects) are sproatling slightly onto the near- 

 e...t trees around it. Will tbov spread from 

 ..lie ..i-.>li:ii-.l I., an.. til. T. .m.' <>v two miles 

 .li-taiii'r 1 -av.'.l iiiv ..r.liar.l IVom the 

 iiati\.' Wliil.' l'.ark-l..ii,-.e, l.\ Maidingyou 

 s|..Maiiiiai> ..1 tlieinaiid ul their foes, and 

 l.x l.an.iiii; liMiii you what to do to de- Co^"'^- 

 sir.iv 111. li..- I took your advice; en- undei 

 .■..ura-.al till' ladybirds, and they cleared miik-white. 

 iiiv ti.'. - fit the lice. If your advice in this case shall 

 aecomplish as much for my friend. Dr. Martin, the 

 object of this communication will have been accom- 

 plished." 



In our First State Report we published a full account 

 of this insect, and demonstrated that though it was 

 perfectly able to live and thrive in the northern halt of 

 the State, and had proved ruinously injurious in the 

 adjoining sections of the States of Iowa, and more espe- 

 cially of Illinois; yet, in all probability, it was entirely 

 unknown in our own State. In view of these facts, we 

 laid great stress upon the importance of preventing its 

 introduction, and of thus retaining the Immunity which 

 we had so far enjoyed. In the paper read before the 

 State Horticultural Society at its last annual meeting, 

 and-published in No. 4 of the present volume of this 

 magazine, we again called attention to the subject; and 

 now for the first time we learn that this pest has actu- 

 "tually been introduced, and our worst fears are but too 

 surely realized 1 Just as might have been expected, 

 too, the insect first gains a footing in the extreme north- 

 east corner of the State— the point of greatest proximity 

 to the infested sections of Illinois and Iowa. From the 

 contents of your letter we infer that the lice are yet 

 confined to the particular tree from which you cut the 

 infested twig, and to a few of those surrounding it, and 

 in the name of the State, we earnestly ask Dr. Martin 

 to have this tree cut down to the ground, and every par- 

 ticle of it burned before the young lice hatch from the 

 eggs now under the scales. The other trees should also 

 be critically examined and properly treated. We cannot 

 liere repeat what we have already written on the sub- 

 ject, but reier you to the article above-mentioned, for 

 the natural history of this insect, and the proper reme- 

 dies to apply; and If Dr. Martin follows our advice, he 

 can rest assured that it will not only accomplish as much 

 for him as it did for yourself, but thiit it will also be of 

 immense benefit to the State. It would be well to send 

 to Chas. W. Murtfeldt, U12 N. Fifth street, St. Louis, 

 for a dozen copies of the State Agricultural Report for 

 1868, which contains the article, so that it may be dis- 

 tributed among Dr. Martin's neighbors. We must, at 

 aU cost, stamp this insect out, before it spreads any 

 further, and in order to definitely ascertain the limits 



