ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



303 



many of the "shells" and found most of them 

 empty. I found the white eggs under only one 

 or two of the scales which I examined, the rest 

 being apparently empty. I notice that, on page 

 -M.'i, Vol. II, in answer to B. P. Hanan, you say 

 you can not repeat what you liave already 

 written, but refer him to an article in your first 

 State Report. Tliat is certainly very unsatis- 

 factory to us down here, unless you have the 

 Reports to send out gratuitously to all who may 

 be interested in this matter. We take the En- 

 TO'^roLboisT in order to get information on such 

 .iubjects. I hope you will let us have an ex- 

 haustive article on the Oyster-shell Bark-louse. 



The "Apple-root Plant-louse" does not kill 

 most of the trees which it infests in this part of 

 the country. They are very troublesome, and I 

 should like to know some expeditious way to 

 destroy them; but I think they seldom kill a 

 tree outright. Tlie apple trees in this country 

 are mostly liberally supplied w'lh them. I 

 notice that you advise scalding tlioiii. That will 

 do very well where the water is poured around 

 the tree as it stands in the ground ; but, by way 

 of experiment, I tried dipping the roots of small 

 trees in hot water — the water being nearly 

 boi'ing hot— and the trees I "dipped" were all 

 killed. J. W. Meuciiant. 



[We shall defer our remarks on the Oyster- 

 shell Bark-lice until we manage to get specimens 

 from your locality, for at present we can only 

 give opinions. AVe do not believe that the 

 species can thrive, or even exist, in your latitude; 

 and, from your remarks, incline to believe that 

 your lice were imported and have died out. 'We 

 have never heard of their injuries in Mississippi, 

 and if they have ever proved injurious it will be 

 easy enough to ascertain the fact. There are 

 dozens of common and injurious insects of 

 which we wish to give accounts, but, as every- 

 thing cannot be published at ouce, we generally 

 give priority to such subjects as are compara- 

 tively little understood, and which for the lime 

 interest the greatest number. It is notuecessary 

 to have the water in which to dip the apple trees 

 too near the boiling point. A heat anywhere 

 from 120° to l.JO° will sutiice, and the roots must 

 be immersed a different length of time according 

 to the temperature. It may be used much hotter, 

 however, when poured on the ground.— Ed.] 



Nkst of the Bald-faced Hornet — Carthaije, 

 Miss. — In your April number, in an article on 

 the Bald-faced Hornet, by Henry Gilmau, he 

 says: "I ouce found in the woods, on the north 

 side of Lake Michigan, a wasp nest nearly twice 

 as large as a mau's head. * * * xhis was 

 the largest uest I ever saw." I have seen them 



here as large as an ordinary water bucket, and 

 over a foot in diameter. J. W. SI. 



Queen RvMBZ.K-ViKK— Le Hoi/, iV. Y..Jtinc 1, 

 1870.— On May 24th I found this queen Humble- 

 bee (which I now enclose you) in its nest, which 

 was a deserted mouse nest. A mass of pollen 

 found in this nest contained twelve eggs, which 

 were placed iu a circle, and upon their ends, 

 around a small central ball of pollen. A single 

 cell filled with honey was also found in this uest, 

 and this cell bad evidently just been completed 

 when the queen was captured. 1 have always 

 understood that no honey was collected until 

 after the birth of the first brood— the cells thus 

 emptied being tlien used as honey-cells. Of 

 what species is this queen? it is marked 1; the 

 other species, marked 2, is much less common 

 here. J. CAMruEi.T,, Ju. 



[Xo. 1 is $ Bomhus pennsi/lvanicus, DaQiMv, 

 and No. -2 is $ B.fervidus, Fabr.— Ed.] 



Attraction of Male Moths to the Female 

 —Fairfleld, Iowa, July 22, '70.— Enclosed find 

 a. GOQOOW of Altactts cecropia. It was brought 

 from Pennsylvania last fall. Teu days ago it 

 gave forth a moth, which was placed under a 

 common flour sieve. In a very short time eleven 

 moths of the same kind were under the sieve. 

 The gentleman insists thateleven were "hatched" 

 from this one cocoon. I suggested that only one 

 could possibly have come from it, and that the 

 others had beeu attracted to it, as is often the 

 case. But how did the moths get under the 

 sieve? There is no possible way for this to be 

 done; and the folks are satisfied that the eleven 

 moths actually came from the one cocoon — an- 

 other impossibility. Can you solve the matter? 

 I went to the house, saw the cocoon and moths, 

 and am satisfied the people would not wittingly 

 practice a deception upon me. 



J. M. Shafeek. 



[The attractive power of the female moths, 

 and especially of those belonging to the same 

 family {Bombycidce') as the Mulberry Silk-worm, 

 is very great, and the only solution that can be 

 given of the ahore problem [?] is that the moth 

 hatched from the cocoon was ? , and that the 

 cJ(5" were attracted to her, and managed to lift 

 the sieve and get under it. It is well known 

 that these $ moths will collect, or "semble" the 

 r? (J from long distances, though whether by 

 some peculiar odor or by some other power is 

 uot yet satisfactorily decided. If all the circum- 

 stances relating to the above occurrence were 

 considered in detail, we should doubtless find 

 nothing strange about it. Of course, no more 

 than cue moth issued from the cocoon.— Ed.] 



