306 



THE AMERICAN 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



i t(i dti so, nini rnrli siK-ciea eliuuld be eeparalcly uumbe 

 but few, we slliLll answer ub bert-tofore in the roluiiina t 

 8T, but wben tbor'^ arc uiaiiy we shall answer by mail. 



fiisccts IVnnicd — 1. K. Ehhl, Linwood, Mo.—'V\\Q 

 Iwi) llidli.sli lici'ilcs will] (lark blown wiiig-covers, ami 

 a yrllow lli(ii-a\ Iwn iiiu a lentral ilark spot, lire carrion 

 uati-rs. TIr-iv arc MVcral sihtk-s, of which this HilpTia 

 pelfata, Catesliy, is the largest in the genus. They are 

 '•elateil to the IJurying-beetles {JVecrojMla) , and feetl 

 almost invariably upon dead animal matter, though 

 occasionally on rotten vegetables. The brilliant green 

 and copper-colored beetle, which had destroyed all the 

 caterpillars in a nest on a. cr.^b-apple tree, is the llum- 

 raaging Ground-beetle (Colosoma scrutator, Fabr.), a 

 very prcalacious and useful insect, wliicli we illustrated 

 last uinntli (Fig. Kis). The large Two-winged Fly whicli 

 had killed the Bumble-bee, and which so much resem- 

 lilis its victim in coloration, is the Yellow-necked La- 

 pliiia (Laplma thoracica, Fabr.) We have here a curious 

 instance of miniiciy between a predacious Two-winged 

 Kly (I iidcr Diplera) and a hoiicy-iirodiiciiig Four-winged 

 l''ly (Oi'drr Ihim, tii>]iiira), wliich, no doubt, enables the 

 foiiuer, liy dei-cptioii, tu calch its prey with ease. 

 Though llle^e large predacious Hies usually attack a 

 great variety of other insects, we have reason to believe 

 that the species in question confines its attacks in a 



great Tiioao""-" *" l^""-' of *'"> B"™^"" Fnmilv in which 



thellil nid\plln\ ui the pi( \ailing (. loi 



Caterpillar ot tVliite-maiked Tussock Moth 



— O C r I linen ct Kun — 1 In (it unllu liom a 

 youii^ ipi l( ti e lie tin e I ll Win mill I I iH- 

 U I 



^^-"^J5^ 



L I -Black «1 tc J Gilo and r 1 

 >oct M III I, ; III leu ostiynii) ^\ l iipiodii In i r- 

 withll-in IM) m ilhi triliou til (11 lioni pi.,e 7) tour 

 First \ olume win u lou will hnd some iteount of it. 

 The m de moth ll I luncd pei tinited uitcun i md a 

 white spot on tieh fioiii m hIq nt u the innci hind an„le. 

 It sit when in npose in thi form ol idilti oi i ither 

 ofaheutol which the ipe\ is it the In id lud e\tends 

 forw lids Its lonfe heuily clothed fioiit fci t to then full 

 length Ihe femile is wiii,li»s hi e tin sum, se\ of 

 the CanI ei woim moth mil ne\ei leaves the totoon 

 from which she has emerged till her death, having pre- 

 viously deposited a great number of rounded white 

 eggs, covered with a blanket of froth. In answer to 

 your question, " will Saperda biniUata continue to exist 



if a tree dies during its stages of change?" it has been 

 pretty satisfactorily proven that if it dies before it 1ms 

 arrived at the pupa stage, the insect perishes; but if 

 the pupal condition is attiiined, it may develop into the 

 beetle without hindrance. The Flat-headed Borer, 

 however, coiitiinics to thrive on the dead wood for 

 weeks after life has ceased in the tree. 



Docs tUc Apple Curcniio go uiiderg^round 

 to trausforin !— Wrn. Muir, Fox Oreeh, Mo. — Yow 

 wish to know whether the Apple Ciireulio ever attacks 

 stone fruit, and whether its larva goes into the ground to 

 transform, as stated by Br. Hull. To the lirst question 

 we reply emphatically " no," as we have never found 

 it in stone fruit. To the second, we give it as our lirm 

 conviction that the larva never goes into the ground to 

 transfonn. At all events, it never does when it infests 

 the wild crab, as we have abvindantly proved the pres- 

 ent year; but in our own locality it is so scarce in tame 

 apples that we have not yet been able to decide whether 

 its habits when infesting the latter fruit are different, 

 though we expect to do so before the end of the season, 

 and have already taken proper steps towards deciding 

 the point. 



P. S.— Since the above was written we have heard 

 from Mr. J. B. Miller, of Anna, Ills., to whom we sent 

 for specimens of tame fruit that was invested, as we had 

 learned that this insect was abundant in that vicinity. 

 Upon cutting open the fniit, Mr. Miller found that it 

 has the same habit of traii-lbniiiii- within the tame fruit 

 as we have found it to have in the wild crabs. 



Walnut Caterpillars — G. M. Levette, Indianapo' 

 lis, lad.— the black worms with sparse white hairs, 

 which have entirely stripped the Black Walnut trees 

 around the State-house, though they have left un- 

 touched the other kinds, are the larvaj of the Hand- 

 Maid Moth {Daiana ministra, Drury) . The habit which 

 you noticed, of their descending and congregating in 

 masses on the ti'iink of the tree, is characteristic of tills 

 and a few other species, and gives us a good opportu- 

 nity to destroy them. There are two broods of this 

 worm each year, the moths bred from the first worms 

 appearing during July and depositing eggs which give 

 birth to worms which go into the ground in the fall and 

 hibernate in the pupa state. 



Striped Blister Beetle— .4fer. Gait, Crescent IIHl, 

 Mil. — The insects on your potato vines, [n^,. is;.) 

 and which you elt'cctually killed by driv- 

 ing them into the lire, an' the abovc- 

 iiauied beetle, of which we here repro- 

 duce a likeness (Fig. l.ST). It is not so 

 abundant in Northern Illinois as in your 

 present locality, and that is the reason 

 you never noticed it there. The remedy 

 you have applied will be found applicable 

 to all the Blister-beetles that att.ack the 

 Potato. 



Parasite upon a Syrplius Larva— fi. D. East- 

 man, M.D., Washington, D. C— The little "capsule" 

 which you found on a wild rose, is the puparium of a 

 species of Syrphus fly ; but in the present instance it had 

 been stung when in the larva condition by a four-winged 

 parasite, and the parasite having destroyed' its host 

 emerged in place of the true inhabitant. The subject 

 of parasitism is extremely interesting, and opens a large 

 field of study. 



Colors— BlAck and 



