78 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



spring concealed in a heap of gravel belongs to 

 the Tiger-beetles {Cicindeliche) and is known to 

 science as Cicindela repanda Dej. It is very com- 

 mon throughout the whole extent of the United 

 States, especially in the more northern States. 

 Like its numerous congeners your species preys 

 on all sorts of other insects, while the larva lives 

 in holes in the sand and is also insectivorous. 



Gall on Pelargonium.— I send you with this 

 note a tiny gall-making insect, altogether jtoo 

 small and spry for me to make anything out 'of. 

 It seems to be a Neuropterous insect. Is it 

 allied to the Podura ? I never heard of any of 

 these insects making galls. The gall, which I 

 enclose, was growing at the base of a healthy 

 Pelargonium. On cutting the gall I found many 

 larvaj and little spring-tails which flew about in 

 every direction. — M. T., Vineland, N. J., Jan. 24. 



Nothing but the little Poduras was found in 

 the package sent, though there seemed to be some 

 dead, soft animal remains of unrecognizable shape 

 in parts of the galls which have all the appear- 

 ance of having been made by a mite. No Poduras 

 are known to make galls, and the species in 

 question was undoubtedly feeding simply on the 

 softer and diseased gall-tissue of the plant. 



Catalogues and Monographs of Insects. — 



Will you be so kind as to tell me whether there 

 is any catalogue or monograph on the Hymen- 

 optera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera, 

 Hemiptera and Vermes of our country and 

 whether accessible or not ? We need such in our 

 Zoological Laboratory for the students, and trust 

 you may be able to give us information in this 

 matter. — P. S. B., Asbury Un., Greencastle, Ind. 

 No complete monographs of the orders 

 mentioned have ever been published, except 

 the Synopsis of North American Neuroptera by 

 Dr. H. A. Hagen, and the Synopsis of North 

 American Lepidoptera by Dr. Jno. G. Morris in 

 the Miscellaneous Publications of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution — both of them somewhat out 

 of date. Numerous monographs of single fami- 

 lies, however, have been written by various 

 authors, but they are scattered through the volumes 

 of our scientific periodicals or through the publi- 

 cations of the Government. Some of these mon- 

 ographs, especially the older ones, are now out 

 of print, but many are yet for sale separately, and 

 can be obtained through Mr. E. P. Austin, 46 East 

 Newton St., Boston, Mass., or through the Natur- 

 alist's Agency, (S. E. Cassino,) Salem, Mass. 

 Of complete catalogues there is one of the North 

 American Coleoptera by G. R. Crotch, and one 

 of the Diptera by Baron R. Osten Sacken. In 

 the Lepidoptera. besides the catalogue by Dr. 

 Morris, more recent ones have been published of 

 the Diurnal Lepidoptera by Mr. H. Strecker and 

 Mr. Wm. H. Edwards, and of the Nocturnal 

 Lepidoptera by Mr. A. R. Grote. In Orthoptera 

 there is one catalogue by Mr. S. H. Scudder, 

 published by the Smithsonian Institution. Cata- 

 logues of various families of the other Orders are 



published and scattered through our periodical 

 literature, and can be obtained of most dealers. 



Leaf-hoppers injuring Wheat Fields. — 

 I inclose a few imperfect specimens of an insect 

 infesting our wheat fields in myriads. I have/ 

 observed them since October. The weather here 

 has been so mild that they have been very active 

 until the past three or four days, even with the 

 thermometer as low as 23" F. I fear they are/-, 

 the destructive Hessian fly. I have never seen 

 a Hessian fly nor its description. 



They vary in color. Some are greenish hued 

 — but most are gray or ash colored. They are 

 active and seem to move like grasshoppers, mak- 

 ing a flight from two to ten feet. 



Jan. 17, 18S0. R. L. B., Lenoir, N. C. 



The insects are not the Hessian fly but a Leaf- 

 hopper new to science. You will find a descrip- 

 tion of it, by Mr. Uhler, in the present number, 

 under the name ofXJicadula exitiosa. The com- 

 mon Jassus scxnotatiis of Europe has long been 

 known to injure wheat fields, and there are 

 several species of the same group that are in- 

 jurious in this country, especially in the south 

 and southwestern States. In the latter States 

 they are not infrequently taken for young grass- 

 hoppers, injuring meadows and more particu- 

 larly wheat and oat fields. Two other species 

 besides that described by Mr. Uhler, are more 

 particularly concerned in such work. On^ 

 species, measuring 5.5™" (about .22 inch) of a 

 beautiful green color with yellow head and legs 

 is quite common in Texas, and will be found de- 

 scribed z.s''-jDiedroccphala Jlaviceps in the descrip- 

 tive department of this number ; another is a 

 species o^assus allied to Jassus iiiimicus Say. 

 It is difficult to suggest a remedy for these active, 

 hopping creatures, as their habits in fields and 

 meadows have not yet been sufficiently studied. 

 We would recommend, however, the pasturing of 

 the fields to sheep. 



DESCRIPTIVE Department. 



A NEW LBAF-HOPPER INJURIOUS TO SMALL 

 GRAIN. 



IJKAiJN. J . r 



Z. V. RILEY. / *■■ 1 ■ / 



Diedrocephala flaviceps n. sp. — General color 

 and appearance o€)D. inolUpes, but about half the 

 size and with less acute head. Hemelytra deep 

 green with whitish-yellow veins and pale border 

 broadening posteriorly. Head orange in front 

 wifh a pale border, sometimes showing in three 

 distinct spots ; sulphur-yellow behind, the two 

 ocelli looking like beads raised on a dark green, 

 nearly black patch, relieved inside b}' white ; e3^es 

 dark green ; thorax dark green, but with more or 

 less sulphur-yellow around anterior border, and 

 with the posterior margin pale ; scutellum yellow- 

 ish, sometimes mottled with green. Under-surface 

 pale yellow, immaculate. Average length 5""". 



Numerous specimens injuring wheat and oats 

 in Texas in 1876. It was vci2iX'kcdi"'Tettigonia 



Jlaviccphalitm in Fitch's collection, as Mr. Uhler 

 informs me, but never described. 



