132 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



quently wc find that the earliest Curciilio larvse, 

 or those which hatch wliile the fruit is 3'et small, 

 are the most subject to be parasitised, and while 

 from larva obtained early in the season, I bred 

 more parasites than Curculios, this order of 

 things was reversed a little later in the year. 



Blister Beetles from New Mexico — J. M., 



Silver City, N. M., have been received. The 

 large Blister Beetle you send is J/ai^/viasis aZ/i/c/a, 

 very common in the south west, and, as you sug- 

 gest, beyond doubt valuable as a vesicant. There 

 is no reason why these beetles, where they can be 

 easil}^ obtained in large quantities, should not be 

 used as a substitute for the Spanish Cantharides. 

 The smaller beetle is a Diplotaxis, altogether too 

 much broken to determine specificall}'. and it 

 has not, as far as it is known, any visicatory 

 properties. 



Abnormal Cocoon. — I have collected many 

 Callosainia proiiiethea (Drury) cocoons here, but 

 to-da}^ I have found on the maple a cocoon sus- 

 pended like C. promcthea and having the same 

 general form, but with the following peculiarities: 

 I, it occurred on a twig of the sugar maple ; 2, it is 

 only one-fourth the usual size ; 3, it is woven 

 very thin, loose and transparent, without a leaf 

 involved ; 4, the moth has already appeared and 

 deposited about fifty eggs in a frothy hard mass 

 over one side of the cocoon. What can this be ? 

 — W. S. B., Ithaca, N. Y. 



The cocoon which was kindly sent for inspection 

 is simply a stunted specimen of that of Orgyia 

 antiqtin. It had been fastened to a twig, which 

 is an abnormal position, and by winds or some 

 other means had become partly detached except 

 at one point, the silk which had been spun along 

 the twig twisting and forming the suspensory 

 band. Its real character is shown alike by the 

 texture of the cocoon, the nature of the eggs and 

 of the chrysalis shell and larval exuvium. 



Insects found about Orange Trees.— 7. .S'. 

 Barnwell, M. D., Darieii, OV?.— The insects you 

 send and which you found on Orange trees are 

 as follow : (i) a species of Aphis in various stages 

 of maturity. Whether or not this species has 

 been described is hard to say, but it is the only 

 one among the insects you send which is really 

 injurious to the plant, when it appears in large 

 numbers on the young leaves. Among j^our spe- 

 cimens are the following enemies of the Aphis 

 just alluded to: (i) a lady-bird {Chilocorus bivul- 

 nerus), the small, round, shining, black beetle 

 with a red spot on the middle of each wing-case, 

 and the abdomen red ; (2) the larva of the forego- 

 ing species, which is easily recognizable by its 

 body being covered with very stout, long, black 

 prickly spines ; (3) the larva of another lady-bird 

 too much injured to allow any exact determina- 

 tion ; (4) a Syrphus ily, the larvaj of which genus 

 are known to feed on Aphides. The following 

 species have no particular connection with the 

 Orange trees, and their presence on or near such 

 is merely accidental, {i) Neoclytus erythroceph- 



alus, a Longicorn beetle knowri to bore in Elm, 

 Hackberry and other deciduous trees; (2) Dras- 

 tcriiis amabilis, the larva of which, belonging to the 

 so-called "Wire Worms," is known to be in- 

 jurious by feeding on the tender roots of wheat; 

 (3) Platyniis punctiformis, which is one of the 

 commonest species of Ground-beetles in the 

 Southern States, and which is a very beneficial 

 insect by feeding on injurious species; (4) larvae 

 of a species of Forficiila or Earwig, which is 

 frequently met with in the South under old, 

 moist bark, or at the base of trees; (5) Gryllotalpa 

 borealis or the northern mole-cricket, an Orthop- 

 terous insect widely distributed in this country 

 and very remarkable from the form of its front 

 legs, which resemble the ' 'hands" of a mole. This 

 insect burrows usuallj' in wet ground on the 

 margin of ponds and swamps, but has also been 

 reported occasionall}' as doing some harm by 

 burrowing in dr}^ ground and cutting off the ten- 

 der roots of plants. It is, however, by no 

 means as injurious as the European species 

 {G. 7'tilgnris); (6) Psociis 7ieiiosiis, a Neuropterous 

 insect which is commonly met with in old, dead 

 branches, and feeds upon the lichens and fungi 

 growing in such places. In sending insects 

 in future for determination, it will be well to 

 separate aud number each species, to facilitate 

 reference. 



Descriptive Department. 



LUPERUS BRUNNEUS {Crotch). 



After a careful examination of the Liiperns 

 mentioned in our March number as injurious to 

 hollyhocks and corn silk and to which we had 

 given the MS. name of iioxius, it proves to be but 

 a pale race of L. brunneiis Crotch. A comparison 

 of the same with a typical specimen of L. briinueiis 

 which Dr. LeConte has been kind enough to send 

 us shows that the two cannot well be separated 

 specifically. The typical specimen of bruinieiis 

 is of a uniform brown color above and has the 

 elytra sparsel}' and finely punctulate, while all 

 the specimens from Kansas are of a pale ochreous 

 color with the outer joints of the antennae, the 

 side margin of thorax, scutellum, suture and side 

 margin of elytra darker. Other specimens in our 

 cabinet from Texas are brown with the thorax 

 ochreous. The sculpture of thorax and elytra 

 varies, being in some specimens finerand sparser 

 than in others. 



This species can only be confounded with L. 

 inortilus Lee, both differing from all other North 

 American species of this genus by the stouter 

 antenna? with the second and third joints together 

 hardly longer than the fourth, and especially by 

 the sexual characters. The last abdominal joint 

 of the 3 is not transversely impressed but only 

 slightly flattened at middle; it is truncate at apex, 

 and has each side a longitudinal slit extending 

 from the margin to the middle of the joint. This 

 division represents, according to Dr. LeConte 

 (Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1865, p. 210) the genus 

 Calotiiicrus Stephens. Luperus moruhis Lee, dif- 

 fers from bruniieus by its more slender form, its 

 deep black color, less transverse thorax, with 

 the angles less rounded, and by its more finely 

 punctulate surface. 



