138 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



upon thein also. The two figures (53, 54,) 

 which we introduce, very well illustrate 

 the appearance of this fungus, showing 

 one of the longest and one of the short- 

 est specimens, while Fig. 55 shows the 

 inflorescence as given in the original descrip- 

 tion by Berkeley. It generally presents the 

 appearance of a pair of elongate horns, one 

 issuing from each side of the head, origi- 

 nating from the soft point lying between 

 the base of the mandibles, maxillae and 

 ■front legs. In the many specimens which it 

 has been our privilege to examine, this rule 

 was very general ; very often, however, the 

 growth on one side will be dwarfed, and 

 exceptionally there will be two pairs 

 of the processes, or four in all : one 

 pair on each side, the superior process en- 

 circling the base of the antennae and never 

 developing as fully as the lower ones. In 

 no case have we found it to issue from " the 

 two corners of the mouth where the lower 

 pair of jaws or maxills ought to be," as 

 described by our late friend Walsh in the 

 Practical Entomologist (vol. ii, p. 116), in 

 which article, by the way, may be found 

 the first suggestion that we are aware of, in 

 this country, of the practical utilization of 

 fungus diseases, so that Walsh really anti- 

 cipated LeConte in this suggestion. The 

 color is usually gray, inclining to purplish. 

 We are not aware that the developing of 

 the fungus up to the time of fructification 

 and reproduction has ever been traced, but 

 it offers a very interesting field to mycolo- 

 gists, more particularly that, if it can be re- 

 produced at will by mycelium, as we repro- 

 duce mushrooms, we shall 

 have one of the most inter- 

 esting instances of fungus 

 insecticides and a means 

 of destroying the White 

 Grub far superior to any 

 now at our command ; for, 

 however little faith we may 

 have in the use of beer mash 

 or yeast as a general insecticide, as recom- 

 mended by Dr. Hagen, we are fully con- 

 vinced that great good may be accom- 

 plished in destroying insects injurious to 

 vegetation, by the study and propagation of 



White Grub Fungus 

 (after Riley). 



those particular fungi that are severally 

 known to attack particular species 



Some experiments which we made during 

 the year 1870 by planting White Grubs at- 

 tacked by this fungus, proved interesting 

 in showing that ultimately the head of the 

 fungus enlarges somewhat by the cists 

 forming a spadix, reminding one of the 

 seed-head of an Indian turnip {AriscBma). 

 These cists contain what we took to be 

 long, filiform spores, though they may be 

 ascidial asci with an indefinite number of 

 joints, as in Ascidiiim. They dissect into 

 globular frustules of chalky whiteness, 

 which start on an aggregate growth and 

 produce a kind of mold of chalky white- 

 ness. Wounds or sprouts of the main 

 stem seem to give rise to this same white 

 mold. 



Regarding the name of this fungus, it 

 was for a long time considered identical 

 with Torrubia militaris, of Tulasne, but 

 after considerable correspondence in 1874, 

 1875 and 1876, with Mr. W. R. Ger- 

 ard of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., he considered 

 it much nearer to Torrubia cinerea, of Tu- 

 lasne. It is never safe, however, to assume 

 the identity of a fungus of this character 

 unless it can he studied when mature, es- 

 pecially as there are at least a couple of 

 dozen species of Torrubia known to in- 

 habit insects. Several of them have been 

 described under the name of Isaria, which 

 is recognized to be the conidioid state of 

 Torrubia. We have in our cabinet some 

 interesting specimens of this stage affecting 

 wasps of the genus Folistes, originating 

 just as the White Grub fungus does, from 

 the base of the mandibles ; while others 

 additional to those mentioned by Berkeley 

 are known to attack the larva of a Cicada 

 and also a species of ant in Brazil ; in the 

 West Indies to occur on wasps, and one in 

 New Guinea on a species of Bark-louse 

 {Coccus). An examination of Tulasne's de- 

 scription of Torrubia cinerea convinced us 

 that our species was distinct, and feeling 

 the necessity of a name for an object so 

 commonly met with and so repeatedly sent 

 to us, we characterized it in th.Q Rural World 

 of June 12, 1875, under the name of Tor- 



