32 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



/ Apple-tree irorms — S. K. Yickroy, Champaign, 



III. — The small green 16-leggecl larYK, nearly half an 

 inch long and with a broad dark brown stripe on each 

 side extending the whole length of their backs, which 

 you find doing considerable damage to the Apple-tree, 

 belong to a new and hitherto undescribed species. 

 These larvffi were first communicated to us by A. C. 

 Hammond of Warsaw, 111., early in Sept. 1868; and 

 subsequently at the Illinois State Fair specimens were 

 shown to us by \Y . T. Nelson, of "Wilmington, 111. 

 At the latter end of May, 1869, we bred the moth from 

 them; and a full account of the species, illustrated by 

 figures, will be published in the Second Annual Eeport 

 of the Senior Editor. The mode in which this larva 

 operates on the apple-tree is by tying together the 

 leaves with silken cords, forming a mass of considerable 

 size inside which it lives gregarioiisly, skeletonizing 

 the leaves that it has thus appropriated and tilling them 

 with its g-unpowder-like excrement. It was so abun- 

 dant in 1868 near Warsaw and Quincy as nearly to 

 strip many trees, especially in young orchards that were 

 in an unthrifty concatiou. It is quite different from the 

 Eascal Leaf-Crumplor (PhycHa nehvlo, Walsh), which 

 lives all the time in a little black horn-like case, whereas 

 this larva carries no house on its back. And moreover 

 the Leaf-Crumpler is solitary in its habits, whereas this 

 species lives in communities of several dozen during 

 its entire larval life. As to the moths produced from 

 these two larva;, they are as different from each other 

 as a goat is from a sheep. To distinguish our species 

 from the Eascal Leaf-crumpler, we may call it in Eng- 

 lish " Hammond's Leaf-tyer " (Acrobasis Eammondi, 

 n. sp.) 



Stinging- larTse— t/. C. Falls, Kew AUiamj, Ind. — 

 The lepidopterous \ar\x which you send are those of the 

 Saddleback-moth (J'myreija «i!mw?ca, Clemens), a spe- 

 cies which has derived its English name from the sad- 

 dle-like dark spot on the middle of its back. The two 

 scientiflc names are derived respectively from a Greek 

 word which means ' ' to burn,' ' and a Latin word which 

 signifies "a goad." We shall shortly publish an arti- 

 cle on " Stinging Larvas," giving figures and descrip- 

 tions of the very few that possess this peculiar power, 

 so that our readers— and especially our fair readers, 

 whose hands may he presumed to be more delicate and 

 susceptible than those of us rough bearish men-fellows — 

 may take due warning and govern themselves accord- 

 ingly. Our own experience is that these laiTse produce 

 no efl'ect w-hatever on the palm of the hand, but if any 

 of their sprangling prickles touch the back of the hand, 

 or any other part of the body where the skin is not 

 hardened and horny, then the result is about the same 

 as if the same part had been stung by nettles. 



Iiappet Caterpillar on Apple-tree — William 

 Stari, Louisiana, Mo. — We regret to say that the first 

 caterpillar you sent was so rotten and stank so badly, 

 that we were glad to fling it away the moment the box 

 containing it was opened. The second "uglywooly 

 worm ' ' found high up on a Eome Beauty Apple-tree, 

 and which was broad and perfectly flat below, with 

 fleshy, lappet-like appendages at its sides, was the larva 

 of the American Lappet Moth ( GastropacTia Americana, 

 Sra. & Abb.) which you may find figaired on page 377 

 of Harris's Injurious Insects. The species is rather 

 rare, and there is but little risk of its undue multipli- 

 cation. 



Spined Spider — (?. W. Kinney, Snow Sill, Mo. — 

 The odd-looking angular spider, of a shiny mahogany 

 brown, with the upper part of the abdomen yellow, 

 and with two immense sijines or thorns projecting from K 

 behind, and other smaller ones from above, is Epeira, 

 spinea, Hentz. It was subsequently described as foimd 

 sparingly near Murphysboro, in South Illinois, by 

 Vespa (Cyrus Thomas?) in the Prairie Fai-mer for 1861 

 (Vol. 23, page 169), under the name oi Epeira {Gastera- 

 ca-uiha) spinicmala. Near Bock Island, iu North Ilhnois, 

 it is by no means uncommon. 



T. W. Gordon, Geonjetoum, Ohio. — The spider sent by 

 yoti is the same species siioken of above in an.swer to 

 Mr. Kinney. 



Dangerous looliimg— i?r. M. M. Kenzie, Centre- 

 tillc, J/o.^The "dangerous looking" hairy ant-like 

 insect of a Ijlack color with the forehead, upper part 

 of thorax and two broad bauds on the abdomen of a 

 deep rufous, is $ Mutilla coccinea, Linn. The ^ is 

 somewhat smaller and has wings. This insect belongs 

 to the Digger Wasps, and the sting of $ is said to be 

 exceedingly severe. 



Bag-worms again — T. C. Tipton, Williamsport, 

 Ohio. — The woiTiis which are literally eating up your 

 Cedar trees are the common Bag- worm, which we have 

 already frequently referred to under this head. We 

 shall publish an article on this insect in our next num- 

 ber. The Tomalo-worm cannot stinrj ! The connnon 

 House-fly breeds in stable manure. We shall give its 

 natural history whenever we can spare the space. 



liarge ivater beetle — S. E. Munford, Princeton, 

 Jnd. — In our answer to you last month, we should have 

 mentioned that the water-beetle you sent was § , and 

 that in the cJ the wing-covers, instead of having longi- 

 tudinal impressed lines, are perfectly smooth, with the 

 exception of the normal rows of fine punctures. Thos. 

 Say, who was the first to describe this species, was not 

 acquainted with the (j". 



Beetles under dead Fish — T. Ferrell, FranTcfort, 

 Ohio.— The large beetles with round, deep brown wing- 

 cases and yellow thorax with a ceuti'al dark spot, 

 which you found imder a dead fish, are Silpha {Necro- 

 phila) peltata, Catesby. They feed on all kinds of 

 carrion . 



Ereata in Vol. 1, No. 12.— Page III, coliitiin 

 2, line 36, for " Brachyrynchus" read '■'■Brachy- 

 rliyncKs." Page VII, column 2, line 1, for 

 " Stinging" read " Stinking." Page 235, col- 

 umn 1, line 3 from bottom, for " 169, '" read 

 "174, =." Page 2-12, column 1, line 18, 'for 

 "Ifusea" read " Musca." Page 250, column 

 1, line 12 from bottom, for " Therydopleryx" 

 read •' Tliyridopteryx." Same page, column 2, 

 line 7 from bottom, for " Cartwell " read 

 " Hartwell." Page 261, column 1, line 18, for 

 " Welsh " read •' Melsh." 



ly Several answers that should have appeared 

 in the present number, must unavoidably lie 

 over till our next issue. 



ly Our acknowledgements and notices of 

 new works have also been crowded out of this 

 number. 



