22 



THE AMEEICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Ohio Farmer, by an anonymous correspondent, 

 as infesting- the gooseberry and red currant 

 bushes in the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio. This 

 last species seems to agree in every material 

 respect with our insect, except in going under- 

 ground to spin up, and in the last brood lying 

 underground in their cocoons all through the 

 winter. Now, we particularly experimented 

 with our species, by counting off a large num- 

 ber of larvjB and putting thcni into a separate 

 vessel half full of earth; and we found subse- 

 quently just as many cocoons attached to the 

 twigs in this vessel as we had put larvse into 

 the vessel. Hence, if the species ever goes 

 underground to spin up — which is perfectly 

 possible, as there is a similar variation in habits 

 in the Imported Currant Worm — it must be only 

 occasionally. Moreover, we raised fifty-three 

 flies in all (4 J, 49 $), from larvise which spun 

 up the last week of August, and none of these 

 flies came out later than Sept. 12th of the same 

 year. Hence — unless the Ohio insect be a dis- 

 tinct species, which we can scarcely believe — 

 we suspect some error in the statements put 

 forth in the Ohio Farmer.* 



Keinedies. 



In the case of the multifarious species of 

 Potato Bugs, we showed that different groups 

 must be attacked upon different systems. In 

 the case of the three Currant and Gooseberry 

 worms, that we have here treated of, there is a 

 single remedy which, like Dr. Cureall's Never- 

 failing Pills, is a universal specific. That rem- 

 edy is powdered White Hellebore, which can 

 be bought at any drug-store at quite a low price. 

 All that is required is to dust it lightly over the 

 infested bushes, taking care to stand to wind- 

 ward during the operation, as if taken into the 

 nostrils it excites violent sneezing. For this 

 purpose, the best plan is to put the XDOwderinto 

 a common tin cujo, tying a piece of very fine 

 muslin over the mouth of the cup ; or the pow- 

 der may be simply enclosed in a bag of muslin 

 of convenient size. In either case,. the appara- 

 tus must be fastened to the end of a short stick, 

 so as to avoid coming to too close quarters with 

 it. It is best to select a moderately still day 

 for the operation ; as the powder is so exceed- 

 ingly fine that on a windy day it is apt to get 

 wasted. 



To test the genuineness of the article, a very 



* The Article in the Ohio Farmer ai^peared in Vol. Yll, p. 

 ass, and is snppdsed by Dr. Fitch— to wliom wg are indebted 

 f.>r our knowledge of it— to have been written by Dr. J. P. 

 Kirtland. Dr. Fitch, who entirely ignores Pr. grossularia;, 

 Walsh, supposes that the Ohio insect may perhaps be the 

 European species, Pr. rufipes, St. Pargeau, which is not 

 known to feed on gooseberry or currant. 



small pinch of it should be applied to the nose. 

 If it is good and has not lost its strength by 

 keeping too long, it will immediately produce 

 a tingling sensation in the nostrils ; if it does 

 not produce this eflfect, it is worthless and should 

 not be used. There is every reason to believe 

 that in those cases where men have used White 

 Hellebore to kill Currant Worms without any 

 perceptible effect, that they had been deceived 

 into buying an adulterated or worthless drug. 

 Although, like almost all our medicines, Helle- 

 bore, in large doses, is poisonous, yet in minute 

 doses there is no reason to be afraid of it ; for, 

 according to Dr. Fitch, it has long been in use 

 as the basis of those snuflfs, which are designed 

 to excite violent and continued sneezing. 



We might easily fill two or three columns, 

 and distract the minds of our readers, by enu- 

 merating two or three dozen other remedies, 

 which are highly recommended on good au- 

 thority, and which may, or may not be as fefii- 

 cient as White Hellebore, but we prefer to "let 

 well enough alone." 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GMPE-YINE : No) 2. 



/ , \ : 



The Hog-caterpillar of ifie Yine. ' 



{Chcerocampa pampinatrix, Smith ^Abbott, alias Sphwx 

 [Darapsali myron, Cramer, aliad Otus cnotus, Htibner).-* 



Of the large, solitary caterpillars that attack 

 the Grape-vine, this is by far the most common . 

 and injurious in the Mississippi valley. We 

 have frequently found the egg of this insect 

 glued singly to the underside of a leaf. It is 

 0.05 inch in diameter, perfectly round, and of a ' 

 uniform delicate yellowish-green color. The 

 young worm which hatches from it, is pale- 

 green, with a long straight horn at its tail ; and 

 after feeding from four to five weeks it acquires 

 its full growth, when it presents the appearance 

 of Figure 12, the horn having become compara- 

 tively shorter and acquired a posterior curve. 



This worm is readily distinguished from other 



*0f the four different generic names under which this 

 species has been classilied , ' * Sphinx " is a general tei-m for 

 ail the flawk-moths and refers to the sphinx-like attitude 

 often assumed by their larva;; " Chccrocampa " is derived 

 from two Greek words which mean "Hog-caterpillar;" 

 and ' ' Darapsa ' ' and "Otus" .are gibberish . Of the three 

 diilerent specific names, "Myron" refers to an ancient 

 Greek who bore this appellation, ' ' cnotus" is pure unadul- 

 terated gibberish, and " pampinatrix " is from the Latin and 

 signifies " a female vine-pruuer." Both Hiirris and Fitch 

 describe this insect under the name of Cho^rocampa pampina- 

 trix; and this, as the appellation best known to our grape- 

 growers, and the most characteristic of the habits of the 

 species, we should prefer to retain, although no doubt, ac- 

 cording to the strict Law of Priority, the specific name of 

 Myron ought to be employed Mr. Walker, Dr. Clemens 

 and Dr. Morris call this species * ' Darapsa Myron, ' * and Mr. 

 Grote calls it ' ' Otus Myron. ' ' By ringing the changes with 

 sufficient ingenuity upon the four generic .and the three speci- 

 fic names, we may obtain no less than twelve different names 

 for this one insect ! 



