THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Ill 



(Tenebrio obscurus), which, lias almost exactly 

 the same liabits, beloiigs to the same geuus and 

 is of very nearly the same size, shape, and color, 

 is comparatively quite rare among us, and is 

 scarcely knowu to our millers and Hour- 

 dealers. 



On a careful and close examination, it will be 

 found that almost all our Avorst insect foes liave 

 beeu imported among us from the other side of 

 the Atlantic. The Hessian Fly* was imported 

 almost ninety years ago ; the Wheat Midge about 

 half as long ago; the Bee Moth at llic beginning 

 of the present century; the Codling Moth, the 

 Cabbage Tinea, the Borer of the Bed Currant, 

 the Oyster-shell Bark-louse, the Grain Plant- 

 louse, the Cabbage Plant-louse, the Currant 

 Plant-louse, the Apple-tree Plant louse, the 

 Pear-tree Flea-louse, the Cheese-maggot, the 

 common Meal-worm, the Grain Weevil, the 

 House Fly, the Leaf-beetle of the Elm, the 

 Cockroach, the Crotou Bug, and the ditFerent 

 Carpet, Clothes and Fur Moths, at periods 

 which cannot be definitely fixed. Even within 

 the last few years the Asparagus-beetle has be- 

 come naturalized in New York and New Jersey, 

 whence it will no doubt spread gradually west- 

 ward through the whole United States, while 

 the Rape Butterfly, as shown in our last number, 

 was introduced about a dozen years ago, and is 

 rapidly spreading over some of t he Eastern States. 

 And only a year ago the larva of a certain Ovv let- 

 moth, {Hypoyymna cUspar), which is a great 

 pest in Europe both to fruit-trees and forest- 

 trees, was accidentally introduced by a Massa- 

 chusetts entomologist into New England, 

 where it is spreading with great rapidity. It 

 is just the same thing with Plants as with In- 

 sects. We have looked carefully through Gray's 

 Manual of Botany, and we find that — exclud- 

 ing from consideration all cryptogams, and all 

 doubtful cases, and all cases where the same 

 plant is supposed to be indigenous on both sides 

 of the Atlantic — no less than two iiundued and 

 ruiRTY-THREE distiuct spccics of plants have 

 been imported among us from the Old World, 

 all of which have now run wild here, and many 

 of which are the worst and most pernicious 

 weeds that we have to contend against. In the 

 U. S. Agricultural lieport for 180.5 (pp. 510-519) 

 will be found a list of 99 of the principal "Weeds 



•Koi' the sake of the scitntiBc i-cntler, we subjoin liere, in 

 thi-ir regular order, the si-.ientiflc names of the Insects cata- 

 logned by their English names in the texts of this paragraph :— 

 Cecidomyia destiuclor, DI/jlosU Irilici. Gttlleria cereann, Car- 

 pocapsa pomonella, Plutella cruci/ernrum, JEijcria lipuliformis, 

 Aapidiotiis conchiformis. Aphis aveiite. A. brastii:a, A . ribis, 

 A. mali, Psylla pijri, Piopliila casvi, Tenctirio molitor, Sito- 

 philut granarius, Mustca domes/iva^ Galentca ca/maricnsis. 

 Blatta orientalis, Ectobia germanica. Tinea tapetzeUa, ves- 

 tianelta, pellionella, &c.; Crioceria asparagi, Peiris rapte nad 

 Wjpogymna dhpar. 



of American Agriculture," by the late Dr. Wm. 

 Darlington. Of this whole number no less than 

 4 J, or nearly one- half, arc species that have 

 been introduced among us from the Old World. 

 Among these we may enumerate here, as the 

 best known and the most pernicious, Butter- 

 cups, (two species,) Shepherds' Purse, St. John's 

 Wort, Cow-cockle, May-weed or Dog-fennel, 

 Ox-eye Daisy, Common Thistle, Canada This- 

 tle, Burdock, Plantain, Mullein, Toad-flax, 

 Bind-weed, Jamestown (Jimson) weed. Lamb's 

 Quarter, Sinart-weed, Field Garlic, Fox-tail 

 (irass and the notorious Cheat or Chess. And 

 to these we may add the common Purslane, 

 which through some strange oversight has been 

 omitted in Dr. Darlington's catalogue. 



It will be supposed, perhaps, since there are 

 about as many voyages inarte from America to 

 Europe as from Europe to America, that we 

 have fully reciprocated to our transatlantic 

 brethren the favors which they have conferred 

 upon us, in the way of Noxious Insects and 

 Noxious AVecds. It is no such thing. There 

 arc but very few American insects that have 

 become naturalized in Europe, and even these 

 do not appear for the most part to do any seri- 

 ous amount of damage there. For example, on 

 one or two occasions single specimens of 

 our Army-worm Moth {Leucaniu unipuncta) 

 have been captured in England ; btlt the insect 

 has never spread and become ruinously common 

 there, as it continually in particular seasons 

 does in America. Our destructive Pea-bug 

 (Bruchun pMi) has also found its way to Europe ; 

 but although it is met wiih in England, and 

 according to Curtis has become naturalized in 

 the warmer departments of France, Kirby and 

 Speiice expressly state that it does not occur in 

 England " to any very injurious extent," and 

 Curtis seems to doubt the fact of its being na- 

 turalized in England at all.* Again, the only 

 species of White Ant that exists within the 

 limits of the United States, (2'ermes fron- 

 talis), has been known for a long time to be a 

 guest at the Plant-houses of Schonbrunn in 

 Germany; but is not recorded to have ever as 

 yet spread into the surrounding country. As 

 to our American meal-worm ( Tenebrio obxcit- 

 »■««•), Curtis states that it has been introduced 

 into England along with American flour, and 

 that it is sometimes abundant in London and 

 the piovinces;t but Kirby and Spence say not 

 one word about it, and it seems to be conliued 

 to the English sea-ports and the places where 



•Kirby * Spence Jnlrod. letter Gth: Curtis farm Insects. 

 p. 3j8. ' 



^Farm Insects, p 334. 



