THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



155 



ENTOMOLOGICAL JOTTINGS. 



[We propose to publish from time to time, under 

 tlie above heading, such extracts from the letters of our 

 correspondents as contain cnt<imoio;:ical facts worthy 

 to l)e recorded, on ;icconnt citlicr i>f Ihiir scicnlilic or 

 of their practical importance. W'c hope our renders 

 will contribute each tlicirscvcral miles towards tlie.^'cn- 

 oral fund, and in case they arc not porlectly certain of 

 the names of the insects, the peculiarities of which .ire 

 to be mentioned, will send specimens .along in order 

 that each species may be duly identilied.] 



Cow-killer— Cto»'tot'(7/e, Texas, Dec. 2bth, 

 1809. — I never hoard any reason "iven for apply- 

 ing the term Cow-killer to MutiUa coccinea. It 

 is very generally ]<nowii by that name here, and 

 1 am under the impression that the male stings 

 as well as tlie female. I have always beenver)^ 

 careful in capturing them. A. H. R. B. 



[We assure our correspondent that he need 

 take no precaution in capturing tlie winged or 

 male Mutilla. The sting is a modified oviposi- 

 tor, and is not possessed by any male bees or 

 wasps. If you ever get stung by following our 

 advice, we will come down to Texas, and in 

 the interest of science, allow ourselves to be 

 "blown" by the "Screw-worm," and tortured 

 to death by the "Buflalo gnat," so as to ascer- 

 tain what these two insects really are, of which 

 we have heard so much and seen so little. AVill 

 not some of our Texan correspondents enlighten 

 the entomological world by giving us a full 

 account of these two insects? We should also 

 like to receive active, living specimens of the 

 Osage-orange worm mentioned on page 18G of 

 our first volume. — Ed. J 



I- The Rape Butterfly — Wew York, Jan. 24, 

 '70. — In an article written bv Chas. S. Minot in 

 the last number of the Entomologist, it is stated 

 that a few specimens of the Rape Butterly (P. 

 rapce) have been found in New Jersey. In and 

 around Hudson City and West Ilobokeu they 

 were very abundant last summer, and I venture 

 to predict that next summer will see them more 

 abundant still, and their sphere of action among 

 the cabbages consequently enlarged. In the 

 earlj'' part of the season, wishing to obtain a 

 few larvae, I asked a German gardener permis- 

 sion to "interview" his cabbages. lie flatly 

 refused on the ground that I should damage 

 them. In two months after that, he had not a 

 cabbage worth — well, say a "cent." But there 

 were lots of P. rapw flying about, giving his 

 cabbage-garden an appearance similar to that 

 it would have in a small snow storm. W. V. A. 



Blister Beetles on Composite Flowers — 

 Vineland, If. J. — The enclosed two species of 

 Blister-beetles, did much damage to our Com- 

 posite plants last summer, particularly to the 



dahlias and asters. The asters in this neigh- 

 borhood were almost comi)letely ruined by them. 

 They would congregate on the flowers in the 

 same way as the Rose-bug docs on a rose, and 

 it was only by eternal vigilance that I succeeded 

 in saving anv seed from some very fine dwarf 

 asters from Vick's. 



[The two species enclosed were the Margined 

 Blister-beetle {Lytta martjinata, Fabr.), and 

 the Black Blister-beetle {Lytta atrata, Fabr. — 

 Ed.] 



The IIarlech'in Caiuiaoe Bug in Tennessee 

 — Savannah, Nov. '2M, 18(!9. — I send you one of 

 our new Cabbage Bugs (Stracliin histrionica, 

 Ilahn, Fig. 5(j) . It made its first appearance in 

 this region late in the suihmer, and completely 

 swept out all our cabbage. It seems to be work- 

 ing north, as it was at Florence, Ala., fifty miles 

 south of us, last year. J. P. S. 



The Pea-weevil — Xew Harmony, Indiana, 

 Feb. 1, '70. — The Pea-weevil {Bruchus pisi) 

 might easily be kept down to a moderate num- 

 ber if pea-growers could be moved to adopt a 

 right method. 1 never plant a pea with a live 

 weevil in it. I keep the peas two years, then, 

 of course, the weevil is dead; and I take care 

 that they do not escape before they die ; conse- 

 quently, instead of having a bug in every pea, 

 and eating as many bugs as peas, a large num- 

 ber of the peas are free from them, and are, 

 therefore, pleasanter in idea, if not in taste ; and 

 we have some finer seed than we should have 

 if we planted bugs as well as seed. As our 

 neiglibors cannot endure to provide seed two 

 years in advance, they all plant bugs, or let 

 their bugs escape; and, consequently, we are 

 supplied with bugs from their gardens ; but we 

 do not have them so soon, nor in such numbers, 

 as we should have by the usual plan. I dry the 

 seed-peas until I think they will not mould, and 

 then I put them in bags and hang them up in an 

 airy place, taking care to tie the mouth of the 

 bags close. Then, that they may not become too 

 dry, about Christmas, I put the peas into bottles 

 and cork them, and let them remain until the 

 second spring afterwards. The peas are not in 

 any way injured by being two years old. I 

 have had three-year old peas grow very finely. 

 Margaret Chappellsmith. 



Horizontal vs. Vertical Combs — Water- 

 bury, Conn., Feb. 15, '70. — In the March, 1869, 

 number of the Entomologist, page 141, you say 

 the nests of our social wasps are never built 

 with the cell horizontal like the European spe- 

 cies. August last I found a nest on a small 

 bush built with the cells like you figure. I 



