214 



THE AMERICAN 



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to which it has gone, we shall visit your county during 

 the summer. If unmolested, this Bark-louse will not 

 only spread from one orchard to another, one or two 

 miles distant, but will in time spread through the whole 

 county, and continue its destructive course like a de- 

 vouring flame, from one county to another, until event- 

 ually the whole northern portion of the State is infested 

 so that orchards may have to be abandoned, as they 

 have often been in other States on this account. 



Those trees which are not cut down, should be closely 

 watched, and thoroughly syringed with strong tobacco- 

 water, as soon as the young lice commence crawling 

 about, which will beaboutthetirst of June. About two 

 weeks after this syringirig (just the time, by the way, 

 to prune) cut oft' all the terminal twigs and burn them, 

 by which means you will be apt to destroy any lice that 

 escaped the syringing process, as they prefer to fix them- 

 selves around the ends and knots of such young termi- 

 nal twigs. The ladybirds, which devour this as well 

 as the native white species, should also be encouraged. 

 For the benefit of those wlio are not yet acquainted 

 with the appearance of the Oyster-shell Bark-louse, we 

 produce an illustration (Fig. 132) of an infested piece 

 of bark, at the head of this answer. 



The Pod-like Willow Gall—/. S . M. , Wood- 

 hirii, Ills. — The oval woody galls, averaging 0.75 inch in 

 length and 0.40 inch in diameter, and terminating in a 

 conical beak, which galls you tind growing from the tips 

 of the twigs of the Osier willow [viminalis /] , and which 

 we illustrate herewith, are the Pod-like WiUow gall 

 [Fis 133] {Salicis silirjuayWalsh). 



This gall occurs on no 

 less than six diiferent 

 Willows, namely, SaU- 

 cis hwmilis, S. discolor., 

 S. rosprata, S, cordata, 

 S. petiolaris, S. lucida, 

 and if yours were found 

 on S. mminaUs, that 

 will make the seventh, 

 and we therefore hope 

 you will identify the 

 species . Though slight 

 differences, in size more 

 especially, are notice- 

 able between the galls 

 growing on the different 

 species of Willow, yet 

 they are all produced 

 by the same species of 

 gall-gnat, which was 

 originally described as 

 Gecidomyia solids by 



Color— Same as twig; the larva oranRe. Dr. Fitch, iu the Amer- 

 ican Quarterly Journal of Agriculture and Science, Vol. 

 I, p. 2(j3. The name solids was, however, already pre- 

 occupied by an European species, and Mr. Walsh after- 

 wards redescribed it under the name of siliqua (Proc. 

 But. Soc. Phil., Ill, p. 591). The fly is one of our 

 largest syecies. and the specimens fl'om your galls issued 

 about the middle of April. The pupa when about to 

 change, works itself partly out of the terminal beak of 

 the gall, and after the fly has escaped, the pupal integu- 

 ment, which is characterized by all the parts except 

 the abdomen being dusky, frequently remains attached 

 at the orifice. Our figure at S represents a section, 

 showing the larva. 



, 134] 



Mee West — J. R. MuUeman, Woodbvr/i, His. — The 

 delicate silken cells, each aboiit 0.22 inch long, which 

 are placed contiguously in a hollow currant stem, the 

 bore of which has a diameter of 

 0.12 inch, are built by some species 

 of small bee, and in all probability, 

 as you suggest, by one belonging 

 to the genus Geratina. The larvaj 

 which are now (March 25th) con- 

 tained in these cells agree (as the 

 cells themselves do) very well with 

 Dr. Packard's description of those 

 of the Double Geratina (0. duplo, 

 Say»). Should they prove to be 

 this species , an important error in 

 its natural history will be correct- 

 ed; for, from the fact that the § 

 has been observed to deposit eggs 

 in the middle of May, Dr. Pack- 

 ard concludes that there is but one 

 brood each year, and that the per- 

 fect insect hibernates. If we are 

 right in referring these cells to Ger- 

 atina, however, there are evidently 

 two broods each year, the second 

 brood hibernating in the larvie 

 state; and this seems the more 

 likely, since even in New York and <""■"-<" y^iowiBh -white- 

 Massachusetts the perfect bees appear in July from eggs 

 deposited in May . We present (Fig. 134:) an illustration 

 of these cells at a, and of the magnified larva at 5; and if 

 we succeed in breeding the bee will report further. 



Beetles Named — S, V. Suimners, St. Louis, Mo. — 

 Your insects are as follows; No. 1, Gyrimts analis. Say. 

 No. 2, Aphodius Mcolor, Say. No. 3, Hydrophilus later- 

 alis, Herbst. No. 4, Dineutes assimilie, Klrb. No. 5, 

 Opatrinus nottis , iia,y . No. 6, Oopris ainmon, Fubr. No. 

 7, Gopris Carolina, Linn. No. 8, Geotrupes excrementi, 

 Say. 'So. 9, Gopris anaglypticus, Sa,y. No. 10, (A) Ca»- 

 thon chalcites,11a.ld. No. 10, (B) Cant7ionlaivis,DrMTy. 

 These two are very similar, but chalcites always has a 

 smooth and laivis a rough-punctured anus. No. 11, 

 Parandra hrunnea, Fabr. No. 12, Pelidawta punctata, 

 Linn. No. 13, Tenebrio tenebrioides , Lee. No. 14, an 

 English species, we cannot undertake to name ; it is a 

 MycetopTiaijus , and probably quadripustulotus . No. 15, 

 Philorttlms apioalis, Say. No. 16, Pirates picipes, H. 

 Sch. No. 17, Gosnonia pennsylvanica, Linn. No. 18, 

 ■Julus marginotus (myriapoda). No. 19, Dermestes nuhUus, 

 Say. No. 20, GMcmdus pennsylvanicus , Say. No. 21, 

 Platinus punctiformis, Lee . No. 22 , Ischyrus, i-puncta- 

 tus, Oliv. No. 23, Bemlidium postioatum, Hald. No. 

 lA, Aphodius fi,metarius,'Fa.hic. No. 25, Pemiiditim lasvi- 

 gattim,Sa,j. No. 26, same as 25. So. il, Oodes cuprceue, 

 Chaud. No. 28, Pterostichus chalcites, Say. No. 29, 



Haltica ? No. 30 we are not acquainted 



with; it must be foreign. So.ZX, Bernbidium caudMum, 

 Lee. For the proper determination of several of them, 

 we are indebted to Dr. Horn , of Philadelp hia. 



*C«i(ie, etc., p. 134. 



DKAXJGHTSMAIT WANTED. 



desirous of iraproviu^'- liis kiiuwk'fl.Lie in this depaffnieut of 

 Natural Science. None Imt lln-se -^vlu. luive liiiil practice in 

 drawing minute objects uceil apply. Fur i)articulars and term 

 a ddress the editor of tliis department. 



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