^74 



THE AMERICAK 



with a hoe, and how -^ye do find maggots, and 

 how the chickens do grow as long as the mag- 

 gots last ! "What think you about the morality 

 of the transaction? The maggots eat the cats, 

 the chickens eat the maggots, and we eat the 

 chickens — so it goes. 1 feel no compunctions 

 till it comes to killing the chickens. 



I. P. Teimble. 



[These Eadish Maggots we have long since 

 been acquainted with. They are the larvae of the 

 Eadish-maggot Fly {Anihomyia rapJiani, Harr.), 

 a little ash-colored, two-winged fly, with a sil- 

 very gray face and copper-colored eyes. The 

 best way of destroying them is by means of 

 hot water. — Ed.] 



Chip-teap Curculio Catching — Newark, N. 

 J. — ^You are right in stating that the St. Joseph 

 method of catching Curculios can only be useful 

 during a few days early in the season. I have 

 been testing this trap business in the fruit 

 orchards of my friend Pierson, following all the 

 directions given. I catch a few spiders, a good 

 many lules, but never a Curculio. 



I. P. Trimble. 



Depths to which Cicadas go — Savannah, 

 Tenn., June 16, '70. — I am now operating in the 

 Indian mounds for the Smithsonian Institute, 

 and in digging we frequently take up Cicada 

 pupre from the solid earth, from six to nine feet 

 below the surface. J. P. Stelle. 



Egg of Imported Currant- worm not Insert- 

 ed IN Leaf — London, Can. — I have looked into 

 that matter I referred to before, regarding the 

 eggs of JSfematus ventricosus, and have fully 

 satisfied myself that they are not imbedded in 

 the leaf-stalk at all, but fastened very shghtly 

 to the surface. "VVm. Saunders. 



Ash-gray Blister Beetle on Beans— C/«ica- 

 ffo, Ills., June 24, '70. — I raise in my garden 

 two patches of a large bean, which is little known 

 here. It is eaten green, and known in Germany 

 by the name of "Grosze Bohnen ." I have had the 

 greatest trouble to save them, and have picked 

 off thousands of Lytta cinerea, Fabr., every 

 morning. It is wonderful how they continue 

 to come in a straight line, pouncing on the leaves 

 and greedily devouring them. I have wondered 

 how they manage to find out a strange plant so 

 unerringly. Chas. Sonne. 



[Mr. "Walsh, many years ago, had a similar 

 experience in attempting to raise this bean, 

 which' is popularly known as the English Broad 

 Beau. He found it almost impossible to keep 

 ofl^ those Ash-gray Blister-beetles. They must, 

 we think, be guided by an exquisitely keen 

 sense of smell. — ^Ed.] 



The Three-lined Potato Beetle— ^wesSwrj/, 

 Mass., June 2G, 1870. — Enclosed I send you 

 specimens of insects that are injuring my Early 

 Rose potato vines to a considerable extent. The 

 Round Reds have a few individuals of the slugs 

 (as I call them), and considerable numbers of 

 the beetle. Mj' attention was first called to the 

 Early Rose vines by seeing the leaves curled 

 upward from the sides to the centre; others were 

 rolled up on one side, and were dead and dry. 

 "While opening the leaves, my attention was 

 called to the enclosed striped beetle, which I at 

 first took for the Striped Cucumber Beetle, but, 

 on catching one, its red body and dark brown 

 stripe, in place of the black body and straw- 

 colored stripe of the Cucumber Beetle, showed 

 me the mistake. On looking further, I found 

 scores of them, some feeding singly, others 

 coupled, on the vines. I found small nests of 

 eggs in double rows, which I take to be the eggs 

 of the beetles. In hunting for the beetles I first 

 discovered the slugs, which were covered with 

 their own excrements, and were of different 

 sizes, some quite small and others full grown. 

 I have never met with this insect before, and 

 have asked one or two other persons about them, 

 but no one seems to know them. Please inform 

 me what they are. Jason E. Cowden. 



[The insect is the Three-lined Leaf-beetle 

 [FiR. in.] (Lema trilineata, Olivier), a por- 

 trait of which we herewith repro- 

 duce (Fig. 171). A full account of 

 it, with illustrations, may be found 

 on page 20 of our first volume. A 

 second brood of the larvse, or slugs, 

 will appear in August. So, be 

 low and biajk. prepared for them. — Ed.] 



Trout "Web-worm — Mamford, N. Y. June 

 10, '70. — After I wrote to you last about Seth ' 

 Green's "spinning worm," I endeavored to ob- 

 tain some more specimens ; but a slight rise of 

 water in the stream seemed to have the eflect of 

 sweeping them all away. Now, however, a new 

 batch is making its appearance. The worms 

 are to be seen by thousands on the stones in 

 swift running water. I am endeavoring to hatch 

 some of them out, and will soon send you (if I 

 am successful) specimens of the worm, the case 

 and the fly. I will pack some in glycerine, and 

 also endeavor once more to send you some alive. 

 A. S. Collins. 



[Our correspondent, Sarah J. McBride, of 

 your town, has, by praiseworthy perseverance, 

 succeeded in rearing the perfect fly from these 

 Web-worms, and has been kind enough to send 

 us specimens. It is, as we supposed it would 



Colors— Pale yel- 



