338 



THE AMERICAN 



-of your Aplodes Jlavilineata decorates itself in 

 the same^awmnBrsis Aplodes ruMvora. Ithinkyou 

 must have misconstrued my former letter; for, to 

 i/ the best of my present recollection, the larvss of 

 jlavilineata which were found on Achillia milli- 

 folinm had no spines by means of which to deco- 

 rate themselves . Last season I raised a few speci- 

 men s of the Imported Currant-worm (Wematus 

 ventricosvs) , which is an entirely new insect in 

 this section, so far as my knowledge goes. In 

 three instances the males spun a yellow cocoon, 

 while that of the females was quite dark. 



Philip S. Sprague. 

 [We certainly must have misconstrued our 

 correspondent's former letter, which referred to 

 lai-vre of Aplodes Jlavilineata, but we hope that 

 Mr. S. will, by future observation, endeavor to 

 settle the question beyond all doubt as to whether 

 or not it decorates itself. "We do not believe the 

 depth of color in the cocoon of Mematus can he 

 relied on as a sexual character ; for, both in that 

 genus and in the genus Lophyrus, we have known 

 the greatest variation, both in size and depth of 

 color, to take place iu cocoons which subsequently 

 gave out the same sex. — Ed.] 



The Rape Butterfly; ouk new Cabp>agb 

 Pest. — This most destructive insect (Pieris 

 rapa;, Skrank, Figs. 48, 49 and 50 of this Vol.) 

 is fully realizing our prophesies. It is spreading 

 with wonderful rapidity towards the "West and 

 South. "We recently found it flitting around the 

 truck and fruit stands of New York, Albany, 

 Troy and Philadelphia. No wonder we have 

 more than our due allowance of noxious insects 

 in the Mississippi Valley. They advance to- 

 wards us from all parts of the country. Salt is 

 the common remedy ; but Mr. Quinn, at a late 

 meeting of the N. Y. Institute Farmers' Club, 

 gave his experience as follows : 



" I have tried no less than fifteen different 

 powders or decoctions, and find the best result 

 from the application of a mixture composed of 

 twenty parts sulphate of lime, one part carbolic 

 powder, and three or four parts of quicklime. 

 This I sprinkle in small quantities upon the 

 leaves and parts affected, making the application 

 iu early morning before the dew is off, or after 

 a shower. Frequent repetition is sometimes 



necessary. 



•-♦-• 



Change of Address. — The entomological 

 editor has removed from the country to Room 

 2'J, Insurance Building, St. Louis, on the south- 

 east corner of Fifth and Olive streets. There he 

 will be found ready to give any information in 

 his power, and glad at all times to see his friends. 

 All letters should in future be addressed ac- 

 cordingly. 



Paris Green foe the Cueculio. — G. M. 

 Smith, of Berlin, Wis., wrote an article to the 

 St. Joseph (Mich.) Horticultural Society, recom- 

 mending Paris Green for the Plum Curculio. 

 Even if the application of such a poisonous drug 

 on large trees were practical, it would never 

 succeed in killing one Curculio iu a hundred. 

 Paris Green kills the leaf-eating beetles by being 

 taken internally with the leaves ; but the Cur- 

 culio, with its ?nout, prefers to gouge under the 

 skin of the fruit, and only exceptionally devours 

 the leaves. Yet, notwithstanding the palpable 

 absurdity of the remedy, it has very generally 

 passed from one journal to another without 

 comment. 



Entomological Collections. — "We are glad 

 to learn that the members of the popular and 

 flourishing Horticultural Society of Alton, His., 

 have resolved to prepare a collection of such in- 

 sects as interest the farmer and fruit-gr.ower. 

 This collection is to be in the custody of the 

 Chairman of the Committee on Entomology; 

 and we believe that Mr. J. R. Muhleman, of 

 "Woodburn , a good entomologist and an excellent 

 observer, now occupies that position. Let other 

 societies follow the example. There is no better 

 way of familiarizing the members with the dif- 

 ferent injurious and beneficial insects which af- 

 fect their interests. 



l!^°"We thankfully acknowledge the receipt 

 of several complimentary tickets to Agricultural 

 Fairs, and of numerous pamphlets and Premium 

 lists, which, for lack of space, we cannot enu- 

 merate. 



l^°The article on "How to Collect and Study 

 Insects" arrived' too late for insertion in this 



ON OUR TABLE. 



Record of Amekican Entomology for the 

 Year 1869 — Naturalists'' Book Agency, Salem, 

 Ifass. — This little work came to us about a 

 month ago, its publication having been un- 

 avoidably delayed. "We are glad to see that it 

 is received with favor, and that it is to be con- 

 tinued. No entomologist can afford to do with- 

 out it. 



The number of American entomologists whose 

 articles or notes are referred to in the Record is 

 fifty-two; while three hundred and thirty-five 

 new species of North (and Central) American 

 insects have been described iu American jour- 

 nals during the year 1869. 



