370 



THE AMERICAN 



green, finely and closely punctate; eyes pale with a dusky 

 patch In front, smaller and further apart than in 5 ; eylets 

 purplish : antenniB black and opaque throughout, cylindrical, 

 of a more uniform thickness and proportionally rather longer 

 than in 5 » reachmg, if turned back, to the base of abdomen, 

 whereas those of 2 scarcely reach so far; 10-jointed, the 

 Joints proportioned as 3 (scape), 1, 3, 2, 2, 1-10, 1-10, 1-10, 

 1-10, 8 (club) . CoUare very short. Thorax above very finely 

 punctate and sabpolished, and either bright metallic-green 

 or coppery-green with faint purple reflections, the raeta- 

 thorax more bluish and more highly polished than the rest; 

 built on a different plan from that of ; lacking the very prom- 

 inent and characteristic prothorax, the praascutal triangular 

 piece, and the square excavation, which occur in that sex, 

 and more nearly resembling Eurytoma, Decatoma, etc (Fig. 

 8, B) , in the divisions of the mesonotom. Abdomen dark 

 metallic blue throughout, glabrous, smaller and more uni- 

 form in diameter than in Q , the joints distinguished with 

 difficulty but apparently proportioned as in Q . Laos with 

 the femora all dusky with a faint bluish reflection ; trochan- 

 ters rufous; coxie steel-blue ; front and middle tibiffi white; 

 hind tibiae dusky; tarsi all white, with occasionally (1 speci- 

 men) the terminal joint dusky, the middle pair lacking in a 

 great measure the peculiar enlargement of basal joint . Wings 

 more rounded than in Q, perfectly hyaline, the etigmatic 

 branch but faintly discernable. Length 0.09-0.10. 

 Described from 3 dried specimens.— Ed.] 



A NEW KOTE-BEETLE : .PAEASITIC ON THE CAB- 

 BAGE MAGGOT. 



In my communication wliich apjjeared in your 

 last number (page 302), on the Parasitic Eove- 

 beetle, I am made to say what I did not intend. 

 In the second colunm, line 33 from top, it should 

 read "and one pupa," instead of "in one pupa ;" 

 for each puparium contained only a single para- 

 site. To make the subject stni clearer, I will 

 re-state. I took from the earth in my garden, 

 around the root of a dead cabbage plant, twenty- 

 six pupse of the Cabbage Maggot (A. brassicce), 

 from which I bred two imagos ; also six parasites 

 which came out of the pupa-cases by gnawing a 

 rough hole through the side.near the extremity, 

 after which I took from the remaining pupa cases 

 three imagos, and one pupa of the Eove-beetle. 

 My surprise was so great upon discovering the 

 six Rove-beetles where I expected two-winged 

 flies, that I carefuUy examined with the micro- 

 scope the remaining pupa-cases, as also those 

 from which the flies came, but could discover no 

 break or orifice by which the Eove-beetles could 

 have entered. It was after this examination that 

 I opened the balance with the above-stated re- 

 sults ; thus proving, so far as I can judge, that 

 the fly larva was entered before its skin had 

 hardened into the pupa-case. I add the follow- 

 ing description, much against my inclination, for 

 I do not believe in publishing single descriptions 

 unconnected with some special paper upon the 

 subject; and I only do so in this instance to 

 more fully assist in the great work of Practical 

 Entomology. I am indebted to Dr. Horn for the 

 determination of the genus, and of the fact of its 

 being unnamed. 



Aleochora anthomyi&e, n. sp. — Length, 0.15 inch. Black, 

 shining, covered with short decumbent silky hairs, coarsely 

 punctured all over; the head and thorax less densely covered 

 with hairs and pmictures. Tarsi and more or less of the 

 tibise light brown ; head heavily and sparsely punctured, less 



eo in front; antenna; with the first four jeints glabrous, the 

 remainder densely covered with a fine ash-gray pubescence, 

 the fourth joint small, the terminal ones gradually enlarging 

 and forming an elongate club, thelast joint of which is twice 

 as lon^ as the preceding; palpi five-jointed, the last very 

 small, resembling the same in the genus Bembidium\ thorax 

 nearly round, broadest behind, base and sides broadly 

 rounded and with a fine margin only seen with a powerful 

 magnifier, punctured like the head and with two longitudinal 

 confluent lines of punctures leaving a smooth naiTow dorsal 

 space; elytra wholly black, more evenly and densely punc- 

 tured, more hairy; body above more sparsely punctured, 

 six segments depressed, gradually lengthening to the anal 

 one, which is short and naiTow without the raised lateral 

 margin; beneath punctured and hairy as above. In one ex- 

 ample the head and thorax have a faint coppery lustre. Six 

 specimens examined. 



Philip S. Sprague. 



Boston, Mass., Sept. 7, 1S70. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL JOTTINGS. 



" Corn Kernels in Cocoons of Cecropia 

 Moth " — Geneva, 111., Nov. 4, 1870— This is the 

 heading of an article by our State Entomologist, 

 on page 177 of the Entomologist and Botanist, 

 in which he mentions the fact (stated page 100) 

 of a kernel of corn being found in the cocoon of 

 of a Cecropia Moth. During the fall of 1869 I 

 found five cocoons of the Cecropia Moth, all of 

 which contained kernels of corn or of wheat, 

 and in a sixth, found near the woods, was a 

 small acorn. 



Yesterday, while at work, I saw a flock of 

 Chicadees (Parus atricapillus, Linn.), one of 

 which I noticed had something in his mouth, 

 which upon closer inspection proved to be a 

 kernel of sweet corn. He was on a small apple 

 tree when I first saw him, apparently trying to 

 find some storehouse for his food, but failing to 

 do so, flew on to the common board fence which 

 enclosed the place, and running along till he 

 found a board that was split, carefully deposited 

 the corn in the crack of the board. Now, I be- 

 lieve that the Chickadee uses the cocoon of the 

 Cecropia Moth as a storehouse, as well as the 

 Blue Jay, if indeed he is not the sole proprietor. 



S. F. C. 



Colorado Potato Beetle around Spring- 

 field — Springfield, Mo., October i, 1870. — 

 Some weeks since I sent you the Colorado Po- 

 tato Bug in its larva state. "We now find the 

 perfect beetle. Have only seen a few dozens in 

 all, and they are not found elsewhere than 

 where flrst discovered on my grounds, though 

 we have searched the vicinity. These few we 

 treat as spies or precursors of an army, which 

 we fear will be upon us in force next year. I 

 am sure that I am correct in calling it the Colo- 

 rado Potato Beetle. Since your visit last sum- 

 mer I have given more attention to bugs, and 

 insects generally, and find a very great number 

 of the injurious class, and I am very glad to see 

 more than usual of the Cut-worm Lion, Sold i 



