14 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



certain species of bugs, which Mr. Eielil has as- 

 cei'tained to prey upon the larva of the Colorado 

 potato bug. One of these proves to be a species 

 of true bug hitlierto unknown to have tliis very 

 commendable propensity (the Stiretrus [teti/rct] 

 ^TO6rifl!ii««of Say), which will be subsequently 

 figured and ilhistrated in this journal. The 

 other is the large stinking bug {Arma sjmiosa) , 

 already referred to as commonly throughout 

 Illinois preying upon these obnoxious larvfe. 

 But alas I at Mr. Riehl's one individual, at the 

 very least, of this highly meritorious species 

 seems to have become demoralized and to have 

 acquired depraved tastes ; for I actually found 

 him with his beak immersed up to the hilt in 

 (he body of a poor innocent lady bird {Cocci- 

 nella), which had probable only a few minutes 

 before been making its customary dinner otf a 

 batch of potato bugs' eggs. 



[CONTINUED IS OUE XEXT.] 



A NEW BARK LOUSE ON THE OSAGE ORANGE. 



[Fig. S.] 





-(a) light brown and white; (b) blooil brown lunl 



At figure 8, b, we have represented a new 

 species of bark louse {Lecanium maclurm,sj 

 n. sp.,) which lias recently appeared in consid- 

 erable numbers on the twigs and leaves of the 

 OsagCiorange at "Wilmington, AVill county, III., 

 and also in the vicinity of Alton, in South Illinois. 

 The dark part is tlie scale covering the insect, 

 and this scale, as usual in the genus to which 

 the insect belongs, is of a blood brown color. 

 The pale part is snowy white, and is composed 

 of a fine cottony down enveloping the eggs and 



young larvfe. By the middle of July hosts of 

 the young lai-vae, which are remarkable for hav- 

 ing a longitudinal dark line along the back, had 

 strayed away from the parent scale, covering, 

 not only the bark of the twigs, but also the very 

 leaves. Fitch describes two closely allied bark 

 lice, infesting respectively the grape vine and 

 the pear {Lee. vitis and Lee. pyri), as having 

 white cottony matter protrudhig fi-om the tip of 

 the scale, as in the species here figured. But, 

 in all the specimens of these last two species 

 whicli we have seen, there was nothing of the 

 kind externally visible, though the eggs under 

 the scale were partially enveloped in a delicate 

 white floss. 



At figure 8, «, we also give a view of 

 another new species of this same genus, with , 

 similar cottony matter at its tail {Lecanium ^ 

 \ acericola, u. sp.,) which infests the bark and 

 the leaves of the common maple. It was re- 

 ceived by us June 26th, 1867, from Mr. B. W. 

 McLain, of Indiana, and in a few weeks after- 

 wards the young bark lice commenced hatching 

 out from the cottony matter. We have also re- 

 ceived the same bark louse from Mr. TiflTany 

 of Davenport, Iowa, who found them on his 

 soft maples. 



None of the species belonging to this particu- 

 lar genus of bark lice {Lecanium) have ever 

 been known to swarm, for any length of time, in 

 .such numbers as to become permanently injuri- 

 »us to the plant upon which they feed. In the 

 case of another genus of bark lice {Aspidiotus) , 

 to which the common imported oyster shell 

 bark louse {Asp. conchiformis) and the native 

 American white bark louse {Asp. Ilarrisii) be- 

 long, a very different rule prevails, as most 

 fruit growers in Wisconsin and North Illinois 

 know to their cost. This last genus, by the 

 way, is readily distinguished from that novf un- 

 der consideration by the egg-bearing scale, in- 

 stead of being in one single piece, being com- 

 posed of three distinct little scales, each larger 

 than the one that precedes it, counting from the 

 head end. 



Reasoning from analogy, therefore, wo should 

 infer that this Osage orange bark louse is not 

 likely to become so abundant, or so generally 

 distributed, as to cause any material damage. * 

 Hedge-growers will please to make a note of 

 this, and govern themselves accordingl)\ 



ENTOMOLOGICAL IGNORANCE IN THE SOUTH. 



Suppose some ingenious person were to ad- 

 dress some such letter as the following to any 

 agricultural journal published in the United 



