60 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Butterflies named— De. W. W. Buttei-fieU, Iii- 

 dianapolU, Ind.—'So. 1, (tlie sulphm--yeUow insect 

 ■\vitli a black border to its wings) is the male of the Pbi- 

 lodice Butterfly (CoZJasPMoifo, Godart); and No. 2, 

 with a broader black border to its front wings and some 

 yellow spots enclosed in that border, is the female of 

 the same species. It is our commonest yellow butter- 

 fly everywhere in the Northern States. No. 3, the cop- 

 pery red insect with many black spots and a slight 

 powdering of sky-blue on the outer edge of its wings, 

 is the Comma Butterfly ( Vanessa comma, Harris) , so 

 called because it has a silvery mark like a comma on 

 the middle of the lower surface of its hind wmgs. No. 

 4 (the very large red insect with coarse black veins to 

 its wings) is, as you suppose, the Archippus buttei-fly 

 (Danais ArcUppus, Tabr.), the same species which we 

 figured in all its three stages in our last number (pp . 

 2S-9) , and stated to have occurred in immense swarms 

 on three different occasions and in three diflerent local- 

 ities in the United States . 



Museum Pest— 7". W. Iloit, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.— 

 The insect which eats your cabinet specimens, wo 

 should judge from your description, to be the larva of 

 the common museum pest {Anthrenus musaorum, Linn.) . 

 It is the dread of entomologists in- this country as well 

 as in Europe, and has utterly destroyed a fine coUec- 

 tion of beetles belonging to Mr. Maurice Schuster, of 

 your city. The greatest precaution is necessary to keep 

 these pests out of a collection, and none but thoroughly 

 tight boxes should be used for the cabinet. Camphor 

 should always be kept in the boxes, and the insects 

 thoroughly examined from time to time. When a col- 

 lection is once attacked by them, a weak solution ol 

 corrosive sublimate in alcohol, poured over the bottom 

 of the boxes, vrill kill all that it touches. This little 

 beetle is aided in its destructive work by several others 

 that are closely allied to it, and especially by the Larder 

 beetle {Dermestes lardarias, lAxm.). 



Insects named. — Dr. Jas. Weed. Muscatine, loioa. 

 —1st, The plant-lice are the Apple-root Plant-louse, 

 respecting which species we shall, before long, furnish 

 a. short illustrated article. Ladybii-ds prey upon vari- 

 ous kinds of Plant-lice and Bark-lice, not only m the 

 larva, but also in the perfect state. 2nd. The large in- 

 sect is the HeUgrammite Fly_ ( Gorydalis cornutus , Linn . ) , 

 respecting which see an article in our next issue . 3rd . 

 The green worm found on an apple tree, with a figure 

 ten (10) imprinted in a circular label Upon each shoulder, 

 is the larva of the Great Swallow-tail Yellow Butterfly 

 {Papilio Turnus, Linn.) If the Vf on the wmgs of the 

 Locust (C-icfKia) predicted joor, the 10 on the shoulder 

 of this insect probably predicted that the war would 

 last for ten years . 



Orapes spoiled by sometliing--- =/"»'• Wood, 

 Marietta, Ohio.— Yon say that a good many of your 

 Diana grapes are spoiled by something or other, and 

 inquire what is the cause of the damage. As you do 

 not send specimens, and have observed no insect actu- 

 ally at work on the berries, we can otter no opinion on 

 the subject. The " lighl^colored moth," which you 

 have noticed hidden in the bunches, might probably 

 enough suck the sugary juice irom wounded grapes by 

 night, especially if it belonged to the great family of 

 Owlet Moths (Mctim); but, as no moths whatever have 

 any jaws to bite with, it could not possibly break the 

 skin of a sound grape. Thanks for the article ironi the 

 Ohio Farmer, which we shall duly make use of. 



AVhite Pine Worms— /os. T. Little. Dixon, III.— 

 The worms which in October, and sometimes even as 

 late as November, you find on your White Pines, de- 

 vouring the foliage, but, as usual, never on any other 

 kind of evergreen, whether Scotch Pine, Austrian 

 / Pine, Norw.ay Spruce, Ai-borVita3 or Balsam Fir, are 

 » the White Pine worm (io/^^Ks -^Wwrtij, Leach). Late 

 in the autumn they attach to the twigs a tough brown 

 pod-like cocoon, inside which they repose through the 

 Nvinfer, changing into the F"Pa in the middle of the 

 foflowingMay; and about two weeks afterwards the 

 perfect Saw-fly emerges from one end of the cocoon. 



Insects nameA—Steplien Blanchard, Oregon, Holt 

 Co., i&.— The "grasshopper rather beyond the usual 

 size ' ' is the American Acridium (Acridium americanum, 

 Drury). The large gray moth is the very same species 

 (Sphinx i-macitlata, Haworth), which we figured on the 

 fii'st page of No. 2. 



TUe Tarantula oH Texas- =/as. Dell, EwreTea, Mo. 

 The immense spider-like animal which you left at the 

 office of the pubhshers, and which was captured in 

 Missouri, is the Tarantula of Texas {Mijgale Hentzii, 

 Marcy). It excited no Uttle curiosity amongst those 

 who saw it for the first time . If you h.ave access to the 

 American Naturalist you mil find it figured on 

 page 139 of the first volume. Formidable as this animal 

 appears, yet it is attacked by a large species of Dauber 

 wasp {Pomipilus formosus. Say), kno^vn by the name of 

 the "Tarantula Killer." The female of this wasp 

 stings and instantly paralyzes the Tarantula, ui the 

 same manner as our smaller Mud-daubers paralyze our 

 common spiders. She then excavates a hole in the 

 earth, places the Tarantula in it, deposits an egg under 

 its bodv, and then covers up the hole very securely. , 

 In due time the larva of the great wasp hatches from [.- 

 the egg and commences to feed on its benumbed victim. 

 The sting of all the Mud-daubers has a most wondertul 

 effect on the caterpillars, spiders, and other insects 

 which are to serve as food for their young. It does not 

 kill, but paralyzing and suspending aU animation, 

 renders them capable of resisting decomposition for a 

 long time. 



Insect foes of the Apple-tree— ff. G. Dracl-eit, 

 Lawrence, ICansas .—The worm with a black head and 

 neck, which you traced from the calyx to the seed of a 

 Rambo apple, is the common Apple-worm or larva of 

 the CoAWMgynoth {Oarpocapsa pomonella, lAim.). The 

 head and neck of this worm are usually jet black when 

 young, though they are brown when it is fuU grown. 

 The caterpillar feeding upon the leaves of the apple 

 tree, is the larva of the Hand-maid moth {Datana miu- 

 istra, Drury). These worms, if left alone, sometimes 

 prove quite injurious; but, as it is their nature to con- 

 gregate together, they are readily destroyed. The 

 woolly lice on the roots of the apple tree, are the com- 

 mon Apple-root lice (Pemphigus pyri. Fitch). They y 

 may be killed by pouring a suflieient amount of hot ^ 

 water on the roots . 



Grape-leaf Folders eaten by Spiders—^. A. 

 Billiard, Brighton, 111 . — The "small spiderish-lookiug, 

 lively fellow' ' which you found in the fold of a grape- 

 leaf, and which you suspect to be the Grape-leaf fold- 

 er, is in reaUty a spider. This spider had evidently 

 destroyed the true occupant, which we judge from the 

 shape of the fold, to have been the Grape-leaf 

 folder (Desmia maculalis. West.) This last is a little 

 glass-green, active, wriggling worm, and bears no re- 

 semblance to a spider. AU spiders are more or less 

 beneficial to the fruit-grower, and instead of crushing 

 them as you have been doing, you should cherish them. 



Caterpillar of tlie Troilus Butter fly— -i . .S. 

 Fuller, Bidgewood, N. /.—The caterpillar which crawl- 

 ed into your oflice and fixed himself there for winter . _ 

 quarters, is the larva of the large black SwaUow-tail •' 

 hnttex&y (Pupilio troilus, iAim.). It feeds on sassafras, ^■ 

 and we have this summer found it on the prickly ash ; 

 l)ut we have never known it to become sufficiently nu- 

 merous to do any damage. 



Potato Beetles— P. //. Foster. Babylon, N. Y.— 

 The two kinds of blister beetles that were infesting 

 your potatoes of the Harrison variety, are the Striped 

 and the Black blister-beetles. The former was illus- 

 trated in No. 2 (Fig. 13), and the latter much resem- 

 bles the Black Rat blister-beetle, figured on the same 

 page, (Fig. 1-1?'), the differences between the two be- 

 ing e.-iplaincd in the foot-note. 



Holes round tlie roots of youug^ AsU Trees 

 in tlie Nursery. — Isaac Hicks, Long Island, N. Y. — 

 These are probably made by the large black Rliinoceros .y 

 Beetle (Xyloryctes Satyms, Fabr.), which you sometimes \>^ 

 find near them. Its larva, which only dift'ers from the 

 common AVhite Grub by bein.g much bigger and by 

 having a black head instead of a red one, lives under- 

 ground and feeds upon roots. 



liocust Borers — Criah Bruner, Omaha, Nel. — The 

 beetles which you found on the trunks of locust trees', 

 are the common Locust borer (Clytus roMniai, Forster.) 

 You sav you found them in great numbers. They may 

 be fouiid on the trunks of the Locust during the month 

 of September, and should invariably be destroyed. 

 Their larva; have pretty nearly ruined the Locusts 

 throughout the country. 



