96 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



bug, and the Colorado Grasshopper, because 

 these insects occur in other districts as well, 

 we must also change , the name of the New 

 York Weevil, to avoid hurting the feelings of 

 the great State of New York ; and so on ad in- 

 finitum. The correct scientific rule is, that spe- 

 cific names, when once validly established, can- 

 not bo changed — Eds.] 



THE NINE-PUONGED WHEEL-BUG. 



Editors American Entomologist : 



The " Eggs of true Bugs," from Moorestowu, 

 N. J., referred to on page 80, 2d column, of the 

 Entomologist, are, without a doubt, iu my 

 mind, those of Eeduvius(Prionotus) novenarius^ ■ 

 Say, a large species, which is becoming very 

 common iu this locality, but not more so than 

 is desirable, from its known predaceous habits- 

 This insect has long been common in and about 

 Philadelphia, but it is only during the last ten 

 years that it has been observed in the county of 

 Lancaster, except on very rare occasions. In a 

 residence of many years at Marietta, only twelve 

 miles west of Lancastei-" City, and during eight 

 years of active exi)loratiou in that neighbor- 

 hood, I never saw a single specimen of this in- 

 sect, although various other species of Eedu- 

 viiD^c were very common. I have often obtained 

 the eggs and the young by confining the adult 

 female iu a box. The color, the form, and the 

 manner of agglutination of the eggs, agrees 

 very well with the statement of your corres- 

 pondent S. C. T. The subsequent hatching of 

 the eggs, and the progressive development of 

 the young, has furnished some very interesting 

 "episodes in insect life." On one occasion a 

 mass of about fifty of these eggs, which were at- 

 tached to the side of a box, liatched out prema- 

 turely, in a warm room, early in March, and a 

 few of the young survived until the first week 

 in April, puzzling me very much to know how 

 life was sustained with nothing but air to feed 

 vipon. Every week, however, the number of 

 living subjects seemed to diminish, but those 

 that did survive seemed to be healthy, active, 

 aud growing. One day, liowever, I detected 

 one of the large individuals seizing one of the 

 smaller ones, and in about ten minutes he had 

 him sucked out as dry as an empty chestnut 

 shell; and on examining the skeletons on the 

 bottom of the box I found them all hollow. The 

 subsequent observations of Mr. Jacob Staufier, 

 of this city, upon a colony which he had iu his 

 garden, confirmed those which I had made, and 

 seem to imply that iu a state of nature the hab- 

 its of this insect, in this respect, are the same. 



These insects, when quite young, and for some 

 weeks thereafter, are gregarious, the stronger 

 feeding upon the weaker, and after the colony 

 has been reduced to eight or ten in number, and 

 these have acquired sufficient sti'ength and art 

 to capture other prey, they separate andbecome 

 solitary. "Witnessing the gradual development 

 of tacT, cunning, assault aud evasion, practiced 

 by these insects, it would appear that the lessons 

 learned in youth were necessary to carry them 

 through their after life. S. S. E. 



Lancaster, Pa., Dec, ISOS. 



[Our correspondent is not improbably right, iu 

 referring these eggs to the Nine-pronged Wheel- 

 bug (Heduvius novenarius, Say) . We had this in- 

 sect in view, in referring the eggs to some spe- 

 cies in this genus, but it is always unwise to 

 refer the eggs or any of the preparatory states of 

 an insect to a definite species, unless we know 

 positively of what we are speaking. — Eds.] 



Grasshoppers in the State of New York. 



Editors America?!, Entomologist: 



Iu your November number (page 53), you 

 give authority for saying that grasshoppers were 

 scarce iu this State (New York), this season. 

 This may have been the fact where Dr. Velie 

 resides, but here in the extreme western part, 

 they were mere numerous than usual. Many 

 fields of corn were badly injured by having the 

 " silk " eaten from the ears before the pollen had 

 fallen. Carrots and buckwheat also sufiered 

 badly. They ate all the carrots in my own 

 garden, and also the onions (seed onions, not 

 "sets"), and left the parsnips untouched. Many 

 gardens were entirely cleaned of cabbages, and 

 vineyards suffered materially ; not from loss of 

 foliage, but the grasshoppers ate holes in the 

 berries, and, unless disturbed, would not leave 

 a bunch till all the berries were spoiled. Some 

 Delaware vineyards also suffered from the de- 

 predations of bees. My own Delawares sulfei-ed 

 from what are called here "yellow jackets," and 

 "black hornets," or wasps (?). Both build 

 "paper" nests on trees, and always trouble 

 sweet apples, but this year they injured the 

 grapes. I think that if the grasshoppers had 

 left the grapes alone these " hornets " never 

 would have troubled them. No other varieties 

 of grapes were injured much, only occasionally 

 an lona or Diana. 



Black crickets Avere ronarkably plenty here 

 this season, also the tent caterpillar. The "flea 

 beetle " (Haltica), was unusually destructive to 

 young cabbages and turnips. 



Yours, etc., D, A. A. Nichols, 



Westfield, Nkw Tokk. 



