THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



99 



Look Out for the Eggs of the Apple-tree Plant-louse. 



While at Columbia, Mo., at the meeting' of 

 the State Horticultural Society, we noticed that 

 the little, shiuy, black bead-like eggs of the 

 common Apple tree plant-louse (Aphis mali, 

 Fabr.) were very numerous on almost all the 

 trees in the neighborhood. In many of the 

 young trees on Mr. James Stephens's place, there 

 was not a twig which was not studded with 

 them in everj' crevice and crack, and around 

 every bud. At the December meeting of the 

 Alton Horticultural Society, twigs covered in a 

 similar manner were presented for identifica- 

 tion. The punctures made by the Periodical 

 Cicada form a good shelter for these eggs, and 

 are generally lined with them. We judge there- 

 fore that this plant-louse will be more common 

 than usual in these localities next .spring, though 

 we are glad to state that tlie few warm days 

 which occurred during the latter part of Novem- 

 ber caused about one-third of the eggs to hatch; 

 and that those lice have since been killed by the 

 frost. Still we advise every one owning an ap- 

 ple tree to look out for them next spring, about 

 the time the buds begin to burst, and syringe 

 them with a weak solution of lye, or a still 

 weaker solution of cresylic acid soap. 



« » » 



A Substitate for the Poisonous Substances some- 

 times used for Preserving Insects. 



The learned French chemist, T. Raspail, in 

 his Manuel de la sante, gives a solution of 

 aloes and black pepper, as a good substitute for 

 the compounds of arsenic, mercury, etc., which 

 arc made use of to preserve insects. He says 

 that if a small ijuantity of this solution be put 

 into the paste used in lining boxes, it will form 

 a sufficient and lasting protection against insect 

 marauders. The plan is simple, and I strongly 

 urge its trial by Entomologists. 



Ciis. Dadant. 



Hamilton-, Ills. 



Greenhouse Plants. 



The Meally-bug and the Red Spider, as wc 

 hear from the best authority, will stand any 

 amount of tobacco smoke, while Plant-lice 

 {AjMs) are easily killed by tobacco smoke. 

 The Red Spider, however, may be got rid of by 

 exposing the infested plants to the rain, and the 

 Meally-bug by a wash of cresylic soap, suffi- 

 ciently diluted not to injure vegetation. ^ 



Errata. — On page 79, column 2, par. 2, line 

 11), for "G. C. Rye," read "E. C. Rye." On 

 page 73, column 1, line 7 from bottom, for 

 " for-mer," read " latter." 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Hoiv to Itatch Vupve— Daniel Porter Smith, Hai- 

 Jaiii j\"ech. Conn. ~\ow .say you liave collected a quan- 

 tity of pupa3, and enquire how you can most success- 

 fully hatch them out. The best advice we can give, is 

 to keep them as near as possible in the same conditions 

 in which they are found in n.ature. Those which p.iss 

 the winter in the ground should be put awav in earth, 

 which is kept continually moist. By placing them in a 

 box of moist sand, and by burying this box a loot deep 

 in the garden during the fall, you place them in natural 

 conditions, and may expect to lind them in a healthy 

 state when you dig the box up in the spring. All but- 

 terfly chrysalids that transform above ground are easily 

 bred by keeping them in a room of a low, even, and 

 sufficiently moist temperature . A7e have excellent suc- 

 cess ourselves In breeding cages, which set onto tin bot- 

 toms, that will hold from three to four inches of earth. 

 The cage is made of fourglass sides, and is covei-ed with 

 a cap of line wire gauze . One of the glass sides opens .as a 

 door, and the bottom is funiishcd with a tin tulie in which 

 to set a wide-mouthed bottle that will hold water. By 

 keeping the e.irth covered in winter with dump moss, 

 both it and the -Atmosphere are made sullifiently moist 

 for all inserts within the cage. .Sniiill insects inay fre- 

 quently lie bred in closed bottles, «hilc the piip;eof bee- 

 tles should be kept in moist rotten wood, or in what- 

 ever other substance they are found. The three chrys- 

 alids which you send for names are as follows: No. 1, 

 which you find quite plentiful on the wild cherry, is the 

 cocoon of the Promethea moth (AUacits Promethea, 

 Drury) ; 'So.l is the chrysalis of thegreat Yellow Swallow- 

 tail butterfly (/"tfpj'Zjo Turnus, Linn.), iind No. 3 is the 

 (j" cocoon, with the empty cj" chrysalis, of the' White- 

 marked Tussock moth (Orgijia leucostiqma, Ilarr,), the 

 caterpillar of which we figured on page 79 of No. 4. 



Drug' Store Pests. — /. M. Good, St Louix, J/n.— 

 The small whitish larva; that are infesting your eapsi- 

 cum, with six feet, a scaly head and bi'own lip.s and 

 jaws, and measuring 0.15 of an inch wlien strcti-heil 

 out, though they naturally ctu'l round in a ball; 

 are the larvaj of some species of the beetle family, Ptini- 

 D.E. yVe searched in vain for the perfect beetles, and 

 therefore can not tell to which particular species they 

 belong, luitil we breed tlieni. Tlien^ is a sperics of ii 

 uniform brown color (Ptinus }o-iiiine:i.s. Dul'tsehniidt) 

 which we have bred from allspice, and tliese larva; may ^ 

 possibly prove to be the same species. The worms o"f 

 about the same size and general appearance, but with- 

 out feet, that are destroying your decorticated barley by 

 consuming the flour, though they for the most "part 

 leave the hull entire, are the" larvic of a small 

 brown weevil. Amongst these larvae there were 

 many of tlie perfect weevils, and we discovered two 

 distinct species. One is the common Grain weevil 

 ( Calandra (jranaria, Linnaeus) , and the other is the Kice 

 weevil ( Calandra oryzm, Linn , ) These beetles resemble 

 each other both in size and api)earani-e, but the la.st 

 named Is somewhat the lighter in eul,ir. and has on the 

 wing, covers four still ii,;;hti r reddish-yellow spots. 

 These weevils multiply very rajiidly. as the female de- 

 posits great numbers of exceedinglv minute eggs of a 

 sulphur yellow color. Bypiungin.n'the bottles, contain- 

 ing both the infested .spice and barlev, into boiling 

 water, and allowing them to remain in the water for ten 

 minutes, you can eflfectually kill these insects and thus 

 prevent their further increase. 



Apple-tree AVornis. — ./. ./. Thoiitas, lianiic, Wis. 

 — The little brown worms, enclosed in a horn-like case, 

 and found surrounded liy criunpled leaves on apple 

 twigs, are the larvaiof the Rascal Leaf-crnmpler (P//i/r!'^t 

 ■nelmlo, Walsh). They remain on the trees all through 

 the winter, finish up their I'leling in the t'ullowing 

 spring, and about tlie midille nl' .luly transl'urni into 

 sm.all moths. In ISIJS they li:i\e beiii u'nusnally numer- 

 ous, but orilinarily they do not nemr in such 'profusicin 

 as to do any material amount of dania;;)'. Besides tile 

 ■apple tree, they infest the qui nee, the eiaband the iilniii. 

 The only known way to destroy them is to pick thenia>ses 

 of crumpled leaves oft" the trees in the wintri- time, and 

 either burn them or forcibly crumple them up between 

 the thumb and finger. As t'he larva is soft and delicate, 

 a comparatively slight pressure is sufficient to destroy 



