THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



225 



Astlns Fly Jjarvse.— ff. Paula, Hurelca, Mo— The 

 [Fi". iGi]' ' wliite boi'er-like worm ' ' which you fouiul 

 J"' uiulor some weeds, anil which wc represent at Fig- 

 V. urelGl, is the larva o( siniu' laruc Tw(i-win;;rtl 

 rS tly. belonging most i)r(il>alily to the Asilus l';iiiiily. 

 We know of no other kiiiil (if liirvie wliiili h:ivr. 

 likfLthis one, two unguifonu appeutlaycs on tlie 

 very i»etractile head, and two spiracles on the hack 

 of both the first and eleventh segments . These 

 larvic are known to live in the ground, and to 

 feed upon the roots of diflercnt |ilants. Tlioy 

 transform in the ground to naked pupa', willi tlic 

 limbs free, and during the montJi <if July the Hies 

 issue. The larva of a quite common species {Asi- 

 lus sericms. Say) feeds upon the roots of the llhu- 

 .l)arb,and was bred to the perfect state by Harris. 

 Whitish. To give you a good idea of these flies, we repre- 

 sent, (Fig. 102), from Harris, this Silky Asilus (.'l«i7«s 



[Fig. 102.] 



sericeous. Say). When onee 

 these insects attain the fly 

 state, thev no longer rel- 

 ish the 've^'etable diet 

 which satistied tliem as 

 larva;, but tliey prey vo- 

 raciously on other insects. 

 One of these large flies is 

 known in the West as the 

 Bee-killer (Trupunea api- 

 rora, Fitch), on account of 

 the pernicious habit which 

 it has of seizing and suck- 

 ing out the vitals of the 

 Honey-bee, and you will 

 find an account of it on 

 page 168 of the Missouri 



Entomological Report. Color— Brownish ycllow. 



New Insect-foe of tUe Blackberry — CJtas. 

 Parnj, Vi/tnaminson, N. J.— The little 4-wiii^-eil flies. 

 about }^ inch long when their wings are elosed, uiid 

 with their wings steeply roofed like those ol iimsf rhml - 

 lice (Aphis family), belong to the closely allied Flea-liee 

 {Psi/lla lamily) and to the genus Psi/Ua. The Flea-liee 

 are'distinguishable from the Plant-lice, 1st by the very 

 ditt'erent veining of their wings, 2nd by the antemuc 

 being knobbed at tip like those of a butterfly, .'id by 

 their jumping as bri.skly as any flea, to wliieh indeed 

 they owe their scientiflc name, Peijlla beiiii; the elussi- 

 Ciilly pure (rreek word for a Flea. As with the riant- 

 lice, the Flea-lice are usually restrieted to eerlaiii 

 groups of plants, as, for example, the Birch, the Kettle, 

 the Pc.ar, <fee. Only a single species has hitherto been 

 described as found in the U. S. — the Pear-trc>e Flea- 

 louse (PsMa pyri) — which so far has been exclusively 

 met with in the Ea.^tern States, and is supposed to Inne 

 been introdueed there from Kurope. Your siie'-ies niav 

 be called the Bramble Flea-lnus.' (Psiilla rul.l). as you 

 And it to inhabit the euimiiun Blaekberry. For the lieii- 

 cflt of our other readers, we copy hero what you say as 

 to tlie habits and the mode in which it operates upon 

 the infested plant: "The suckers upon which this 

 insect occurs in the spring commence to twirl round, 

 and when not interfered with make a complete revolu- 

 tion belnie they ivsuiiie their usual course. The leaves 

 curl uii and beeume matted around the curl, so as to 

 make a safe harbor for the lice-like larva: \\ Inch during 

 summer appear ou the under surface of tin; leaves. I 

 l)resume wc can get rid of this insect, after the larv;e 

 are produced, by cutting oft" the curls and burning 

 them . ' ' 



We can ofter no certain explanation of the many- 

 stalked ftniit-spurs on the Blackberry, which some- 

 times blossom but never bear any "fruit. There is 

 no appearance of this phenomenon having been caused 

 by any insect; and we incline to attribute it merely to 

 the exuberant vigor of the plant, mon; particularly as 

 you say that the flowers on these multiple fruit-spiu-s 

 "" are sometimes double like a rose." The few Bark- 

 lice (Lecaiiiiim) found on these fruit-spurs c;m have 

 nothing to do with the unnatural growth; for, as you 

 yourself observe, they are found on other stalks as well. 



Army-MTorni — Jao. H. Butts, M. I>. , Clinton. Mo. — 

 The worms which are doing such an immense amount 

 of damage to the Timothy meadow and oats, in your 

 neighliorhood, is the veritable Army-worm, of which 

 you will find an account in this number. 



Green Grape-vine Worm — G. Pauls, Eurelea, 



Mo. — The large delicate gi'cen worm, covered with pale 



cream-colored spots and having a lateral yellow line, we 



have illustrated in the margin (Fig. Iffl). You say you 



[fig. lu:!.] 



Lnhns — Giitu xnd cu im luI n 

 found it injuring your grape-vines by devouring the 

 blossoms and leaves, and that it seemed to prefer Hart- 

 fcn-d Xsraella and lona Hrst, and Concord and North 

 Carolina next. It h.is this year alsn bi-en Inmicl on the 



grape-vine by Mr. S. U. Muhliiiian of \V Ihuni, Ills., 



and we have ourselves found it feeding on the Itasj)- 

 bcrry, and upon the lied Bud {Cercis canadensis), lu 

 1860 we brecl the moth from a single poplar-feeding 

 worm of the same kind, but this moth got so badly 

 rubbed in its endeavors to escape, that we are unab'.e 

 to identify it. All we can tell you is that it is of a gray 

 color and belongs to the great < iwlet-iiinth family (Ifoc- 

 tuiilat), some of the characteristics of this family being 

 yet discernable on its injured wings. 



Rose Slag.— Geo. W. Coplnj, Alton-, Ills.— The 

 yellow .slug-like worms which abound on your rose 

 bushes, and which cause the leaves to wear a seared 

 and yellow appearance, are the larva- "f the Itose Siiw- 

 fiy {Selandria tosiu, Harr.), a small shiny-black four- 

 winged Hy. A good doucheing with stripng tobacco- 

 water, or a sprinkling with white hcllibore, would have 

 killed them. They have now all left the bushes and 

 entered the ground, from which they will issue as flies 

 iie.vt August, and these flies will deposit eggs to pro- 

 duce a siTond brood of worms. Be on the look-out for 

 their second advent! The species seems to be spread- 

 ing fast in Illinois. Never until 1869 have we met with 

 specimens near Rock Island, Ills., and this year it is 

 (piite abundant. 



Meulah i'. Morris, Olnei/, Pa. — Wc rel"er you to the 

 above answer for the information you desire al>out the 

 Rose slug. We cannot toll precisely what the white 

 skii)ping insect is, unless you send specimens. 



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

 The elongate snout-beetle in the large quill is a common 

 sjiecies of lAxus, and quite distinct from the New York 

 Weevil which has done so much damage to Iruit-trees 

 this year. Of the two beetles in the small (luill, the 

 large gray one is Leptostyhis anilifn-iis Say — one of the 

 Capricorn or Long-horned Beetles, the larva of which 

 bores into oaks and oeeasionally aiii>le-trc'cs. The 

 small dark-colored one is/■c/./'(/H■«.^ m^nl, xiii«, Say, which 

 in the larva state preys iipoTT tiiniier-horing insects and 

 is consequently your friend and not your enemy. The 

 excavations into the external surlaec of the green 

 apricots which you send are such as we know experi- 

 mentally to be made for t he s.ake ol I'ooil by the eouinioii 

 (.lurculio. There were three Cunnlie ei-eseenis in the 

 specimens sent, and in one of these tlie lai\a hail 

 liatched out and commenced boring into the fruit. 



Chrysalis ot the Virgin Tigrer Moth— Con/vK/ 

 Mallinch'odt; Augusta, Mo. — The chrysalis which you 

 found on a corn-hill, h.as, since its receipt, produced 

 the Virgin Tiger Moth [Arctia virgo, Sm. »t Abb.), a 

 beautiful insect, with flesh-red wings, which are cov- 

 ered with stripes and lance-shaped spots of black . The 

 brown bunch at the extremity of the body of the chry- 

 salis, which you supposed to be a fungus, was the 

 slirunken skin of the caterpillar, and this caterpillar 

 had doubtless fed on your young corn, as a closely 

 allied species is known to do. 



Chrysalis of the Ursula Butterfly.— -(. F,iul- 

 ler. Athhf,,N, J/o — The curious chrysalis resembling 

 that figured en liage \',ri (Fig. 1-U /.i, 'which you found 

 on the leaf of a (irape-vine, bclongi'd to the Visula 

 butterfly (A'l/mphalis nrsiila, Fabr ) NNdiich is referred to 

 in the article on "Imitative Butterflies." We have 

 ' bred the buttei-fly from it. 



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