246 



THE AMEEICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Four"lined lieat'-T>ug' on Currant, — M. B. Bate- 

 man, Piiiiiesrille, Ohio. — The yellow bugs which you 

 forwarded by Mr. Meehau, and which are aboutj^ineh 

 long, with four black longitudinal lines, the two outer 

 ones of which each terminate in a black dot, are 

 the Four-lined Leaf-bug ( Cajisus i-riftatns. Say.) You 

 say "this insect is found to be quite injurious to the 

 leaves of the Currant bushes and various kinds of 

 Shi"uhs, such as "Weigelia, Dietzia, etc. , in some gar- 

 dens in Cleveland — though not at all common as yet — 

 and has only been seen there for the past year and the 

 pi'esent. It commences feeding in May and continues 

 for several months, and evidently breeds on the bushes, 

 as young ones are seen now half grown along with the 

 old ones." We think the jilants might be protected 

 against their attacks by a proper use of cresylic acid 

 soap. The Cujixus ilimily, to which this insect belongs, 

 is one of the most extensive families in the Order of 

 Half- winged Bugs {Ilehroptera). 



Bee Ifloth — Stepheii Blandmrd, Oreyoii, Holt Co., 



Mil. — The large mass of white silken cocoons which you 



CFig. 182.: 



Colors— (a) },'ray; (b) whitish; (c) brown; (d and e) gray and browu. 



took from your bee-hives, and which have greatly in- 

 jiu-ed your bees, destroying fully half your swarms, are 

 the cocoons of the Bee Moth ( Galleria cereana, Fabr.) 

 They contained the pupa; and we never saw such im- 

 mense fat specimens before. At Figure 182 we illustrate 

 this insect in all its stages (a worm, h cocoon, c pupa, 

 d $ moth, and a (^ moth,) and quote the following par- 

 agraph from the Missouri Entomological Report, where 

 yoit will find a full account of this bee pest. 



It should invariably be borne in mind that a strong 

 stock of bees is ever c"apal>le of resisting, to a great ex- 

 tent, the attacks of the worm ; wliile a starved or queen- 

 less swarm is quite inditlVrent to its attacks. In a com- 

 mon box hive, a good w.ay to entrap the worms alter 

 they are once in a hive, is to raise the front upon two 

 small wooden blocks, and to put a piece of woolen rag 

 between the bottom-board and the back of the hive . 

 The worms tind a cozy place undi.-r the rag, in which 

 they form their cocoons, and may there be found and 

 killed, from time to time, ilueh can be done in the way 

 of prevention, by killing e\ery morniug the moths 

 which may be found on the outside of the hives. At 

 this time "of the day, they allow themselves to be 

 crushed with very good grace : and if two or three be 

 killed each morning, they would form an important 

 •lem at the end of the year, especially when we recol- 

 lect that each female is capable of iXirnishing a hive with 

 at least 300 eggs. 



Iimnunity from the ravages of this worm can only be 

 guaranteed where a thorough control is had of both 

 hive and bees. Hence the great importance of the mov- 

 able frame hive. 



Wfeite Grub Fungous — L .M.S., Boone Co., Mo. — 

 You wih find by referring to back numbers of our paper 

 that it is a fact that the "White Grub actually sprouts , 

 i . e . a living fungus actually grows at times from the 

 sides of its mouth . 



Canker-Tvorm Parasites — J. Fetit, G-rimshu, C. 

 W. — The white oval cocoons attached to the body of 

 a Canker-worm produced on the road a species of 

 Mia'ogaster, which is a genus of Ichneumon flies. 

 What seemed at first sight to be two clusters of eggs 

 attached to the bodies of two Canker-worms iiroved 

 to be net-work cocoons inclo.?ing each of them a piu-a- 

 sitic larva. Both cocoon and larva are new to us, but 

 in all probability belong to some genus or other of Ich- 

 neumon fly, which in the larva state had iircyed upon 

 the Canker-worm. The dead Canker-worm was so- 

 cured to the leaf U])on which it rested by this cocoon. 

 Beetles Swarming around the liawn — Sa?nl. 

 Thoiiip.1011, M. D., AlVuiih, Ms, — The deep, rich, 

 velvety-green beetles, about % inch long, with the 

 wing-covers bordered and sometimes marked above 

 with fulvous, wliile the underside of the body is of a. 

 brilliant metallic green with purple reflections, is the 

 Trim Flower-chafer (ft/?;Mief»««.«<«ia, Linn.) You say 

 you found these beetles (July 16) flying in great num- 

 bers over the lawn near the ground and especially 

 round a Weigelia bush, and that tlicy appeared so ac- 

 tive and excited, that jou at first thought they 

 \\cre Bumble-bees. In the lar\a state they feed 

 on the roots of plants, and are sometimes quite 

 injurious to -the Strawberry. The larva bears 

 a strong resemblance to that commonly known 

 as the White Grub, but, in common with that 

 of the Goldsmith beetle (Cotalpa lauigera, 

 Linn,) — a Vn-iUiant yellow insect — it has the 

 curious habit of invarialily traveling on its back 

 notwithstanding it has six legs on theunderside. 

 "Willie the common White (Trub or May-beetle larva 

 travels clumsily with its legs, this grub by turning on 

 its back travels as easily and as rapidly as an ordinary 

 caterpillar. The species does not occur in North IIU- 

 nols, but Is sutHciently abimdant in the south part of 

 the State and in central Missouri. 



Xiger-bcetle Ijarva — li, J. Thdije, Broolclyii, N. Y. 

 — The singular larva, about % inch long, with a, gigan- 

 tic head and strong hooked jaws, and with two re- 

 markable hooks on the middle of its back, is that of a 

 Tiger-beetle (Cmindela.) You say that "it lives in a 

 vertical hole in the groimd, about three inches deep and 

 of the diameter of its head, and remains at the suri'^ce, 

 its head just level with the earth, ready to catch any 

 small Insect that may come along. ' ' These are the gen- 

 eral habits of all the known species of this genus; and 

 as not a single species found in America has been bred, 

 so far as is on record, fi-om the larva state, it is im- 

 possible to say to what particular species your larva be- 

 longs. According to the latest revision , there are no 

 less than 64 distinct species foimd in North America, 

 most of which are to be met with within the limits of 

 the United States. 



Not Baric tice — W. McCraij, Black Oah, Caldtvell 

 Go., Mo. — We can assitre you that your trees have not 

 died from Bark-lice, for the numerous specimens of the 

 bark which you send have no trace of this pernicious 

 insect upon them. The minute round elevations on 

 these specimens of bark are very often to be seen on 

 dead limbs and twigs of fruit trees. We can offer no 

 explanation of the death of these trees, unless, as you 

 yourself suggest, they were killed by ' ■' the severe cold 

 weather that came early last winter . ' ' 



