THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



247 



liargre compound Gall on <irape-vine— .1. S. 



Fuller, RidijLirood, JV. /.—The mas* of irregular succu- 

 lent swellings on the stem and leaf stalks of the grape- 

 vine (you ilo not mention the variety), eaeli swelling 



Colorg— Pivle-Ereen anil 



about the size of a large pea anil often having a rosy 

 cheek, is produced by a pale reddish Gall-gnat, the 

 LaHoptera ntia of Osten Sicken, At Figure 18S, 

 we represent the gall you sent, and at u a section of one 

 of the swellings, showing the cavities which contain the 

 orange-yellow larva> which are the authors of the w<n-k. 

 These larvai leave the galls and enter the earth to trans- 

 form. Baron Osten Sacken observes that many of these 

 cavities are abandoned by their inmates and in\adcd by 

 numerous Tkrips, and wi^ noticed the same state of 

 things with your gall, the Thripx being cannibal and 

 preying upon the gall maker. 



1). W. A'aujf'tium., JJes Moines, Iowa. — -The series of 

 tleshy bulb-like swellings on the terminal shoot of a 

 grape-vine, are the same as figured al)0\e in answer to 

 A. S. Fuller. The only two cells that were not empty 

 in the specimens sent by you (July Uth), contained 

 each of them a parasitic larva spun up in its cocoon and 

 belonging apparently to the ProcMri/pfsfinmily. Of 

 eoui'se this parasitic laiva must have prcycil upon the 

 gall-makiug larva, which would otherwise have vacated 

 the cell . On pages 100 and 10" we have figured and 

 described two other kinds of galls madi' by gall-gnats 

 upon grape-vine. 



Insects Named — Mm. M. Treat, Viiulaiid, N. J. — 

 1st. The elongate shiny-green Ijeetle, about half an inch 

 long, that has ' ' devoured alivesuch numbers of insects. 

 Iarv;c as well as perfect insects, within a few weeks," is 

 Tiiiuuifhila. tliuKcentt, Oliv. The othergenera of the group 

 to which this insect belongs (TmgiiKitii family) feed upon 

 vegetable matter, either living or dead, certain Euro- 

 pean species being very destructive in granaries; but 

 Westwood expressly states that no insect belonging to 

 this group attacks either living or dead animal matter. 

 Hence it would seem that the facts which you have ob- 

 served are new to science. Certainly the living speci- 

 men which you sent us. and which reached us in vig- 

 orous health, had fed nu)st heartily on the road on the 

 bodies of the moths which you supplied as food 

 for him. 2d. The " funny little caterpillars, feeding 

 both upon the fruits and upon the leaves of the rasp- 

 lierry. and decorating their bodies with bits of leaves, 

 dried anthers of (lowers, or any small light substance 

 they can get, such as bits of paper or of thread," must 

 be the AjiloJex mJiimni of the Junior Editor, tirst des- 

 cribed in the Missouri Report. They produce a small 

 pale-green moth. 3d. The large black larva that 

 seizes cut-worms by the throat and preys upon them 

 most extensively, is probably that of Cohismiiii ntliilum. 

 Fabr.— a handsome black bectli' with copper-colored 

 dots which we figured on page 48, Fig. 40. Tliis lar\a— 

 which as you say has a general resemblance to that of 

 a Ladybird, except that it is so much larger— is des- 

 cribed by Fitch as seizing cutworins liy the throat and 

 "clinging thereto with the grip and pe'linacity of a 

 bulldog." 



Destructive I.arv»B — />'. F. Lee, Marshfield, Mo. — 

 The larva' you sent arrived in such ill-shaped and con- 

 fused masses that we could make nothing of them. 

 You say " they not only destroyed the cabbiige, po- 

 tatoes and other vegetables, but had the impudence to 

 enter the nursery by thousands and destroyed every 

 leaf of about 0,000 iiuinee cuttings, and 1,000 pear 

 grafts; then began on the apple grafts, but disappeared 

 before doing them much damage." We regret that 

 you did not pack them better, or give a description of 

 their appearance. We hope you will do so another 

 year. The bristly black worm, covered with what 

 seems to be eggs, is the larva of the Buck Moth {Sat.iir- 

 ida rnuia, Iliib.), for a fuller account of which, see page 

 ISO in answer to G \V. Copley. What you take for 

 eggs on its body are the i-ocouns of a parasitii^ ichneu- 

 mon fly. 



Egg^s ot Xree Cricteet on firape-vine— .1. S. 



Fuller. — The row of contiguous holes, which cause the 

 (Jrape cane to jiartly s|)lit, and which look as thtmgh 

 they had been made by a stout pin, are caused by the 

 Snowy Tree-cricket ((Fcantlnis niivux), and had for- 

 merly contained its eggs. You will find this insect 

 figured on page .'18. We hatched a luimber of them this 

 spring, but reared but one female to the full grown 

 state . They ted entirely on plant lice at first, but when 

 these were denied them, they fell to devouring one 

 another, practically carrying out the doctrine of "might 

 is right," until the strongest individual was left alone, 

 the conijucror of the fielil. 



New York -Weevil— C/iarles Wntera, .Spriiii/v/Ve, 

 Wis.— Thi! snout-beetles are the same N. Y, Weevil 

 of which the history was given in Number 11, page 'i-il, 



