OBTHOPTEEA— ACMDIDAE— CALOPTEN US OCOIDENTALIS. 893 



should have been found in Southern Illinois, by the writer, and sent to Pro- 

 fessor Uhler, of Baltimore, about the year 1860, though previous to that 

 time various scientific expeditions had penetrated the western plains ; yet 

 it is but seldom seen in the section where that specimen was obtained. 



The great distress it has caused in the Western States by the destruc- 

 tion of the crops the past season renders it a matter of public interest to 

 ascertain whether there is any remedy for the evil. I think it extremely 

 doubtful whether they can be brought under control by any practical 

 scheme ; yet the question cannot be fully decided until it is ascertained 

 positively from what point the hordes visiting Kansas, Nebraska, and Min- 

 nesota come, and where they originate. While their history on the west- 

 ern side of the plains is pretty well known, but little appears to have been 

 ascertained that is reliable in regard to their passage across the plains. 



So far as I have been able to learn from personal observations and from 

 information received in the west, they move north, south, and east, but sel- 

 dom migrate westward. May it not be that settlements along the eastern 

 flank of the Kocky Mountain range are pushing them eastward ? It would 

 be well for some one connected with the expeditions the Government is 

 sending west to gather all the data in regard to their operations last season 

 possible, and this should be done the coming slimmer, while the facts are 

 fresh in the memory of the people of the sections visited by them. AVhile it 

 is quite probable no adequate remedy can be found, yet every means possi- 

 ble should be tried ; and it is evident no progress can be made in this direc- 

 tion until their habits and history have been thoroughly studied. Much has 

 already been ascertained, but an important gap yet remains to be closed ; 

 the swarms which visit these States must be traced back, step by step, to 

 their starting place. Much can be done in this direction the next season, 

 and while dates are fresh in the memory of the numerous sufferers this 

 should be done. 



CALOPTENTJS OCCIDENTALISM, Thos. 

 Caloptenus occidentalisf, Thos., U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., 1871, 453, pi. ii, f. 2. 



I lind in the collection a specimen which appears to belong to this spe- 

 cies, although it varies somewhat from the type. It differs in the following 



