AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 205 



Orono, Me., Feb. 1, 1891. 



Mrs. Esther Gardner, 



Calais, Me. 



Dear Madam : — The box of infested red pepper which you sent 

 to Prof. Balentine proved to be too tearful a subject for his con- 

 sideration, and was turned over to me. 1 have wept, sneezed and 

 delayed, but finally have summoned courage sufficient to examine 

 the material and am now able to name the beetles you sent, which 

 possess such strong stomachs and peculiar tastes. I have won- 

 dered while I have cried and sneezed, whether they have optic 

 and olfactory nerves as sensitive as mine. 



The beetles were probably nut in the pepper when you bought 



it, as they are Ptinus brunneus, Durfs., a common, indigenous 



species known to feed upon wood, or sometimes on old books. I 



believe it has never been reported as feeding on red pepper. It 



must have found these conditions congenial as there were plump 



live larvae of several ages with the beetles in the box. The above 



species is a brother to Ptinus fur, L., an imported European 



species that attacks museum specimens and sometimes clothing. 



The species mentioned with others belong to the Family Piinidw. 



Your conscience can be at ease. You have not turned loose in 



Maine an insect previously unknown to our fauna, for Ptinus 



brunneus is an American, besides, li3 does not aspire to growing 



vegetation for food but is content with dead vegetable and animal 



matter. 



Yours very tearfully, 



F. L. Harvey. 



The Goldsmith Beetle. 

 Cottdpa lanigera. 

 Ord. Coleoptera : Fam. Scarabseidse. 

 This beautiful beetle, which is shown about natural size in Fig. 

 , * ^ 12, may be known by its broad oval shape ; lein- 

 &£&yS on yellow color above, head and thorax glistening 

 like burnished gold; the under side of the body 

 Slli\ coffee-colored and thickly covered with whitish 

 |I||1 wool ; legs brownish yellow or brassy and shaded 

 i; Vf with green. The larva/ of this insect is a large 

 grub that feeds upon the roots of plants. It has 

 •& been accused of injuring strawberries. It is 

 "' " shown natural size in Fig. \o. It requires three 



I 



