﻿264 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  The 
  grub 
  was 
  first 
  noticed 
  last 
  April 
  20, 
  in 
  the 
  egg 
  deposits 
  near 
  Loyalton. 
  This 
  

   fall, 
  September 
  7, 
  it 
  was 
  detected 
  in 
  great 
  quantity 
  near 
  Sierraville, 
  and 
  afterwards 
  

   in 
  several 
  infested 
  spots 
  of 
  the 
  valley. 
  A 
  handful 
  of 
  such 
  soil 
  will 
  generally 
  display 
  

   ten 
  to 
  twenty 
  cases 
  of 
  locust 
  eggs, 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  emptied, 
  and 
  half 
  as 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  fine, 
  

   fat, 
  grubs. 
  — 
  [J. 
  G. 
  Lemmon, 
  in 
  the 
  Sacramento, 
  Cal., 
  Weekly 
  Record-Union, 
  Novem- 
  

   ber 
  29, 
  1879. 
  

  

  The 
  white 
  grubs 
  ate 
  out 
  and 
  destroyed 
  thousands 
  of 
  eggs 
  last 
  fall, 
  but, 
  to 
  all 
  appear- 
  

   ance, 
  have 
  eaten 
  nothing 
  since, 
  having 
  lain 
  dormant 
  all 
  winter, 
  and 
  being 
  now 
  found 
  

   still 
  among 
  the 
  eggs, 
  which 
  are 
  fast 
  hatching 
  out. 
  — 
  [W. 
  C. 
  Lemmon, 
  Sierra 
  Valley, 
  

   Cal.., 
  June 
  13, 
  1880. 
  

  

  I 
  send 
  to 
  you 
  by 
  this 
  mail 
  another 
  package 
  of 
  the 
  locust-egg-eating 
  grubs, 
  some 
  of 
  

   which 
  you 
  will 
  find 
  more 
  developed. 
  My 
  brother, 
  Prof. 
  J. 
  G. 
  Lemmon, 
  came 
  up 
  from 
  

   Oakland 
  day 
  before 
  yesterday 
  to 
  spend 
  a 
  few 
  days, 
  and 
  while 
  looking 
  at 
  the 
  grubs 
  

   that 
  I 
  had 
  gathered 
  for 
  you 
  yesterday, 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  developed 
  into 
  the 
  humble-bee 
  

   fly 
  which 
  you 
  have 
  bred, 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  dozen 
  specimens 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  caught 
  and 
  

   envelop 
  rolled 
  up 
  in 
  paper. 
  — 
  [W. 
  C. 
  Lemmon, 
  in 
  letter 
  to 
  C. 
  V. 
  Riley, 
  dated, 
  Sierra 
  

   Valley, 
  Cal., 
  July" 
  18, 
  1880. 
  

  

  Happening 
  home 
  on 
  a 
  hurried 
  visit, 
  I 
  find 
  locusts 
  and 
  destruction 
  all 
  around 
  — 
  a 
  

   sad, 
  sad 
  sight 
  ! 
  Find 
  my 
  brother 
  has 
  tried 
  to 
  keep 
  you 
  posted 
  up 
  with 
  specimens 
  and 
  

   notes. 
  Am 
  pleased 
  to 
  see 
  a 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  big 
  white 
  grub 
  n 
  question. 
  He 
  developed 
  

   into 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  fly, 
  hosts 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  seen 
  in 
  midday, 
  buzzing 
  about 
  among 
  

   the 
  locusts. 
  — 
  [Prof. 
  J. 
  G. 
  Lemmon, 
  in 
  letter 
  to 
  C. 
  V. 
  Riley, 
  dated, 
  Sierra 
  Valley, 
  Cal., 
  

   July 
  18, 
  1880. 
  

  

  This 
  habit 
  in 
  the 
  larvse 
  of 
  Bombyliids 
  of 
  preying 
  on 
  locust 
  eggs 
  has 
  

   not 
  before 
  been 
  suspected, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  connection 
  we 
  will 
  review 
  what 
  

   has 
  hitherto 
  been 
  known 
  of 
  their 
  habits. 
  

  

  Prof. 
  J. 
  O. 
  Westwood 
  has 
  given, 
  in 
  the 
  Transactions 
  of 
  the 
  Entomo- 
  

   logical 
  Society 
  of 
  London, 
  1876, 
  pp. 
  497, 
  498, 
  the 
  following 
  summary 
  of 
  

   observations 
  upon 
  the 
  larval 
  habits 
  of 
  Bombilii 
  : 
  

  

  Thanks 
  to 
  the 
  researches 
  of 
  previous 
  observers, 
  the 
  economy 
  and 
  transformations 
  of 
  

   the 
  Bombylii 
  are 
  now 
  satisfactorily 
  known 
  to 
  entomologists. 
  Latreille 
  rightly 
  consid- 
  

   ered 
  that 
  the 
  Bombylii, 
  like 
  Anthrax, 
  were 
  parasites, 
  contrary 
  to 
  the 
  opinion 
  of 
  Zetter- 
  

   stedt 
  that 
  the 
  larvae 
  feed 
  on 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  plants 
  (Ins. 
  Lapp., 
  p. 
  510). 
  The 
  pupa 
  of 
  Bom. 
  

   major 
  was 
  first 
  figured 
  by 
  M. 
  Imhoff 
  in 
  the 
  Isis 
  for 
  1834, 
  having 
  been 
  found 
  by 
  him 
  in 
  a 
  

   situation 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  previously 
  noticed 
  to 
  be 
  frequented 
  by 
  Andrena 
  humilis 
  (vol. 
  

   1834, 
  p. 
  536, 
  pi. 
  xii). 
  In 
  my 
  Introduction 
  (vol. 
  2, 
  p. 
  538, 
  1840) 
  I 
  published 
  a 
  figure 
  of 
  

   the 
  same 
  pupa 
  from 
  a 
  specimen 
  discovered 
  byM. 
  C. 
  Pickering 
  in 
  a 
  sandy 
  gravel-pit 
  at 
  

   Coombe 
  Wood 
  on 
  the 
  28th 
  of 
  March, 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  imago 
  was 
  produced 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  days. 
  

   The 
  pupa 
  is 
  very 
  similar 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  Anthrax, 
  which 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  

   parasites, 
  having 
  the 
  front 
  and 
  under 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  armed 
  with 
  strong 
  spines, 
  and 
  

   the 
  dorsal 
  segments 
  of 
  the 
  abdomen 
  furnished 
  with 
  transverse 
  rows 
  of 
  strong 
  reflexed 
  

   booklets. 
  In 
  1852 
  M. 
  H. 
  Lucas 
  published 
  the 
  description 
  of 
  a 
  new 
  Algerine 
  species 
  of 
  

   the 
  genus, 
  Bomb. 
  Boghariensis, 
  in 
  the 
  Annals 
  of 
  the 
  French 
  Entomological 
  Society, 
  2nd 
  

   ser., 
  vol. 
  x, 
  p. 
  11, 
  pi. 
  1, 
  No. 
  11, 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  reared 
  from 
  a 
  pupa 
  found 
  under 
  a 
  stone 
  

   in 
  a 
  damp, 
  sandy 
  situation, 
  and, 
  contrary 
  to 
  the 
  opinion 
  of 
  Latreille, 
  he 
  expressed 
  

   himself 
  thus 
  : 
  " 
  Je 
  suis 
  porte" 
  a 
  croire 
  que 
  les 
  larves 
  qui 
  composent 
  ce 
  genre 
  ne 
  sont 
  

   pas 
  parasites, 
  comme 
  le 
  supposent 
  Latreille 
  et 
  beaucoup 
  d'autres 
  Entomologistes, 
  mais 
  

   qu'elles 
  vivent 
  au 
  contrairo 
  isole'inent 
  dans 
  la 
  terre, 
  — 
  opinion, 
  au 
  reste, 
  qui 
  avait 
  deja 
  

   6te" 
  6mise, 
  mais 
  avec 
  doute, 
  par 
  M. 
  Macquart, 
  et 
  que 
  mon 
  observation 
  vient 
  confirmer." 
  

  

  In 
  1858 
  the 
  real 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  Bombylius 
  was 
  discovered 
  by 
  the 
  veteran 
  L6on 
  Du- 
  

   four, 
  who 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  found 
  various 
  exuviae 
  of 
  the 
  pupa 
  of 
  B. 
  major 
  sticking 
  out 
  of 
  

   the 
  ground, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  newly-hatched 
  insect, 
  in 
  places 
  much 
  frequented 
  by 
  

   various 
  Andrenidce, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  autumn, 
  by 
  digging 
  on 
  the 
  spot, 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  larva, 
  

  

  