60 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Lytta vesicatoria. — I wish to record the capture of a fine 

 specimen of Lytta vesicatoria here in May, 1869. It was 

 crawling on the road in the sun. I am aware it is occasionally 

 taken in the South of England (Rye), and Curtis gives Norwich, 

 Cheltenham, Isle of Wight, and Cambridgeshire as localities. 

 I should be glad to hear if any of your readers have taken 

 it in 1869.— £". Lc. H. Fo.v, M.D.Lond.; Broughton, Win- 

 Chester. — * Science Gossip.'' 



Turnip Weevil. — I forward by rail specimens of turnips 

 grown in this parish : the bulbs are more or less covered 

 by a mass of knobs and rugosities, in many cases com- 

 pletely altering their shape and impairing both the quality 

 and growth of" the root : each of these knobs or excrescences 

 contains a small white grub, much sought after both by rooks 

 and wood pigeons, which come daily to feed upon them : 

 they break open the knob and extract its inhabitant. I lately 

 examined a field, half of which is sown with yellow and 

 purple turnips in equal proportions, and the other half with 

 swedes ; scarcely a bulb had escaped the attacks of this 

 insidious enemy. The swedes, however, had suffered in a 

 less degree than the common and softer turnips. I had 

 some trouble to find a bulb which had not been pierced by 

 the rooks and wood pigeons. In every case the top only of 

 the knob was broken away, leaving just sufficient room to 

 permit the extraction of the grub. Unfortunately this 

 operation is anything but beneficial to the root, letting 

 in both the wet and frost. Evidently the only object of the 

 birds was to get at the grub ; but I now see that as the 

 supply becomes exhausted they have commenced digging 

 into the solid bulb, by enlarging the holes from which the 

 grubs had previously been extracted. 1 Iiave in former 

 years noticed these knobs and rugosities on the bulb of the 

 turnip, but have never considered that they materially 

 injured either the growth or quality of the root. This season 

 is, however, quite an exceptional one, and in some fields 

 scarcely a root has escaped their attacks. In many cases the 

 very shape of the bulb is destroyed, and nothing but a mass 

 of warts and knobs left. The roots sent you are by no 

 means extreme cases. I am strongly inclined to think that 

 this year not only is the quality impaired, but the size of 

 the bulb also considerably lessened. In some cases I find 



