TFIE ENTOMOLOGIST. 61 



Ibe knobs not only above, but also below, tbe surface of the 

 ground : the latter position is no doubt occasioned by the 

 frequent horse-hoeings, &c., by which the soil is brought 

 round the bulbs. — John Cordeaux ; Great Cotes, Ulceby^ 

 Lincolnshire, January 16, 1870. 



[The cause of the injury in question is a very small 

 blackish weevil, named Nedyus contractus ; it was, I believe, 

 first noticed in the 'Entomological Magazine,' 1833, and 

 subsequently in the ' Letters of Rusticus,' at p. 105 : in the 

 latter work, after a careful and elaborate description of the 

 turnip nigger (Athalia Spinarum or Centifolia?), the author 

 proceeds thus : — " The turnip has three other insect enemies : 

 the worst of these is a weevil, a little, black beetle, with a 

 trident, like that of the apple-weevil, but the operations of 

 the turnip-weevil are quite on a different plan : the eggs of 

 this little fellow are laid on that part of the bulb of the 

 turnip which is above the ground, and the grub which comes 

 from it eats into the rind of the turnip, making it hump up 

 into warts and all manner of rugosities, and causing the whole 

 bulb to become woolly and distasteful to sheep and cows. 

 This small and most insidious enemy has escaped the notice 

 of both naturalists and farmers, Jirst^ because it is so small, 

 and, secondly, because its ravages do not cause any diminu- 

 tion in the quantity of either the leaf or the bulb." Since 

 this was originally published this little pest has forced itself 

 into notice, and many entomological writers have recorded it 

 in their lists of insects injurious to the turnips, but I find no 

 additional particulars of its life-history, which I am now 

 endeavouring to render more complete with the materials 

 kindly furnished by Mr. Cordeaux. — Edward Newman.^ 



Greasy Spots caused by Insects in Cabinets. — Can you or 

 any of your readers inform me what is the cause of those 

 greasy blotches made by some insects, such as Pyrameis 

 Cardui, Dicranura vinula, &c., even after they have been in 

 the cabinet for years, and if there is any remedy for it ? — 

 Henry W. Grensted ; 3, Breiver Street^ Maidstone, 



The American Moth- trap. — I shall be much obliged if 

 you will favour me with your own experience, or that of any 

 of your correspondents, in the 'Entomologist,' as to the 

 success and general working results of "the new and suc- 

 cessful American moth-trap," sold by Mr. T. Cooke, of 



