CHERMES OF MAINE CONIFERS. 



279 



Thomas in his third report makes the following statement f 

 concerning abieticolens. 



"CHERMES (ABIETICOLENS?) 



"Adeleges of the Spruce. Packard. 



"A rather large species mentioned by Dr. Packard as 'fomid 

 in abimdance on the spruce in Maine, where it produces swell- 

 ings at the ends of the twigs, resembling in size and form the 

 cones of the same tree.' The specific name is applied provis- 

 ionally and only for use in this report. This is certainly dis- 

 tinct from the European species Chermes abietis Linn., which 

 is much smaller, of a bright reddish-brown color, with the wings 

 tinged with green." 



Packard! reports this species as follows: 



"37. The Spruce Bud-louse, Adelges abieticolens, Thomas. 



"Deforming the terminal shoots of the spruce, producing 

 large swellings, which would be readily mistaken for the cones 

 of the same tree. 



"We take the following account and illustration from our 

 Guide to the Study of Insects: 



" 'The genus Adelges was proposed by Vallot for certain 

 broad, flattened plant-lice which attack coniferous trees, often 

 raising swellings on twigs like pine and spruce cones. The 

 antennae are short, 5-jointed and slender ; there are three straight 

 veialets arising from the main subcostal vein and directed out- 

 wards, and there are no honey tubes; otherwise these insects 

 closely resemble the Aphides. A species closely related to the 

 European Adelges {Chermes) coccineus of Ratzeburg, and the 

 A. strobilobius of Kaltenbach, which have similar habits, we 

 have found in abundance on the spruce in Maine, where it pro- 

 duces swellings at the ends of the twigs resembling in size and 

 form the cones of the same tree. We would add that each 

 leaf-bud is enlarged, having an Adelges under it. As those 

 nearest the base mature first and leave their domicile, the 

 deformed leaf-bud stands out from the axis of the shoot, thus 

 giving the conelike appearance to the end of the shoot.' 



"This has since been described by Prof. Cyrus Thomas in 

 his^Third Report on the Injurious Insects of Illinois, p. 156." 



t Rept. Ent. 111. 8 : 156, 1879. 



t Insects Injurious to Forest and Shade Trees. 



