28 



seggs. Permeating through the nest is a quantity of powdery matter which under a 

 high magnifying power is seen to be in the form of rings. The waxen filaments are 

 adhesive and elastic, and can be pulled out sometimes a foot or more before entirely 

 separating. When heat is applied these fibres melt, and their waxy nature is further 

 .demonstrated by their solubility in ether and chloroform. A single nest will seldom 

 contain less than 500 eggs, and sometimes upwards of 2,000. The female begins to 

 lay eggs in the latter part of May, and continues laying from five to seven weeks, until 

 she dies from exhaustion, her entire life continuing for about thirteen months. During 

 ihe laying and hatching of the eggs she secretes a quantity of a sweet liquid known as 

 honey-dew, which attracts ants, flies and other insects, and it often happens that the young 

 lice crawl up the legs and bodies of these visitors, by whom they are thus carried to other trees. 



The newly hatched, yellowish-white lice soon distribute themselves over the branches, 

 and attaching to the succulent portions, pierce the tender bark with their sharp ,beaks and 

 subsist upon the sap. They shortly become stationary, when they gradually increase in 

 size and finally reach maturity. 



The scale of the male insect is very different from the female. It is longer in pro- 

 portion to its size, and there are no waxy filaments projecting from it. When fully mature 

 the insect escapes from its scaly covering and appears as a minute, beautiful and delicately 

 formed two- winged fly, marked with yellowish and chestnut brown, with brilliant rose- 

 coloured wings which also reflect the colours of the rainbow. These flies do not appear until 

 August and September, and their lives in the winged state are very short, not exceeding 

 two or three days. 



Besides the maple and the grape, these insects are, as already stated, also found on 

 the linden or basswood, and sometimes on the elm. Where permitted to continue their 

 depredations undisturbed, they weaken and injure, and occasionally destroy the trees 

 attacked. They affect chiefly the under side of the branches and twigs. 



RBMEDIE?. 



The branches of the infested trees may be vigorously rubbed with a stiff brush or 

 broom, which will dislodge many of the insects, and then coated with a strong alkaline 

 wash made by melting either soft or hard soap and diluting it to the consistence of paint 

 with a strong solution of washing soda ; or they may be destroyed with an emidsion of 

 coal oil made by agitating vigorously and for a considerable time one pint of coal oil with 

 an equal quantity of milk, until the mixture assumes a creamy appearance, when it should 

 be diluted with about ten times its bulk of water and applied with a brush or syringe. 



BRIEF NOTES OF A TRIP TO POINT PELEE, WITH ADDITIONS TO OUR 

 LIST OF CANADIAN BUTTERFLIES. 



During the summer of 1882, I paid a flying visit to Point Pelee, in company with 

 some friends who were interested in botany. This point of land extends directly south 

 into Lake Erie, near the eastern boundary of the County of Essex, and is among the most 

 southerly points in the Province of Ontario. On the west side of the Point the land is 

 chiefly marsh until near the extremity, and is a prolific hunting ground for sportsmen in 

 search of watei -fowl ; it is also a breeding place for millions of Neuropterous insects. 

 The east shore is sandy, and between this and the marsh are several farms and a consider- 

 able area of uncultivated arable land more or less covered with woods. 



W& reached Essex Centre, on the Canada Southern Railway, the nearest point of 

 access by rail, at 7 p.m., on the 28th June, where we hired a vehicle and driver for three 

 or four days, and drove that evening over an excellent road 18 miles to Leamington. The 

 night was spent here and an early start made the next morning for the Point. A drive of 

 about three miles brought us to the base of the Point, and after a journey of about eight 

 miles farther, we reached the upper extremity. 



The day was warm and pleasant, and during the last portion of this dri\ ■<: we .saw 

 more dragon-flies and other Neuropterous insects than we had ever seen in our lives before ; 

 they literally swarmed everywhere, especially in sunny spots. They flew in our faces and 



