almost at right angles to the shore, formed with it a pocket into which were swept by the 

 swift current chips, bark and other small drift-wood. The accumulation was literally 

 swarming with insects which had evidently fallen, or been blown, into the river, and had 

 sought safety upon the drift-wood floating with them. Having floated into a haven oF 

 refuge, they were crawling upon the more elevated places and drying themselves in the sun 

 preparatory to flight. In many instances, however, they were doomed to disappointment, 

 as sudden changes in the current and eddy would every now and then violently agitate 

 the accumulation, wash off many of the insects, and send portions of the driftwood again 

 into the current to be carried farther down. Beetles were most numerous, but there were- 

 also large numbers of Diptera and some Hymenoptera and Hemiptera. The Coleoptera- 

 were principally comprised of Chrysomelidaa, Goccinellidse, Histeridte, Nititlulidse, Lampy- 

 ridse and Staphylinidaa, and were generally the smaller and commoner species. 



THE PUNCTURED CLOVER-LEAF WEEVIL {Phytonomus punctatus Fab.) 



BY A. H. KILMAN, MDGEWAY, OUT. 



A curculio new to Canada has appeared in this locality. Prevailing east winds about 

 Au°\ 10th wafted this new clover pest to our shores. This beetle, as far as I know, has 

 not been mentioned in the Entomologist. It was introduced from Europe little more than. 

 three years ago. Appearing on the eastern seabord, and taking the continent in the 

 inverse order to the movement of the Colorado Potato Beetle, it is working rapidly west- 

 ward. . Last year no specimens were reported west of Rochester, while in Eastern New~ 

 York the clover crop was destroyed by this insect. On the date above-mentioned it 

 appeared in Buffalo in such numbers that thousands were crushed on the pavements by the 

 feet of passers-by. Simultaneous with this was its appearance in Ridgeway. I picked 

 them from the fences and sidewalks, and found them in the grass on my lawn. Mr, 

 Reinecke could have gathered them by the quart along the lake shore at Buffalo,, 

 where they had stranded after being carried by the wind far out upon the v 

 They have the extraordinary faculty of closing their tracheae and' suspending respiration 

 while iu the water, and an hour's sunshine on the sandy beach leaves them none the wot se* 

 for a good soaking. , 



The beetle is two-fifths of an inch long, has a stout body of a dark brown colour ; side? 

 of thorax and elytra dull yellow, a central yellow line on thorax, rows of black raised 

 points along inner half of elytra with dashes of the same muddy yellow towards the rear. 

 Each female has a " deposit!. " of from 200 to 300 eggs. She punctures the < 



stem and places an < or sometimes attaches it to the surface of the stem. The-- 



larva f eds upon th svhich it destroys rapidly, eating only during the night and 



hiding in the day time. 



1 am of the opinion that the advance guard of this insect invasion arrived last year 

 and it is the main body now ; and further, that those now arriving will go into winter 

 quarters and open up a lively campaign in the spring. I- am led to these conclusions 

 by the fact that many clover fields in this and adjoining counties failed this season to- 

 blossom fully, the ( -me. Whatever the sequel may show, wo 



fear that these invaders will prove of better staying qualities than those who crossed the 

 border in '6G, and turned to the right about at Ridgeway, because Canada wag not the 

 " clover patch " they were looking for. 



THE ASH SAW-FLY (Selandria Barda, Say.) 



BY • OSI30RN, AMES, IOWA. 



During the summer of 1SS2 a few of the ash trees on the college 1 vnie- 



' sh for a few days th. I to be quite serioua I 



made a few trials of London purple' on the trees most seriously infested fore I had 



suits from many trees or had completed a study of the larvae, they suddeuly dis- 

 appeared. So far as my experiments went they showed the London purple to b^ a 

 successful remedy, and as applicable to these worms as to any of the Saw-fly group. No- 



