The basket-worms of the Southern States are instances also of creatures that construct • 

 coverings for themselves. Thyridopteryx ephemeroeformis (Haworth) is found on a variety 

 of trees. The young larvse appear in May. Each of them forms a case of pieces of the- 

 leaves it feeds upon, held together by a silken web. As it increases in size it enlarges its/ 

 covering, till at length it hangs like a small purse or bag. When about to undergo the 

 pupal change the insect fastens its case to a twig. The female moth is apterous. After 

 she has been impregnated she retires into her case to lay her eggs ; having laid them she 

 falls to the ground and perishes. The male is black, and has transparent wings. 



Platceceticus Gloveri (Packard) in its habits closely resembles the insect just described. 

 It is found in Florida, feeding upon the orange and the fig. The female moth is light- 

 coloured, and apterous. The male is an elegant little creature, with feathered antennae, . 

 and is of a dark-brown hue. 



The larvae of some insects belonging to the genus Incurvaria have the habit of con- 

 structing flat cases for themselves. Incurvaria acerifoliella (Haworth) is one of the insects 

 that, of late years, have worked their way northward from the United States. It did not 

 come under my observation until the year 1881. In that year and in the following it was- 

 exceedingly abundant. In the county of Missisquoi the leaves throughout extensive maple- 

 woods were so skeletonized by it, that they presented a scorched appearance that was very 

 remarkable. Looking at the groves from a short distance one might have thought that a 

 hot blast had passed over the country, or that autumn had come before its time, and had: : 

 browned, instead of crimsoning, the maple leaves. 



The Acerifoliella larva bites, from the leaves, discs, about two-eights of an inch or 

 three-eights of an inch in diameter. It joins several of these together, and takes up its 

 domicile within. "When it feeds, it thrusts out its head and fore-legs, and then eats the 

 parenchyma of the leaf away, working systematically from a centre. When full fed it 

 finds its way to the ground, and turns to a pupa within its leafy covering. The perfect 

 insect has glossy blue fore wings ; the hind wings are brown, shot with purple; the head 

 is decorated with a tuft of yellow hairs. In the years mentioned, clouds of these beautiful 

 little moths would rise from the foliage shaken by the passers-by. 



We cannot but admire the instinct, which, in every case, impels the larva to form a\ 

 covering so well adapted to secure the possessor's comfort through the vicissitudes ot the 

 seasons, and, at the same time, so likely, by its resemblance to surrounding objects, to^ 

 prevent attacks from insectivorous creatures. 



REMEDIES FOR NOXIOUS INSECTS. 



BY THE REV. C. J. S. BETHUNE, M.A., D.C.L., PORT HOPE. 



For the convenience of farmers and fruit-growers, I propose in this paper to seir 

 forth, in alphabetical order, under the popular names of the insects, the remedies that 

 have been found by practical experience the most useful in counteracting. their ravages. 

 As far as possible, I shall also give a wood cut of the insect, so that all may know what 

 particular enemy is referred to. In many instances the remedies are familiar and in 

 general use, but I think it desirable to insert them in order to make the list as nearly 

 complete as possible. Free use is, of course, made of the writings of our leading economic 

 entomologists, such as Professor Riley, Chief of the United States Entomological Com- 

 mission at Washington ; Dr. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York ; and Professor 

 Saunders, of London, whose name is familiar to all our readers, and whose work on 

 Insects Injurious to Fruits should be in the hands of every intelligent farmer and fruit- 

 grower in Canada. 



