91 



They enter the best built houses, which other pests never enter, nor does cleanli- 

 ness about the premises or location on high or low ground seem to make any differ- 

 ence. * * * They will walk off of sticky paper, and " buhach " does not affect 

 them. To give you some idea of how they run over us, I will say that I can at this 

 time (8 p. m. ) count over 50 crawling over a small table, about H by 3 feet, in front 

 of me. 



A letter from the pen of Mrs. A. E. Bush, one of our California 

 correspondents, was published concerning this insect in the American 

 Naturalist of August, 1882 (pp. 681, 682), and we published a brief note 

 from correspondence with Mr. A. A. Eaton, Riverside, Cal. , in Insect 

 Life, Volume V, page 342. This beetle is a Carabid, and, like most 

 species of this family, may be predaceous. A number of the beetles 

 were confined in a small box and sent to us by Mr. Hardy, and nearly 

 all reached this city in good condition, a very unusual state of affairs 

 when it is considered that they were in such close confinement and had 

 nothing to feed upon. Even one beetle that died did not appear to 

 have been attacked by its fellow prisoners. Possibly the disagreeable 

 odor emitted by the beetles may have an effect in deterring others from 

 attack. 



A REMEDY FOR FLEA-BEETLES IN CALIFORNIA VINEYARDS. 



We are in receipt of a communication from Mr. E. H. Twight, San 

 Francisco, Cal., dated May 15, 1901, in which he states that flea-beetles 

 do great damage in California at times, and that if the pests are not 

 too numerous they can be fought with a flat with a slot to fit around 

 the trunk of the vine, ending in a bag. When this is used early in the 

 day, before it becomes too warm, the insects drop in with a slight 

 shake of the vine. A man is supposed to treat 200 vines in an hour. 

 When the bag is full it is dipped in hot water and the insects fed to 

 chickens. 



When the flea-beetles appear regularly every season, our correspond- 

 ent states, it is desirable to keep the vineyard free of weeds, bushes, 

 dirt, and other accumulations, and in fall place some artificial shelters, 

 such as stray covers, about the vineyard on the ground, so that these 

 can be burned in winter when the pest seeks them as a shelter in which 

 to hibernate. 



INJURY TO RUSTIC CEDAR FENCES AND SUMMERHOUSES BY BORERS. 



May 24, 1900, Mr. J. Harold Austin, Lansdowne, Pa., complained 

 of injury by Callidium janthinum Lee, judging by his description, 

 to a small rustic cabin, built of red cedar, at that place. During the 

 past five years injury by C. janthinum and some few other borers has 

 been noticed by the writer to fences and summerhouses and other 

 rustic buildings in many suburban homes and public resorts in the 

 vicinity of Washington, D. C. This borer, with Hylotrupes ligneus 



