315 



these larvae were placed by Dr. Kuhu in the hands of Professor Zeller, who considered 

 them to be Epliestia, of a species previously undescribed, and they were named by him 

 A:j</nu'eZ/aspecitically, after their observer. All this most likely you know well, but it 

 is the appearance of this pest here which I am more particularly writing to you about. 

 In 18b7 the caterpillars did great harm iu some large stores in London, and last year 

 the attack established itself iu a wheat-flour steam-mill in the north of England. 

 The great harm caused is by reason of the caterpillars "felting " up the meal or flour 

 by the quantity of web which they spin iu it. They feed of course, but this is not so 

 injurious as working up the flour together, as they clog the mill apparatus to a very 

 serious extent. 



I have much reduced their numbers by getting the manager of the steam-mill to 

 turn on scalding steam; and cleaning, whitewashing, and some use of parafifine 

 have done good. The real cure would be to change the material ground. If we could 

 use rye-meal for a few weeks we could clean out this wheat-flour feeding caterpillar 

 eft"ectually. Unfortunately, however, the delicate apparatus of our recently arranged 

 wheat-roller mills does not allow of this. One point that would help us in preventive 

 measures would be to know where the attack conies from. I am told it is a " scourge " 

 amongst the flour — or rather the meal, as it prefers the more branny parts — in wheat 

 from Russia and Hungary at the Mediterranean ports, so I am making inquiries, but 

 Dr. Lindeman is not aware of this attack having been noticed in Russia. Under 

 these circumstances I thought that I would write to you about it, and if you are ac- 

 quainted with this moth and the larval workings — still more if you know how to de- 

 stroy it — I should feel greatly favored and obliged b y any information that you may 

 kindly give. I believe that unless it has very recently been placed on your American 

 lists of Lepidoptera it is not noted as known there, and I am trying to persuade my- 

 self that it is not all selfishness which makes me trouble you thus, but that, if by any 

 possibility you may not chance to have heard of the serious nature of the work of 

 these larvae, you may care to have a few lines about them. 



The moth is about three-fourths of an inch in spread of the fore wings, which are of 

 pale gray with darker transverse markings ; the hinder wings remarkable for their 

 whitish semi-transparency, with a darker line from the point along a part of the fore 

 edge. The larvae when full grown, as far as I see, are about five-eighths of an inch 

 long and palish flesh color, lighter when older, head yellowish-brown — you will not 

 care to have full description — but they have surprising instinct for traveling, and 

 amazing strength. One that I watched to test this power escaped from under a little 

 smooth-edged card-board frame which I had placed on a woolen cloth on a quite flat 

 table and pressed down with a 1-pound weight. — [Eleanor A. Ormerod, Torrington 

 House, St. Albans, England, March 6, 1889. 



Reply. — Your letter of March 6 in reference to Epheslia kuhniella has just come. 

 I am familiar with the substance of your letter, as I have read the papers by Mr. 

 Klein in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1887, and in the 

 Mark Lane Express ; by Mr. Tutt in The Entomologist, and by Mr. Barrett in the Ento- 

 mologist's Monthly Magazine. I think I can safely say that this species does not occur 

 in the United States. Our Ephestia which has similar habits is the inieipunclella of 

 Zeller {zece Fitch). Fitch's account is published in his Second Report on the Noxious, 

 Beneficial, and other Insects of New York, under the name of Tinea zece. He calls it 

 the "Indian Meal Moth," " Indian meal" being the American name for the meal of 

 maize. It will be a very difficult pest to fight and the measures which you have al- 

 ready adopted are probably the best which can be suggested. — [March 22, 1889.] 



Abundance of an lulus in Dakota. 



Inclosed please find samples of a destructive and very annoying insect. I do not 

 know its name ; it is not poisonous. They first invaded us in September, coming in 

 countless numbers iu the yard, then in the house, and in everything they could find 

 to eat. They have a special liking for sweet milk, pies, sauces, etc. When digging 



