28 



unlikely may be followed by a third in Arkansas. Our correspondent 

 writes us that this insect is very destructive to fruit trees in his county. 



THE THISTLE CATERPILLAR IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 



Mr. E. O. Sckwagerl, of Naomi, Kitsap Count}', Wash. Ty., sent to us 

 the middle of June spjcimens of the larvae of the common Thistle 

 Butterfly {Pyrameis eardui) infesting thistles and nettles there and 

 which he has not been able to find on any other plants. This is a com- 

 mon butterfly, which is known to feed on the thistle the world over, 

 and helps much iu keeping this noxious plant in check in thistle in- 

 fested localities. Our correspondent writes us that 90 per cent, of the 

 thistles around Seattle are infested. The larvae attack first the head 

 or young shoots, eating out the flower buds, and then work down inside 

 the stems, thus effectually destroying the seed crop. Birds do not eat 

 these larvae on account of their short, sharp spines. 



THE CECROPIA SILK-WORM AGAIN. 



In Insect Life, for November (page 155), was mentioned the great 

 abundance of the Cecropia near Oalaway, Nebr. As we wished to ob- 

 tain some of these cocoons, Miss Brown was written to and at the same 

 time cautioned not to take any old cocoons, as the abundance which she 

 referred to might be due to the accumulations of many years. In her 

 reply she says: 



A little boy collected me about half a bushel, but when I assorted them I found 

 that about half of them were poor. A good many were stung aud filled up with 

 small grubs of some other insect, and others were last year's cocoons. I suppose you 

 know that there is not much timber here, excepting where it has been set out and 

 planted, and it is only on the cultivated box-elders, and then only in certain locali- 

 ties, that the cecropia silk-worm is found in numerous quantities. 



Under date of December 16, 1S88, M. Katalis Bondot writes us : 



You notice, in No. 5 of Insect Life, the remarkable abundance of Cecropia in one 

 of the counties of the State of Nebraska, Miss Clara E. Brown having asked if the 

 cocoons had any commercial value. To this question you replied that on the account 

 of the difficulty in reeling the filament of the cocoon it could hardly be used indus- 

 trially. This is true; but we may well ask if these cocoons may not be used for 

 spinning into schappe (spun silk) or for articles of fantaisie. I do not know whether 

 these cocoons have been studied from this point of view ; in Frauce at least no serious 

 trial has been made of them, though I have had some samples of them combed as a 

 matter of pure curiosity. The first question to study is that of the quantity of these 

 cocoons. Miss Brown has, perhaps, personal reasons for complaining of the damage 

 done by these wild worms; but it is possible that iu reality the product in cocoons 

 would be very light. It would be imrwrtant to know how many of these coeoons 

 could be obtained ; for, in order to make a proper test, it would he necessary to have 

 several pounds. This Cecropia is little known to us, and I find in fact that we even 

 have no specimens of it. It would be interesting to have some, at least some of the 

 cocoons, such as are found attached to trees, and some of the moths. In examining 

 my notes I find that I saw, some years ago, cocoons and moths of certain species, ono 

 of which \\;is very probably the Vlalysamia <t<T<>i>i(i . while the others were of one or 

 two species very similar to it. Were they hybrids of the Cecropia ? 1 do not know. 

 As the Cecropia is abundanl in the United States yon ought to know whether it is of 



a unique species or w he the r there ;ire others allied, to it . 



