370 



form me if you know the beetle, and if so, how destructive it is and how long it stays. 

 It feeds on the leaves from the upper side, eating off all the green part of the leaf and 

 leaving only the skeleton. The beetles are of a very bright shiny dark-green color, 

 and fly about in clouds when disturbed. I am afraid they will destroy all the straw- 

 berries, and then I fear for our melons and beans. Please let me hear your opinion 

 of the insect, and if you need more specimens or any further information as to its 

 ravages, I shall be only too glad to give you the results of any thing I can learn of 

 its habits. No one who has seen it here has ever seen it before. — [W. E. Hudson, 

 P. O. box 58, Orlando, Fla., March 27, 1890. 



Reply. — The beetle you send is Haltica ignita Illiger. We would recommend dust- 

 ing with air-slaked lime. It is difficult to treat on plants like the strawberry, on 

 account of risk to fruit from the ordinary insecticides. — [ March, 1890.] 



Lecanium hesperidum. 



In one of your letters, dated May 19, 1887, you incidentally mention that "it has 

 been discovered recently that the male of L. hesperidum is often associated with the 

 female scale, an undeveloped, wingless creature." As the Lecanium viride of the 

 coffee is considered to be very closely allied to the former species, I have thought 

 that the males may perhaps be found in the same situation. It would assist me 

 greatly in my search if you could give me any further description of the recently dis- 

 covered male of L. hesperidum. Does the male insect differ much in appearance from 

 the female ? What ai e their relative sizes ? Does the male undergo any pupal stage, 

 as- in the other species of Lecanium? Is it active, and provided with a mouth? 

 This pest is still in activity in legion, although it appears to be slightly decreasing 

 in intensity. 



I must thank you again for your extremely interesting periodical Insect Life, which 

 continues to be full of useful information upon all subjects connected with economic 

 entomology. — [E. Ernest Green, Eton, Punduloya, Ceylon, India, February 15, 1890. 



Reply. — Your favor of February 15 came duly to hand. The male of Lecanium 

 hesperidum was discovered by Monsieur R. Moniez, who published a description thereof 

 and an account of its development in the Comptes Bendus des Seances de VAcademie 

 Frangaise, February 14, 1887, page 449. Various longer and shorter abstracts of this 

 article have been published in several periodicals, e. g. in the Entomologist's Monthly 

 Magazine, Volume XXIV, 1387, pages 25 to 27, which is probably accessible to you ; 

 but I am not aware that any independent investigations on the subject have been 

 made or published subsequent to Moniez's original discovery. The fully developed 

 male is excessively small, with no trace of eyes or wings, but provided with antenna, 

 legs, and with a short and broad penis. M. Moniez observed three stages of the male : 

 In the first, the body has no appendages whatever, and no visible segmentation ; in 

 the second, which represents the pupa stage, the body has a distinct segmentation 

 and contains fully developed spermatozoids and testicles; the third stage is that de- 

 scribed above. In no stage has the male been found outside of the body of the parent, 

 and copulation must, therefore, take place within the body of the parent female. I 

 have had no opportunity so far to confirm Mr. Moniez's statements by personal obser- 

 vation, but in past years I have bred the winged males of several of our species of 

 Lecanium.— [March 24, 1890.] 



Flies in an exhumed Corpse. 



I mail you to-day a species of Diptera in its various stages of development. This 

 matter is of peculiar interest, as the material was taken from the corpse of a man who 

 died two years ago (in midwinter of 1888), and was buried after the usual manner. 

 A few days ago the body was exhumed, the coffin opened, and the front part of the 

 chest and abdomen were found to have been completely eaten away, the mass of flesh 

 and slime being alive with these flies and their larvaj. The material was given me 



