No. 468.] THE WILLOW CONE GALL. 87 I 
Fringes concolorous with the adjoining surface of the wing. Hind wings . 
pale gray with a silky luster, a little darker at the apex, and with the fringes 
of the same color as the base of the wings. Under side of the fore wings 
much darker than the hind wings and with the costa marked alternately with 
light and dark gray. The hind wings are sprinkled with brown dots towards 
the apex. Abdomen of the same color as the hind wings. 
Described from two female specimens: one from Lake Forest, Ill., and 
one belonging to the U. S. National Museum and taken in Winnipeg, 
Manitoba, by A. W. Hanham. 
I have one specimen in rather poor condition which may possibly belong 
to this species. It is labeled as follows: * Ft. Klamath, Ore., 10.6. "86. 
Eggs of the meadow grasshopper (A7phidium ensiferum) were 
found in both old and recent galls. In many cases they were 
dried up. The grasshoppers began to appear in May. Wheeler 
says that the meadow grasshoppers seem to prefer the blackened 
and weatherbeaten galls, probably because their scales are more 
easily forced apart. He believes that this insect’s habit of put- 
ting its eggs in the galls is of comparatively recent acquisition 
because in some cases the eggs are poorly placed and because 
the insect still uses galls whose scales are so close together as to 
flatten and kill the eggs,, evidence that the grasshopper has not 
learned to distinguish the kind of gall best adapted to its pur- 
pose. If we accept Wheeler’s conclusion, we may say that the . 
gall is of increasing importance to the insect world. 
So far as is known, Tetrastichus is hyperparasitic. There 
are numerous undescribed species which are difficult to separate. 
Polygnotus salicicola was bred from a Cecidomyiid leaf gall 
of the willow by Mr. A. Koebele at Los Angeles, Cal. 
Mr. Theo. Pergande says that both of the thrips, Megalo- 
thrips and Phloeothrips, are apparently undescribed. 
Ischnorhynchus resede Panzer is a common European species, 
also common in the United States. Triphleps insidiosus Say is 
a common and widespread species found upon berries and upon 
the ox-eye daisy. 
Although it is difficult and often impossible to identify the 
various insects in their larval state, still an early examination is 
of value for showing the abundance of life in the individual galls. 
Usually the larva of the gall gnat which is the maker of the gall, 
