26 



other weevils, elaters, etc., were rioted. At an excursion of the Ottawa Feld Naturalists' 

 Club to Montebello (45 miles down the river), on 26th June, I captured 129 species of 

 Coleoptera, a considerable percentage of which were new to ine. Carabidae were parti- 

 cularily abundant under drift-wood and dead leaves on the damp, shady shore, and 35 

 species were taken. Chrysomelidae, Elateridae and Curculionidae were next in number 

 with 15, 13 and 13 species respectively. After midsummer my opportunities for collect- 

 ing were few, and my notes correspondingly scanty. I will merely mention the capture at 

 Aylmer and Hull, on Oct. 2, Aletia argillacea, the cotton moth ; both specimens were in 

 perfect order, not in the least rubbed or worn. In Oct., 1880, I took several specimens 

 about the city, also apparently recently emerged. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES FOR THE SUMMER OF 1881. 

 By Prof. E. W. Claypole, Yellow Springs, Ohio. 



I came only last year on the premises where I am now residing, and though I had 

 a small crop of cherries, they were so badly infested with the weevil ( Conotrachelus nenu- 

 phar) that only a few quarts could be found free from the grub and fit for canning. This 

 year a fair crop was promised, the spring was late and the danger of frost little. I pro- 

 posed therefore to make war upon the enemy, and as soon as the blossom was over pre- 

 pared a large sheet of cheese-cloth, and for about three weeks jarred the trees before 

 breakfast almost every morning. As the result, I have now nearly 2,000 weevils peace- 

 fully reposing in a bottle, after a composing draught of benzine. Only about 10 per 

 cent of my cherries this year were unfit for use. I carried the war into the orchard, and 

 simply by way of experiment, jarred some of the early apple trees and captured a great 

 many of my enemies. I am more than repaid for my labours both on the cherry and 

 apple trees by the quality of apples, when last year with a larger crop, I only obtained 

 knotty, gnarly fruit. I have this year round, smooth, well shaped apples. I have never 

 heard that anything has been done, at least in this neighbourhood, to trap the weevils 

 on the apple trees. Those who live in the north have no idea of the mischief wrought 

 here by the weevil in the orchards. 



A word for the mole. In digging potatoes this year I observed the runs of a mole in 

 all directions through the ground. It was a piece of old sod and very much infested 

 with white worms, the larvae of the Cockchafer (Lachnosterna fusca). Many of the pota- 

 toes had been partly eaten by these worms, but I observed that wherever a mole-run 

 traversed a hill of potatoes no white worm could be found, even though the half-eaten 

 potatoes were proof of his former presence. The inference is fair that the mole had 

 found him first and eaten him, and very likely the mole's object in so thickly tunnelling 

 this piece of ground was to find these grubs. 



Now it would be very easy to trump up a charge against the mole on the evidence 

 of these facts. There was the " run " which nothing but a mole could make, and there 

 were the gnawed potatoes ; put the two together and kill the mole. Many a man has 

 been punished on less conclusive circumstantial evidence. But it is perfectly easy to 

 distinguish the work of a mole from that of a white worm, if one will only take the pains. 

 I have many times found the latter coiled up in the potato he was eating, but I have 

 never seen the mark of teeth such as the mole possesses on a potato. Nor do I believe 

 the mole ever meddles with potatoes, or corn. 



Abundance of Certain Insects. — The Southern Cabbage Butterfly (P. protodice) is 

 exceedingly abundant here this summer. I have been able to count scores on the wing 

 at one time. 



The potato worm, or larva of S. 5-maculata, is troublesome on the late potatoes this 

 month (September) and soon strips a plant of its leaves. However, he is easily dealt 

 with, as he is at once betrayed by the castings on the ground, and a little "poison-dust," 

 such as I use for the beetle, soon makes an end of him. I have tried "Buhach" on this 

 insect, but find the former much easier of application and more effective. The latter 



