238 



Professor Say, of Philadelphia, has given the following 

 scientific description of the peach-insect : — 



" jEgeria exitiosa. — Male. — Body, steel blue : antenncej 

 hairy on the inner side, black, with a tinge of blue : palpi 

 beneath, and basal band of the head above and beneath, 

 pale yellov/ : eyesy black brown : thorax, with two pale 

 yellow longitudinal lines, and a transverse one behind, in- 

 terrupted above ; a spot of the same colour beneath the ori- 

 gin of the wings ; wingsj hyaline, nervures and margin steel 

 blue, more dilated on the costal margin and anastomosing 

 band of the superior wings : feet coxce, two bands on the 

 tibia, including the spines : incisures of the posterior tarsi, 

 and anterior tarsi behind, pale yellow : abdomen^ with two 

 very narrow, pale yellow bands, of which one is near the 

 base, and the other in the middle : fai7, fringed, the fringe 

 margined with white each side. — Length, to the tip of 

 the tail, more than three fourths of an inch. — Length, to the 

 tip of the wings, one tenth of an inch shorter. 



Female. — Body, very dark steel blue, with a tinge of 

 purple : palpi beneath, black : thorax, immaculate : injerior 

 wingSy hyaline, with an opaque margin, and longitudinal 

 Sine ; the latter, and the costal margin, are dilated : tergum^ 

 with the fifth segment bright fulvous. — Length, seven 

 tenths of an inch. 



" The PUPA has two semifaciae of spines upon each of the 

 segments, excepting the three terminal ones, which have a 

 single row only. 



" The FOLLICLE is brown, oblong-oval, and is composed 

 of small pieces of bark and earth, closely connected together 

 by the web of the animal. 



" The very great disparity of markings between the sexes 

 of this destructive species, would lead us to hesitate in ad- 

 mitting their identity, if we were not aware that, in this 

 genus, the males and females, in several instances, dilfer 

 exceedingly from each other. In the present instance, this 

 diiference is so great as to render it difficult to construct a 

 specific character which shall distinguish them from all 

 others of the genus. After a careful examination of ento- 

 mological works, I have not been able to find any notice 

 whatever of this species. I therefore describe it as new.'' 

 — Journal oj the Academy of Sciences. 



year, and asserts that the speedy decay of common peach-trees is owing- chiefly 

 to a neglect of the practice. He even said experience convinced him it waa 

 owing to the same circumstance that peach-stones did not, in general, produce 

 fruit like the original tree. 



