December, '15] 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES 



549 



Scientific Notes 



Cyllene robiniae and Crioceris in Colorado. I regret to have to record the 

 appearance in Boulder, Colo., of two pests which I have not observed before, and 

 which have presumably been very recently introduced. Three times, during Septem- 

 ber and October of this year, I have picked up specimens of Cyllene robinioe Forst,, 

 which have been crushed on the pavement by the feet of the passersby. Also this 

 fall my wife has twice found specimens of Crioceris asparagi L. in the bags covering 

 sunflower heads. They must have come from adjacent patches of asparagus. 



T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



The Edibility of Insects. Very little has been done recently toward testing the 

 edibilit}^ of many species of very abundant insects which theoreticall}^ must have 

 a very positive food value, but at my suggestion Mr. J. J. Davis and Mr. D. G. 

 Tower at La Fayette, Ind., have recently experimented to some extent with the 

 eggs and larvae of Lachnosterna. They find that Lachnosterna eggs crisply fried in 

 butter are excellent, having a taste very much like a fine grade of bacon. The 

 larvae, fried in butter and eaten with bread in the form of a sandwich, were not at 

 all disagreeable, having a fresh fatty taste. They ate the heads and all, and the 

 heads were crisp and caused no inconvenience. This line of experimentation seems 

 to me very well worth while, and field agents having the opportunity and disposition 

 are urged to experiment in this direction when it can be done easily and without 

 loss of time. L. O. Howard. 



An Eriococcus on Gaylussacia. Some time ago we received from Dr. E. P. 

 Felt specimens of an Eriococcus on twigs of Gaylussacia, collected at Hammond, N. Y. 

 The pure white female sacs are of the usual form, 2.25 — 2.50 mm. long. The surface 

 rough with protruding filaments; female in sac bright red (in E. azaleoe it is dark 

 purple, almost black); larvae bright raspberry red. The following measurements in 

 microns are from the adult female: antennal joints, (1) 43-45, (2) 23-25, (3) 35-38, 

 (4) 28-30, (5) 13-15, (6) 13-15, (7) 28; middle leg, trochanter and femur, 115, tibia, 

 80, tarsus, 105, claw, 28. The caudal lobes are prominent, about 88 long, with bristles 

 about 112. Bristles of anal ring 68 long; average dermal spines about 40. There is a 

 denticle near apex of claw. This insect is quite distinct from those previously 

 recorded from the Eastern States and from Europe, but we find it impracticable to 

 separate it from the western E. borealis CkU., except as a rather small variety. E. 

 horealis is known from the Alaskan region down the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico 

 and it is not surprising to find it in New York state. It feeds on several species of 

 woody plants. 



T. D. A. CocKERELL and Elizabeth Robinson. 



Soft Maple Leaf Midge (Rhahdophaga aceris Shim.). This species establishes 

 itself in the unfolding, succulent leaves of the white or soft maple, preventing the 

 normal expansion of the affected lobes and when there is a serious infestation, one or 

 more lobes of the affected leaves may curl and die. The full grown larvae are stout, 

 yellowish- white or yellowish-orange, especially anteriorly, and about 2 mm. long. 

 They occur mostly on the tip of the leaf, lying along the principal or lateral veins of 

 the lobes. The probabilities are that the midges oviposit on the unfolding leaves or 

 at least the tips of the leaves. Infestation is presumably favored by conditions 

 producing a rapid, succulent growth. Pupation is on the leaf, in a yellowish-brown, 

 irregularly oval cocoon about 1.5 mm. long. The final transformations are rapid, 

 probably being completed within 48 hours and possibly within 24 hours. 



