180 



THE YOUNG NATUEALIST 



acres of Rasberry canes, the plants were 

 stripped of their shoots, and the crop, which 

 was estimated as worth upwards of £100, was 

 entirely lost. Many other gardens in the 

 same country were devastated in the same 

 manner. These Beetles do most of the 

 damage during the night, when they ascend 

 the trees, or plants, and gnaw the young and 

 tender shoots. During the day they hide 

 among the loose earth, and Mr. Gregson, to 

 whom we submitted the specimens for verifi- 

 cation and his opinion, suggests that the earth 

 should be scraped away for a few inches 

 round the stems of the plants, when many of 

 them will most likely be detected, and may 

 be destroyed. Shaking the vines over an 

 inverted umbrella at night may be effective, 

 but the umbrella will be better if lined with 

 white, as the Beetles can be better "seen when 

 they fall into it, and after being collected into 

 wide-mouthed bottles may be destroyed by 

 upsetting them into boiling water. Dressing 

 the roots with quick lime has also been found 

 to have a good effect, as these also are attacked 

 by the larva of this Beetle. This enemy 

 also seems partial to the Primulas, so it would 

 be as well to watch those plants in places 

 where the Beetle occurs. In one garden at 

 Scarbro' Hedgehogs are said to have been of 

 service in diminishing their numbers. We give 

 a figure of the perfect Beetle, so that those 

 who find it may know it, and take preventive 

 measures if necessary. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Notes of Observations of Injurious 

 Insects. Report 1879. Edited by Miss E. A. 

 Ormerod, f.m.s. London : W. Swan, Sonnen- 

 chein and Allen. Price Is. We have received 

 this Report, and are glad to see that it is double 

 the size of its predecessors, representing we 

 should think, double the number of workers. 

 The work which Miss Ormerod and her collegues 

 have imposed upon themselves is most praise- 

 worthy, and we shoald like to see still more 

 entomologists give them their support. It is 



true we have no clouds of Locusts, nor inva- 

 sions of Army Worms, but at the same time we 

 have many insects which are exceedingly in- 

 jurious, and few people can realize the amount 

 of damage done annually by them. Everybody 

 must have noticed during the past year the 

 excessive abundance of the common Crane Fly, 

 or "Daddy Long-legs," and few would think 

 these could do any harm beyond the annoyance 

 they caused by buzzing in one's face, yet the 

 larva wdiich produces the Crane Fly is a most 

 destructive creature to many field crops. In 

 the report will be found a series of notes of the 

 most interesting character upon between thirty 

 and forty different kinds of destructive insects. 

 It is well worth reading, and should be in the 

 hands of every Entomologist. These reports 

 will again be referred to in a series of papers 

 we intend publishing, the first of which 

 appeared on page 102. 



SiLK-PKODueiNG Bombyces and other Lepi- 

 doptera. By Alfred Wailly. Reprinted from 

 the Journal of the Society of Arts. \\ e believe 

 Mr. Wailly has incurred a great deal of trouble 

 and expense in the cause of silk culture. The 

 main feature in the report this year is the 

 breeding of Attacus mylitta in this country, a 

 glorious Indian species. But the past season 

 has been a bad one for these exotics. We had 

 a number of species ourselves, including my- 

 litta, selene, &c, but not one of them came to 

 perfection. We shall always be glad to hear 

 from persons interested in this branch of 

 Entomology. 



LEPIDOPTERA IN APRIL. 



The warmer sun of April brings out a host 

 of hybernating insects, and newly emerged 

 species begin to be numerous. Most of those 

 named last month are still on the wing ; some 

 of them probably till the beginning of next 

 month, especially in the North. There is a 

 disadvantage in using Mr. Merrin's list, that 

 is becoming more apparent now. Insects 

 that in early seasons have appeared in the 

 last days of any month are placed under the 



