327 
NOTES FROM CORRESPONDENTS. 
Icerya montserratensis in Colombia. — Dr. S. A. Davis, of New York City, has 
sent us a vial containing full grown females and newly hatched larvae of Icerya 
montserratensis, which he collected upon American rose bushes at Colon, Isthmus of 
Panama. He says that a friend tells him that the insect is abundant in the interior 
of Colombia. This interesting sending adds a new food-plant and a new locality for 
this beautiful species, which was first described in Insect Life (vol. in, pp. 99-103). 
Danais archippus in Chile. — Mr. Edwyn C. Reed writes us that he has reared 
this large cosmopolitan butterfly from the larva, in Chile. This point is of great 
interest, as Scudder states that the species is distributed in South America only east 
of the Andes and north of Rio, although it has recently been reported by Dr. Carlos 
Berg from Patagonia. 
Kerosene against Mosquitoes. — Mr. John B. Lembert, of the Yosemite National 
Park, writes us that the miners in the Minaret mining district make a mixture of 
kerosene and mutton tallow, and smear their "burros" with this ointment. This 
gives the little animals perfect immunity from the mosquitoes, while without it 
their heads become simply a crust of dried blood on the outside, so abundant are 
mosquitoes and horse flies. 
Two more Cases of Bots attacking Cats. — Mr. Walter H. Harrison, of Columbia 
County, N. Y., writes us that last summer he removed larva? from the side of the 
eye and from the back of a cat belonging to his family. The specimens unfortu- 
nately were not saved. Mr. William Mansbridge, writing from St. Louis, states 
that one of a litter of six kittens was attacked, and when six weeks old a large bot 
three-fourths of an inch in length was found in the side of its neck. 
The Azalea Scale in Michigan — Mr. G. C. Davis, of Agricultural College, Mich., 
sends us specimens of the somewhat rare and interesting Eriococcus azalece Comst., 
occurring upon Azalea plants at the Agricultural College. This insect has not yet 
been found out of doors, and it will be interesting to know its natural habitat. 
Parasite of the Cynthia Silkworm. — We have just received further specimens 
of Spilochalcis marice, the well known American parasite of the larger native silk- 
worms, from Mr. Townsend, Kingston, Jamaica. This parasite, as we have already 
shown, reached Jamaica by way of England, having probably been sent to some 
entomologist in the latter country for curiosity or experiment. 
The " Sacred Silkworm of India" Hoax. — Some time ago in the Southwest, 
and particularly in New Orleans, eggs of the so-called " sacred silkworm of India" 
were offered for sale, with the statement that the larvae would feed only on the castor- 
bean plant. We suspected dishonesty in this enterprise, but have only recently 
received specimens of the insect, the eggs of which were sold under these preten- 
sions. It proves to be the common Polyphemus moth, which, as everyone knows, is 
an indigene of this country. 
Scale-insects on Ivy.— Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell writes us that he is making a 
special study of the scale-insects att'ecting the ivy plant. Incidentally he announces 
that he suspects the old and well-known Aspidiotus nerii, so commonly found upon 
Ivy and Oleander in this country, to be synonymical with the Aspidiotus hederce of 
Europe. We are not inclined to admit this synonymy as yet, but the possibility is 
interesting. 
Wireworm in the Burrow of an Apple-tree Borer.— Mr. Barxy C. Hawkins, 
of Horse Cove, N. C, sends us the larvae of a click beetle of the genus Corymbites, 
which he took from the burrow of the common Round-headed Apple-tree Borer, Sap- 
erda Candida. The entrance hole was near the ground, and the Corymbites larva 
had apparently destroyed the borer. 
Persimmon Root-borer. — There is an interesting Sesiid moth, described by Mr. 
Ridings as Phemonoe 5-caudata, which we ascertained, some years ago, to feed in 
20393— No. 4 4 
