108 
THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
many of these species is soon made 
known by a series of holes drilled in the 
wood. Ptinus fur and hololeucus are 
plentiful with me ; the latter indeed is 
too common by half in cloth warehouses 
in town, where I have seen rolls of valu- 
able stuff utterly spoiled by a neat per- 
foration right through to the wooden 
roller, caused by this beetle, which is 
always to be found when the goods are 
undone (“ undone” in both senses of the 
word). On one occasion I had Clytus 
arietis brought to me from the wooden 
roller of a piece of cloth. The spider- 
like little Mesium sulcatum is not un- 
common in the same localities ; but it is 
in the under-ground departments of town 
houses that the great harvest is to be 
expected. Blaps oblusa I have taken 
(although scarce), and the odoriferous, 
hard-to-dry Mortisaga , plentifully in pas- 
sages and cellars, where the giant Spho- 
i Irus leucoplhalmus (named so, I suppose, 
by an examiner of defunct specimens 
only) is sometimes to be found. This 
beetle must be more common than is 
generally supposed, or I must have been 
very lucky, as I have taken it in every 
place where I have had an opportunity 
of looking for it, — namely, in cellars at 
Sackville Street, Chelsea, and Bookham, 
Surrey : the lively Pristonychus terricola 
is abundant in the same places, and, 
although wingless, affords almost as 
much sport as Cicindela catnpestris ; it is 
usually in little colonies, with one or 
two flabby, imperfect individuals among 
them, which, however, appear as active 
as the rest: when recently developed this 
beetle has a very shiny iridescent ap- 
pearance, but the old stagers clothe them- 
selves with dirt until sometimes not a 
scrap of leg or wing-case is to be seen. 
Very different in speed is the dusty 
gray Pyrrhus pilula, wdio tumbles out of 
corners on the slightest application of 
digger, and relies vainly on the colour of 
his coat to escape the inevitable pill-box. 
Many species of Amaru, Calops , Nitidula, 
Philonthus, Ocyptts , Oxytelus , Harpalvs 
and Hisler are also to be turned up in 
cellars from snug winter quarters ; and 
Ocypus olens is always to be found under 
rubbish. I have recently taken several 
specimens of a Cryptophagus ( boleli ? ) 
in fungus in my cellars. Coal-cellars 
are of course useless as hunting-ground ; 
but in the suburban districts a great 
number of insects may be found in dust- 
bins, especially where there is a garden, 
however small, from which the refuse is 
removed to the cellar during the summer. 
Carabus hortensis, monilis and violaceus 
occur often in this way, and I took Bem- 
bidium Jlavipes lately, and Helops cccru- 
Icus, with several commoner species by 
searching among the wet leaves and 
stones in one of my cellars used for this 
purpose. Of course, if bones are left as 
a trap, a rich harvest may be expected. — 
E. C. Rye, 14, King's Parade, Chelsea, 
S. W. ; Dec. 19. 
AN AMERICAN PLUTELLA. 
In Dr. Asa Fitch’s Report on the 
Noxious, <Sfc., Insects of the State of 
New York, he mentions an insect which 
has, from its devastating properties, ac- 
quired the name of the Palmer Worm, 
and to which (p. 221) he gives the scien- 
tific designation of Chcetochilus pnme- 
tellus, Harris. Though named after the 
apple, it appears perfectly omnivorous, as 
we read that, in June, 1863, “The trees 
everywhere assumed a brown withered 
appearance ; apple trees and oaks suffered 
most, but all other trees and shrubs were 
more or less infested with these larva) at 
the same lime.” Of the habit of this 
larva we read “ that it draws leaves 
together in a cluster, secreting itself 
between and feeding upon them ; on 
shaking a tree infested by them hun- 
dreds would instantly let themselves 
down from among the leaves, by fine 
