56 
in spite of tho rlosost ol)8ervatioii could not l)e detected attackiiij^ the 
Cridceris. In conlineinent tlie Collops beetle feed freely on ))oth larvie 
and e^jr>^ of (Jricureris. 
The bordered i)lant bug (Stirctrus (inchordf/o I'ab.). — An indi\ idual of 
this ])entatonii<l, i)erhaps three fourths j^rown, was taken Au;iust 1 at 
M;irsh:ill Mall, M<1., with aCrioceris larva transfixed upon its probos 
cis. Others weic seen upon the asparajrus, and one kept in confine 
nient fed \ <»r;i<i(Hisly u|)<)ii tlie hirva* of the asparaji:us b<*etle an<l those 
of (inlvrutrUd lutcola Miill., tlie imported elm leaf beetle. 
August t the cajjtiN'e specimen, after having devoured two Crioceris 
larva, was sui)plied with another u|>on a spray of asparagus. After 
abstracting all the Juices from the hirva it at once sunk its beak into 
the asparagus. While engaged in this operation an elm leaf-beetle 
larva was inserted, which the bug found almost as soon as it withdrew 
its proboscis from the asparagus. 
This species ai)pears to have a predilection for coleopterous larva*. 
On the Department of Agri'.ulture grounds the writer has seen it prey- 
ing ui>()ii the larva' of the Colorado potato beetle, and Townend (Hover 
notiied the same thing upwards of twenty years ago. The same writer 
observes of this species, which he memtions both as dinud nwd timhri- 
(lins (lJe]»ort Oonnn. Agr. Ibr 1875, pp. lis, lIOi, that it was found in 
.Maryland busily emi)loyed in killing and sucking out the juices of the 
s(|iinsh ladyl)ird [Epibtchud horrtdis). The writer has also seen this 
bug ])reying upon the larva*, and Mr. K. A. Schwar/ has observed it 
attacking the pui)a, of the elm leaf beetle in the ojjen. 
'J'he spincd soldier bug {Podisus s))in()sifs Dall.). — Among the twelve- 
spotted sjx'cies brought to this othce from Oxon Hill, .Md., was a larva 
of tliis s])ecies. It was kept in the Jar with tlie beetles for a few «lays, 
and was seen with a beetle suspended from its beak'. This bug was 
often seen on as])aragus destroying the larvic of the common asi);iragus 
beetles by impaling them on its ])roboscis and sucking up their vital 
fluids. 
It is somewhat surj)rising how an insect so slow of movenient as is 
this soldiei" bug can ca[)ture much more active s]>ecies, August 2 an 
individual was seen at Marshall Hall, ^Id., with the adult of h'tsoinicha 
(/I<ihr(((((j a flea beetle that commonly infests the pigweed. 
J*o}isfes palUjH'H St. I'^arg. — Different individuals of this wasp had 
been noticed Hying about the asparagus i)lants on the Department 
grounds during July. On the 2Sth of this month a wasj) was seen with 
a nearly grown larva in its mouth, and a second individual was watched 
as it flew leisurely about the infested jdants in search of a larva. This 
found, the wasj) seized it in its jaws and flew away. A third wasp 
seized a larva near the anus that clung tenaci>)usly to the i)lant and 
re<juired a considerable effort for its dislodgment. Subscipiently other 
wasps weiM' noticed in \arious localities i)reyiiig upon the larv:e, which 
