854 
ANNUAL REPORT OF NEW YORK 
, APHIS. OTHER INSECTS DESTROYING IT. 
Variety l, connata. The middle and hind spots united in one, resembling on imago of the 
human head and shoulders, with the neck nearly or quite as broad as the hoad. 
m, insulata. Like connata , but with a sranll dot tho color of the ground, in the 
Deck of tho spot, towards its inner side. 
n, nimia. A very small oval spot or minute dot of black on tho wing covers, near 
the outer hind side of the anterior spot. Of forty specimens now before me only 
three are of this variety. 
In addition to these Mulsant mentions a variety which I have never met with, in which 
tho hind spot of the wing covers is wanting. 
This species inhabits California as well as the other United 
States and Canada. • 
In addition to the insects which have now been described vari¬ 
ous others to which I can at present make only a passing allu¬ 
sion were on the grain with them, aiding them in their useful 
work. The O-marked Golden-eye and other species of Chrysopa 
described in my First Report were frequently noticed in the 
grain fields, as were also their white eggs elevated on the summit 
of slender threads. The white and yellow larvae of different 
Syrphus flies, small worms shaped like leeches, were also common 
on the wheat heads, reaching around like the elephant with his 
trunk, to find and seize hold of an aphis to devour it. Another 
efficient destroyer was a common species of bug, the JVabis /era, 
which has already been mentioned on a previous page, in the 
note appended to our account of the Mistaken parasite. This 
bug was frequently seen with its sharp needle-like beak inserted 
into the body of an aphis, the -winged as well as the wingless 
ones, sucking out the contents, whereby the abdomen becomes 
collapsed and so wholly disappears that the honey tubes at its 
end often appear as appendages belonging upon the base of the 
thorax. This bug, therefore, by thus destroying these and other 
insects and their larvae on grain and grass, renders us a valuable 
service; and the Mistaken parasite instead of being the impor¬ 
tant enemy of the wheat midge which it has with so much assu¬ 
rance been proclaimed to be, now turns out is the egg parasite 
of this useful bug, and is thus a pernicious instead of a benefi¬ 
cial species. I propose, as already stated, to fully describe this 
in connection with the other bugs which occur on grain, in my 
next Report. 
I have supposed that dusting the grain with tho dry powder 
of chloride of lime might smother and destroy these lice. 
Should they reappear another season I hope to ascertain whether 
this remedy is practicable and efficacious. 
