458 
ANNUAL REPORT OF NEW YORK 
FLATTENED CENTIPEDE. ITS DEPREDATIONS. 
The secretion and emission of honey dew is a trait in their economy 
which is almost peculiar to the Aphides—this secretion being in most of 
them very copious and going on continuously. It is, therefore, a singular 
circumstance that we meet with some species among these insects which 
are nearly if not entirely destitute of this secretion. In my account of the 
Grain-aphis in a previous Report, this destitution of honey dew was 
remarked as occurring in that species. This Barberry-aphis is another 
instance of the same kind. When we look at a cluster of them no drops of 
this fluid are to be seen at the tips of any of their honey tubes. No parti* 
cles of it arc sprinkled on the leaves under those occupied by these lice. 
No ants are standing among them nor travelling up the stalks to them to 
feed upon this sweetish fluid. And no perceptible blackness of the stalks 
is caused by this aphis. 
The leaves of the barberry are of a thick, firm and somewhat leathery 
texture, whereby they do not become at all curled or otherwise distorted 
by these insects. And although their presence cannot but be injurious to 
the shrub by abstracting from it a portion of its juices and thus weakening 
it, in this instance which passed under my observation the health and vigor 
of the bush was not perceptibly impaired. No measures for destroying the 
lice were therefore resorted to or deemed to be called for. 
18 . Flattened Centipede, Polydesmus complanalus, Linnajus. (Aptera. 
Julidse.) 
Eating the roots of plants and other tender vegetation, and probably causing the anbury (club 
root) disease in cabbages; small, slender white and brown worms, from one to five-tenths of an 
inch long, flattened upon the back, and with numerous small legs appearing like a fringe along 
each side of the body; crawling everywhere over the damp surface of the ground by night, and 
withdrawing into the crevices under chips, stones and similar situations during the day time. 
Upon coming to give particular attention to the different insects which 
occur in our gardens, and ferret out what they are doing there, I detect 
some important depredators to which our Treatises on Gardening make no 
allusion, aud most of our gardeners are quite unaware of their pernicious 
character, although they have been accustomed to see them almost daily, 
their lives long. One of these is so very common in all our gardens, and 
appears to be the cause of such important injuries, that I am induced to 
report some of the observations already made, although my researches are 
still too limited for me to attempt to write out its complete history. 
Early in the day when the earth is moist from the night dews, if engaged 
in sowing seeds, uprooting small weeds or any other garden work which 
causes us to closely observe the surface of the ground, we shall frequently 
see a small brown worm from a quarter to half an inch long, slender and 
snake-like, flattened upon its back and with a row of short thread-like legs 
appearing like a fringe along each side of its body the whole length. It 
is crawling slowly about, here and there, with many short turns, in making 
which it frequently doubles its body almost together. If you enclose it in 
a dry box or vial you will probably find it dead an hour afterwards. But 
put it in a vial of damp earth or wet moss and it will live there for months 
unless you allow it to get dry. You thus learn that it delights in a damp, 
humid atmosphere, whilst a dry situation is fatal to it. It therefore comes 
