60 
in economic literature. It was first described in 1858 (12) by 
LeConte; and at greater length in 1873 by Dr. Horn (23-416), 
who surmises that the name may prove to be a synonym of Gyl- 
lenhal’s S. cequalis. 
The only notice of its injury to crops is one published by my¬ 
self in July, 1888, in the agricultural and daily press of Illinois, 
giving a brief account of its life history so far as known, of its 
native haunts and food plants, and of its injuries to corn.* 
8. pertinax, Oliv. This species, known as a corn insect since 1873, 
first described by Olivier (1-83, 90), was described again by Say 
as interstitial is, in 1831 (4-288); and finally in 1873 by Horn (23- 
418), who also gives the synonymy and mentions its injuries to 
corn. Its destruction of young corn on low land in the South 
was reported by Comstock in 1881 (39)f. Quick lime, land plas¬ 
ter, and guano were found without effect. Adults are said to hi¬ 
bernate in the tap roots of the corn, where they can be destroyed 
by plowing up and burning the stubble. The beetles were not 
affected by six days’ overflow. 
Prof. Kellicott has bred this species from larvae infesting the 
common “cat-tail” flag, Typha latifolia (44). 
S. pertinax was mentioned by Dr. Riley in 1882 (45-141) as 
a well known enemy to corn; and in 1884 its occurrence on the 
New Jersey coast was recorded by Dr. John Hamilton (50). 
In 1886 Mr. T. F. Hunt gave a partial bibliography of the 
species as a corn insect (55-108); and Mr. Webster briefly sum¬ 
marized the facts concerning its injuries to corn in the Southern 
States (58). 
S. robustus, Horn. This “bill bug,” described in 1873 (23-419), 
was found by Comstock responsible for a serious injury to corn in 
Alabama in 1880 (see under pertinax), —a fact reiterated in 1881 and 
1882 by Riley (41 45-139), who also gave an illustrated account of its 
life history, described larva, pupa, and adult, and recommended as 
preventive measures, dusting with arsenical poisons, and plowing 
up and burning the corn stubble. 
It was further briefly treated by Riley in 1884 (51), and by 
Hunt (55-109) and Webster (58) in 1885. 
S. cariosus, Oliv. Although the technical record of this species 
is long and involved, its economic literature is limited to a single 
item,—a report by Glover, in 1S71 (20), of its injuries as larva 
and adult to corn in New Jersey. 
It has been described by Olivier as cariosa and callosa, by 
Germar as larvalis, by Say as cicatricosus, and by Gyllenhal as 
cariosus flexuosus, n. sp., cicatricosus, and callosus. Its synonymy 
is given by Horn (23-420) and by LeConte (28-425),—its best' 
description by Horn,—and a partial bibliography by Hunt (55-109). 
*See foot-note page 58. 
fDr. Eile.v, into whose hands Prof. Comstock's specimens seem to have come, considers them 
to belong to the very similar species robustus. 
