238 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
those of the Colorado potato beetle. In a few days they hatch 
out six legged, dark colored, long bodied larvae. Their jaws 
are short, but sufficiently long, however, to be of good service 
in killing aphides. 
These larvae are nearly, if not quite equal to the aphis lions 
in destroying plant lice. Dr. Fitch, New York state entomol¬ 
ogist, so faithfully describes the habits of this plant wolf, as it 
might appropriately be named, that I adopt his language. 
When first hatched, “it. walks about with much animation, 
and coming to a plant louse, much larger than itself it may 
be, the little hero, though only a few minutes old, boldly seizes 
the louse, which, like a cowardly poltroon, makes no resistance 
except trying to pull himself away. But the little assailant 
hangs lustily to him, preventing his advancing a single step 
further, and using his anterior legs as arms, he commonly raises 
the louse off from the leaf and leisurely devours his body, 
leaving only the empty skin remaining. As he grows, the 
sides, and in some species the whole surface, becomes diversi¬ 
fied with bright red and yellow spots and rows of tubercles or 
elevated points. He is a most active voracious little creature, 
running briskly over the limbs and leaves in search of his prey, 
and consuming hundreds of aphides. He grows to about a 
quarter of an inch in length in the course of two or three 
weeks; he then fixes himself by his tail to a leaf, or the limb 
or trunk of a tree, and hanging with his head downwards the 
skin cracks open along the middle of his back, and the smooth 
back.of the pupa protrudes partly out of the prickly skin of 
the larva, and thus remains, the old larva skin continuing to 
cover the pupa on each side and beneath. The insect remains 
dormant in its pupa state about a fortnight, when its bard ex¬ 
terior shell cracks open, and from it crawls a small shining 
beetle nearly the shape of a half pea, though often much 
smaller than this.” 
The Agents within our Control for Destroying 
Plant Lice —The smoke of tobacco, when it is possible to 
confine it for a time, is undoubtedly one of the most efficient 
