No. LIBRARY Nort-h Caroling Argicuiyiral Ex Room Case ''^LH:-.. Shelf .Cj>._ Donated by Purchased, itir Ill il i! I LIBRARY OF 1685- IQ56 .IT VV-i>uAi:K V •> .i> i .. ^.X • M • 5 yf^:^ : . ^^:^' \ ^': >"^ >*i^M '- ^V: fln^i y^^ Property of fi C. EXPERIMENT STATfOfI EDITOR'S PREFACE. BY a resolve of the Legislature of Massachusetts, 1859, chap. 93, I was directed to issue a new edition of Dn Harris's admirable Treatise on Insects Injurious to Vegetation, with suitable additions and illustrations. By a resolve of the Legislature of 1861, chap. 80, I was author- ized to use the plates prepared for the illustration of the edition for the Commonwealth, in the publication of one or more editions designed for a wider circulation than that for the State could be expected to have. It was thought best to insert the additions contemplated in the resolve, in the form of foot-notes. No alterations have been made in the author's language, and the additional notes are en- closed in brackets to distinguish them from those in the former editions. Large additions h^ve been made to the text, however, from the author's own manuscripts. These will be found exclu- sively in the chapter upon the butterflies. In giving a somewhat wider significance to the title, I have but carried out the plan adopted by the author in his last revision of the work. Professor Louis Agassiz very kindly offered to supervise the drawings, comparing them with the original specimens before en- graving. It is believed that very great scientific accuracy has thus been secured in the illustrations. Special acknowledgments are due to Professor Agassiz for this valuable service, and also for assistance rendered by way of suggestion and advice throughout. Acknowledgments are also due to the following gentlemen, who have contributed notes on the subjects named : — Dr. John L. Leconte, of Philadelphia, on the Coleoptera ; Philip R. Uhler, IV EDITOR'S PREFACE. Esq., of Baltimore, on the Orthoptera and Hemlptera ; Dr. Jolia G. Morris, of Baltimore, on the Lepidoptera ; Edward Norton, Esq., of Farraington, Connecticut, on the Hymenoptera ; and Baron R. Osten Sacken, Secretary of the Russian Legation at Washing- ton, on the Diptera. These distinguished entomologists have made specialties of the orders on which they have had the kindness to furnish notes, and their contributions have added much to the completeness of the work. I am greatly indebted, also, to Mr. Alex. E. R. Agassiz for very valuable services, and to Mr. Fran- cis G. Sanborn, whose enthusiasm in making collections, and oth- erwise promoting the progress of the work, has continued unabated from the first. Also to Messrs. James M. Barnard and Edward S. Rand, Jr., who have devoted much time and thought to the details of the work. Many individuals have aided by presenting or lending specimens for illustration, or otherwise, and among them should be mentioned; in addition to the above, Messrs. S. H. Scud- der, of Boston, and J. H. Treat and J. O. Treat, of Lawrence. To prevent any misconception, it should be stated that, in the specimens from which figures 109, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 126, 127, 128, 129, and 130 were drawn, the second pair of feet were displayed instead of the first, and that in figure 114 the fore foot should have been omitted. The drawings for the steel plates were made by Mr. Antoine Sonrel ; those for the wood-cuts by the Messrs. Sonrel and J. Burckhardt. The engraving as well as coloring of the steel plates is the work of Mr. John H, Ilichard ; the engraving on wood, that of Mr. Henry Marsh. The work of these artists needs no comment. The printing has been done by Messrs. Welch, Bigelow, & Co., of the University Press, Cambridge. This also speaks for itself. No labor has been spared to secure the utmost accuracy and perfection in every respect, and it is hoped and believed that the objects of the Legislature in ordering a new edition of this valu- able treatise have been fully accomplished, CHARLES L. FLINT, Secretary of the, Stale Board of Agriculture. Boston, January, 1862. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. THE first edition of this work was printed in the year 1841. It formed one of the scientific Reports, which were pre- pared and pubUshed by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of Massachusetts, agreeably to an order of the General Court, and at the expense of the State. The Commis- sion for this Survey bore the date of June 10th, 1837 ; and the following instructions from his Excellency, Governor Everett, ac- companied it : — " It is presumed to have been a leading object of the Legisla- ture, in authorizing this Survey, to promote the agricultural benefit of the • Commonwealth, and you will keep carefully in view the economical relations of every subject of your inquiry. By this, however, it is not intended that scientific order, method, or com- prehension should be departed from. At the same time, that which is practically useful will receive a proportionally greater share of attention, than that which is merely curious ; the promo- tion of comfort and happiness being the great human end of all science." Upon a division of duties among the Commissioners, the depart- ment of Insects was assigned to me. Some idea of the extent of this department may be formed by an examination of my Cata- logues of ttie Insects of Massachusetts, appended to the first and second editions of Professor Hitchcock's Report, in which above 2,300 species were enumerated ; and these doubtless fall very far short of the actual number to be found within this Commonwealth. vi AUTHOR'S PREFACE. In entering upon my duty, I was deterred from attempting to describe all these insects by the magnitude of the undertaking, and by the consideration that such a work, much as it might pro- mote the cause of science, if well done, could not be expected to prove either interesting or particularly useful to the great body of the people. The subject and the plan of my Report were sug- gested by the instructions of the Governor, and by the want of a work, combining scientific and practical details on the natural his- tory of our noxious insects. From among such of the latter as are injurious to plants, I selected for description chiefly those that were remarkable for their size, for the peculiarity of their struc- ture and habits, or for the extent of their ravages ; and these alone will be seen to constitute a formidable host. As they are found not only in Massachusetts, but throughout New England, and indeed in most parts of the United States, the propriety of giving to the work a more comprehensive title than it first bore, becomes apparent. This was accordingly done in the small impression that was printed at my own charge, while the original Report was passing through the press, and in which some other alterations were made to fit it for a wider circulation. In the course of eight years, all the copies of the Report, and of the other impression, were entirely disposed of. Meanwhile, some materials for a new edition were collected, and these have been embodied in the present work, which I have been called upon to prepare and carry through the press. Believing that the aid of science tends greatly to improve the condition of any people engaged in agriculture and horticulture, and that these pursuits form the basis of our prosperity, and are the safeguards of our liberty and independence, I have felt it to be my duty, in treating the subject assigned to me, to endeavor to make it useful and acceptable to those persons whose honorable employment is the cultivation of the soil. T. W. 11. Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 15, 1862. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION. Insects defixed. — Brain and Nerves. — Air-pipes and Breath- ing-holes. — Heart and Blood. — Insects are produced from Eggs. — Metamorphoses, or Transformations. — Examples of Complete Transformation. — Partial Transformation. — Lar- va, OR Infant State. — Pupa, or Intermediate State — Adult, OR Winged State. — Head, Eyes, Antennae, and Mouth. — Tho- rax OR Chest, Wings, and Legs. — Abdomen or Hind-body, Piercer, and Sting. — Number of Insects compared with Plants. — Classification ; Orders ; Coleopteea ; Orthoptera ; Hemipte- ea; Neuroptera; Lepidoptera; Hymenoptera; Diptera; Other Orders and Groups. — Remarks on Scientific Names. . . 1-22 CHAPTER II. COLEOPTERA. Beetles. — Scarab^ians. — Ground-Beetles. — Tree-Beetles. — Cockchafers or May-Beetles. — Flower-Beetles. — Stag-Bee- TLES. — BUPRESTIANS, OR SaW-HORNED BoRERS. — SpRING-BeETLES. Timber-Beetles. — Weevils. — Cylindrical Bakk-Beetles. — Capricorn-Beetles, or Long-horned Borers. — Leaf-Beetles. — Criocerians. — Leaf-mining Beetles. — Tortoise-Beetles. — Chrysomelians. — Cantharides. 23-140 CHAPTER III. ORTHOPTERA. Earwigs. — Cockroaches. — Mantes, or Soothsayers. — Walking- Leaves. — Walking-Sticks, or Spectres. — Mole-Cricket. — Field Crickets. — Climbing Cricket. — Wingless Cricket. — Grasshoppers. — K.\ty-did. — Locusts. 141-191 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER I Y. HEMIPTERA. Bugs. — Squash-Bug. — Chinch-Bug. — Plant-Bugs. — Haevest-Flies. — Tree-Hoppeks. — Leaf-Hoppers. — Vine-hopier. — Bean-Hop- per — Thrips. — Plant-Lice. — American Blight. — Enemies of Plant-Lice. — Bakk-Lice. 192-256 • CHAPTER V. LEPIDOPTERA. Caterpillars. — Butterflies. — Skippers. — Hawk-Moths. — .^geri- ' ANS OR Boring-Caterpillars. — Glaucopidians. — Moths. — Spin- ners. — Lithosians. — Tiger-Moths. — Ermine-Moths. — Tussock- Moths. — Lackey-Moths. — Lappet-Moths. — Saturnians. — Ceea- TocAMPiANS. — Carpenter-Moths. — Psychians. — Notodontians. — Owl-Moths. — Cut- Worms. — Geometers, or Span-Woems, and Canker- Worms. — Delta-Moths. — Leaf-Rollers — Bud-Moths. — Fruit-Moths. — Bee-Moths. — Corn-Moths. — Clothes-Moths. — Feather- WINGED Moths. 257-511 CHAPTER VI. HYMENOPTERA. Stingers and Piercers. — Habits of some of the Hymenoptera. — Saw-Flies and Slugs. — Elm Saw-Fly. — Fir Saw-Fly. — Vine Saw-Fly. — Rose-bush Slug. — Pear-Teee Slug. — Horn-tailed Wood- Wasps. — Gall-Flies. — Chalcidians. — Baeley Insect and Joint- Worm. 512-561 CHAPTER Y 1 1 . DIPTERA. Gnats and Flies. — Maggots, and their Transformations. — Gall- Gnats. — Hessian Fly. — Wheat-Fly. — Remarks upon and De- scriptions OF some other Dipterous Insects. — Radish-Fly. — Two-winged Gall-Flies, and Fruit-Flies. — Conclusion. . 562-626 APPENDIX. — The Army- Worm 627-630 INDEX 631-640 EXPLANATION OF PLATES Fig. PLATE I . (Frontispiece.) Nepa apiculata 12 Agrion basalis , 12 Mutilla coccinea 15 Asilus (Erax) aestuans, Linn 17 Cassida (Coptocycla) aurichalcea, Fab 122 Locusta (CEdipoda) sulphurea, i^a6 . 177 Nymphalis Arthemis, Brur 283 PLATE II. (Page 23.) Fig. 1. Eumolpus auratus, Fab. . '' 2. Chrysobothris (Trachypteris) Harrisii, " 3. Galernca vittata, Fab. . " 4. Coccinella novemnotata '' 5. Haltica chalybea, Jlllff. . " 6. Attelabus bipustulatus, Fab. " 7. Dicerca (Stenurus) divaricata, Say " 8. Sitopliilus Oryzce, Linn. " 9. Chrysomela trimaculata, Fab. " 10 Clytus flexiiosus, Fab. " 11. Callidiuin antennatum, Newm. " 12. Hylotrupes bajulus, Linn. . " 13. Saperda ( Compsidea) tridentata, Oliv " 14. Omaloplia (Serica) vespertina, (r^W. " 15. Clytus speciosus, Say " 16. Saperda Candida, Fab. " 17. " ' " Larva . •' 18. Desmocerus cyaneus, Fab. " 19. Saperda vestita, Say '' 20. Areoda (Cotalpa) lanigera, Linn. " 21. Saperda (Anaerea) calcarata, Say . Hentz 134 51 124 246 129 66 48 83 132 103 100 100 111 33 101 107 108 115 109 24 106 PLATE III. (Page 141 Fig. 1. Locusta (Chloealtis) curtipennis " 2. Locusta (Tragocephala) viridi-fasciata, De Geer b 184 182 X EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Fig. 3. Locusta (CEdipoda) Carolina, Z«wn. 176 •' 4. Aphis mali 235 " 6. Tettigouia (Erythroiieura) vitis 22" " 6. Clastoptera proteus 225 " 7. Cicada septendecim, Linn 211 " 8. Chrysopa euryptera, Burm 247 " 9. " " Larva and cocoon 247 f L A T E IV. Page 257.) Fig. 1. Vanessa (Grapta) comma, Ilarr 300 " 2. " " '• Vacant chrysalis ... 301 " 3. Thecla Hamuli, Barr 276 " 4. Papilio Asterias, Fab. $ 265 " 5. " " 9 265 " 6. " " Larva 263 " 7. " " Chrysalis 264 PLATE V. (Page 318.) Fig. 1. Eudamus (Goniloba) Tityrus, Smith 310 " 2. Philampelus Satellitia, Linn 325 " 3. Philampelus Achemon, Drury 326 " 4. Choerocampa (Darapsa) pampinatrix, Smith .... 327 " 5. iEgeria (Ti-ochilium) Pyri, Harr 335 " 6. " " exitiosa, Say $ 331 " 7. " " " Vacant chrysalis . . . 332 " 8. " " Cucurbitse, Harr 331 Fig. 1. " 2. " 3. " 4. " 5. " 6. 9. 10. 11. 12. PLATE VI. (Page 340.) Lophocampa (Halesidota) Caryse, Harr. Larva " " " Cocoon Deiopeia bella, Drury Perophora Melsheimerii, Harr. Larva Case Pygsera (Datana) ministra, Drury . Eudryas grata, Fab. Larva '* " Imago . Arctia (Spilosoma) acrea, Drury ^ 11 (1 (I p Notodonta (Pygoera) concinna, Smith Clostera Americana, Harr. 361 362 342 415 415, 417 430 427 427 354 354 426 433 Fig. PLATE VII. (Page 376.) Orgj'ia leucostigma, Smith. Lai-va .... " " 9 after depositing eggs Cocoon and eggs . 367 . 367 367, 368 . 367 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. XI Fig. 6. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19 Tinea granella. Larva " " Wheat attacked by Pyralis farinalis, Hnrr Gortyna Zeae, Harr Hyphantria (Spilosoma) textor. Cocoon " " " Pupa . " " " Young larva Clisiocampa Americana, Harr. Larva c? . . " " Vacant cocoon " " Cluster of eggs SSI Clisiocampa silvatica, Harr. Larva 49r 497 475 439 358 358 ,358 371 372 372 370 372 376 375 Fig. 1. " 2. " 3. " 4. " 5 " 6. " 7. " 8. " 9. " 10. " 11. " 12. PLATE VIII. (Page 512.) Tachina vivida, Harr. Gasterophilus (Gastrus) Equi, Linn. Lophyrus Abietis, Harr. $ " " " antenna Cynips dichlocerus. Natural size . " " Magnified " " Gall on Rose-bush Cynips confluens. Galls on oak-leaf Cimbex Ulmi. Cocoon $ . 612 623 . 520 520 . 520 549 . 549 549 . 546 546, 547 . 519 518 Note. — The hair-line at the side of a cut shows its natural size. INSECTS INJUEIOUS TO VEGETATION. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Insects defined. — Brain and Nerves. — Air-pipes and Beeatiiing-holes. — Heart and Blood. — Insects are produced from Eggs. — Metamor- phoses, OR Transformations. — Examples of Complete Transforma- tion. — Partial Transformation. — Larva, or Infant State. — Pupa, or Intermediate State. — Adult, or Winged State. — Head, Eyes, Antenn.e, and Mouth. — Thorax or Chest, Wings, and Legs. — Abdo- men OP. Hind-body, Piercer, and Sting. — Number of Insects compared with Plants. — Classification ; Orders ; Coleoptera ; Orthoptera • Hemiptera; Neuroptera; Lepidoptera; Hymenoptera; Diptera; Other Orders and Groups. — Remarks on Scientific Names. THE benefits which we derive from insects, thouoh neither few in number nor inconsiderable in amount, are, if we except those of the silk-worm, the bee, and the cochineal, not very obvious, and are almost entirely beyond our influence. On the contrary, the injuries that we suffer from them are becoming yearly more apparent, and are more or less within our control. A familiar acquaint- ance with our insect enemies and friends, in all then- forms and disguises, will afford us much help in the discovery and proper application of the remedies for the depredations of the former, and will tend to remove the repugnance wherewith the latter are commonly regarded. Destructive insects have their appointed tasks, and are limited in the performance of them ; they are exposed to I 2 INTRODUCTION. many accidents through the influence of the elements, and they fall a prey to numerous animals, many of them also of the insect race, which, while they fulfil their own part in the economy of nature, contribute to prevent the midue increase of the noxious tribes. Too often, by an unwise interference with the plan of Providence, we defeat the very measures contrived for our protection. We not only suffer from our own carelessness, but through ignorance fall into many mistakes. Civilization and cviltivation, in many cases, have destroyed the balance originally exist- ing between plants and insects, and between the latter and other animals. Deprived of their natural food by the removal of the forest trees and shrubs, and the other indigenous plants that once covered the soil, insects have now no other resource than the cultivated plants that have taken the place of the original vegetation. The destruc- tion of insect-eating animals, whether quadmpeds, birds, or reptiles, has doubtless tended greatly to the increase of insects. Colonization and commerce have, to some extent, introduced foreign insects mto countries where they were before unknown. It is to such causes as these that we are to attribute the unwelcome appearance and the undue multiplication of many insects in our cultivated grounds, and even in our store-houses and dwellings. We have no reason to believe that any absolutely new insects are generated or created fi'om time to time. The supposed new species, made known to us first by then' unwonted depredations, may have come to us fi'om other parts, or may have been driven by the hand of im})rovcment fi'om their native haunts, where here- tofore the race had lived in obscurity, and thus had escaped the notice of man. To luiderstand the relations that insects bear to each other and to other objects, and to leam how best to check the ravages of the noxious tribes, we must make ourselves thor- oughly acquainted with the natural history of these animals. This subject is particularly important to all persons who are INSECTS. — GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 3 interested in agricultural pursuits. For their use, chiefly, this account of the principal insects that are injurious to vegetation in New England, has been prepared. It has been thought best to prefix thereto some remarks on the structm'e and classification of insects, to serve as an intro- duction to the succeeding chapters, and, in some measure, to supply the want of a more general and complete work on this branch of natural history. The Avord Insect, which, in the Latin language, fi'om whence it was derived, means cut into or notched, Avas designed to express one of the chief characters of this gi'oup of animals, whose body is marked by several cross- lines or incisions. The parts between these cross-lines are called segments, or rings, and consist of a number of jointed pieces, more or less movable on each other. Insects have a very small brain, and, instead of a spinal marrow, a kind of knotted cord, extending from the brain to the hinder extremity ; and numerous small whitish threads, which are the nerves, spread from the brain and knots, in various directions. Two long air-pipes, -within their bodies, together with an immense number of smaller pipes, supply the want of lungs, and carry the air to every part. Insects do not breathe through their mouths, but throuoh little holes, called spiracles, generally nine in number, along each side of the body. Some, hoAACver, have the breathing-holes placed in the hinder extremity, and a few young water- insects breathe by means of gills. The heart is a long tube, lying under the skin of the back, ha\ang little holes on each side for the admission of the juices of the body, which are prevented fi'om escaping again by valves or clappers, formed to close the holes within. Moreover, this tubular heart is divided into several chambers, by transverse partitions, in each of which there is a hole shut by a valve, which allows the blood to flow only from the hinder to the fore part of the heart, and prevents it from passing in the contrary direction. The blood, Avhich is a colorless or yellow fluid, does not cir- 4 INTRODUCTION. ciilate in proper arteries and veins ; but is driven from the fore part of the heart into the head, and thence escapes into the body, Avliere it is mingled Avith the nutritive juices that filter through the sides of the intestines, and the mingled fluid penetrates the crevices among the flesh and other in- ternal parts, flowing along the sides of the air-pipes, whereby it receives from the air that influence which renders it fitted to nourish the frame and maintain life. Insects are never spontaneously generated from putrid ani- mal or vegetable matter, but are produced fi'om eggs. A few, such as some plant-lice, do not lay their eggs, but re- tain them within their bodies till the young are ready to escape. Others invariably lay their eggs where their yomig, as soon as they are hatched, will find a plentifril supply of food immediately within their reach. Most insects, in the course of their lives, are subject to very great changes of form, attended by equally remarkable changes in their habits and propensities. These changes, transformations, or metamorjjJioses, as they are called, might cause the same insect, at different ages, to be mistaken for as many different animals. For example, a caterpillar, after feeding upon leaves till it is fully grown, retires into some place of concealment, casts off" its caterpillar-skin, and pre- sents itself in an entirely different form, one wherein it has neither the power of moving about, nor of taking food ; in fact, in this its second or chrysalis state, the insect seems to be a lifeless oblong oval or conical body, without a distinct head, or movable limbs ; after resting awhile, an inward struggle begins, the chrysalis-skin bursts open, and from the rent issues a butterfly or a moth, whose small and flabby Avings soon extend and harden, and become fitted to bear away the insect in search of the honeyed juice of flowers and other liquids that suffice for its nourishment. The little fish-like animals that swim about in vessels of stagnant water, and devour the living atoms that swarm in the same situations, soon come to matmity, cast their skins, TRANSFORMATION OF INSECTS. 5 and take another form, wherein they remain rolled up like a ball, and either float at the surface of the water, for the pur- pose of breathing through the two timnel-shaped tubes on the top of their backs, or, if disturbed, suddenly uncurl their bodies, and whirl over and over from one side of the vessel to the other. In the course of a few days these little water- tumblers are ready for another transformation ; the skin splits on the back between the breathing-tubes, the head, feody, and limbs of a mosquito suddenly burst from the opening, the slender legs rest on the empty skin till the latter fills with water and sinks, when the insect abandons its native ele- ment, spreads its tiny wings, and flies away, piping its war- note, and thirsting for the blood which its natural weapons enable it to draw from its unlucky victims. The full-fed maggot, that has rioted in filth till its tender skin seems ready to burst with repletion, when the appointed time arrives, leaves the offensive matters it was ordained to assist in removing, and gets into some convenient hole or crevice ; then its body contracts or shortens, and becomes egg-shaped, Avhile the skin hardens, and turns brown and dry, so that, under this form, the creature appears more like a seed than a living animal ; after some time passed in this inactive and equivocal form, during which wonderful changes have taken place within the seed-like shell, one end of the shell is forced off, and from the inside comes forth a buzzing fly, that drops its former filthy habits with its cast-off dress, and now, with a more refined taste, seeks only to lap the solid %'iands of our tables, or sip the liquid contents of our cups. Caterjsillars, grubs, and maggots undergo a complete trans- formation in coming to maturity ; but there are other insects, such as crickets, grasshoppers, bugs, and plant-lice, Avhich, though differing a good deal in the young and adult states, are not subject to so great a change, their transformations being only partial. For instance, the young grasshopper comes from the egg a wingless insect, and consequently un- able to move from place to place in any other way than by 6 INTRODUCTION. the use of its legs ; as it grows larger it is soon obliged to cast off its skin, and, after one or two moul tings, its body not only increases in size, but becomes proportionally longer than before, while little stump-like wings begin to make their appearance on the top of the back. After this, the grass- hopper continues to eat voraciously, grows larger and larger, and hops about without any aid fi'om its short and motion- less wirfgs, repeatedly casts off its outgrown skin, appearing each time with still longer wings, and more perfectly formed limbs, till at length it ceases to grow, and, shedding its skin for the last time, it comes forth a perfectly formed and ma- ture grasshopper, with the power of spreading its ample wings, and of using them in flight. Hence there are three periods in the life of an insect, more or less distinctly marked by corresponding changes in the form, powers, and habits. In the first, or period of infancy, an insect is technically called a larva^ a word signifying a mask, because therein its future form is more or less masked or concealed. This name is not only applied to gimbs, cat- erpillars, and maggots, and to other insects that undergo a complete transformation, but also to young and wingless grasshoppers, and bugs, and indeed to all young insects be- fore the wings begin to appear. In this first period, which is generally much the longest, insects are always wingless, pass most of their time in eating, grow rapidly, and iisually cast off their skins repeatedly. The second period — wherein those insects that undergo a partial transformation retain their activity and their appe- tites for food, continue to grow, and acquire the rudiments of Avings, while others, at this age, entirely lose their larva form, take no food, and remain at rest in a deathlike sleep — is called the pupa state, from a slight resemblance that some of the latter present to an infant trassed in bandages, as was the fashion among the Romans. The pupae fi'om caterpillars, however, are more commonly called chrysalids, because some of them, as the name imphes, are gilt or adorned with golden ORGANS OF INSERTS DESCRIBED. 7 spots ; and grubs, after their first transformation, are often named nymphs, for what reason does not appear. At the end of the second period, insects again shed their skins, and come forth fiiHy grown, and (with few exceptions) provided with wings. Thus they enter upon their last or adult state, wherein they no longer increase in size, and during which they provide for a continuation of their kind. This period usually lasts only a short time, for most insects die imme- diately after their eggs are laid. Bees, wasps, and ants, however, which Hve in society, and labor together for the common good of their communities, continue much longer in the adult state. In winged or adult insects, two of the transverse incisions with which they are marked are deeper than tlie rest, so that the body seems to consist of three principal portions, the first whereof is the head, the second or middle portion the thorax, or chest, and the third or hindmost the abdomen, or hind- body. In some wingless insects these three portions are also to be seen ; but in most young insects, or larvae, the body consists of the head and a series of twelve rino<;s or segments, the thorax not being distinctly separated from the hinder part of the body, as may be perceived in caterpillars, grubs, and maggots. The eyes of adult insects, though apparently two in num- ber, are compound, each consisting of a great number of single eyes closely united together, and incapable of being rolled in their sockets. Such also are the eyes of the larvse, and of the active pupae of those insects that undergo an imperfect transformation. INIoreover, many winged insects have one, two, or three little single eyes, placed near each other on the crown of the head, and called ocelli, or eyelets. The eyes of grubs, catei^pillars, and of other completely trans- forming larvae, are not compound, but consist of five or six eyelets clustered together, without touching, on each side of the head ; some, however, such as maggots, are totally blind. Near to the eyes are two jointed members, named a>itcHnce, 8 INTRODUCTION. corresponding, for the most part, in situation, with tlie ears of other animals, and supposed to be connected with the sense of liearing, of touch, or of both united. The antennae are very short in larvae, and of various sizes and forms in other insects. The mouth of some insects is made for biting or chewing, that of others for taking the food only by suction. The biting-insects have the parts of the mouth variously modified to suit the nature of the food ; and these parts are, an upper and an mider lip, two nippers or jaws on each side, moving sidewise, and not up and down, and four or six little jointed members, called j!;a/pi or feelers, whereof two belong to the lower lip, and one or two to each of the lower jaws. The mouth of sucking-insects consists essentiallv of these same parts, but so different in their shape and in the purposes for which they are designed, that the resemblance between them and those of biting-insects is not easily recognized. Thus the jaws of catei'pillars are transformed to a spiral sucking- tube in Imtterflies and moths, and those of maggots to a hard proboscis, fitted for piercing, as in the mosquito and horse-fly, or to one of softer consistence, and ending A\dth fleshy lips for lapping, as in common flies ; while in bugs, plant-lice, and some other insects resembling them, the parts of the mouth undergo no essential change from infancy to the adult state, but are formed into a long, hard, and jointed beak, bent under the breast when not in use, and designed only for making punctures and drawing in liquid nourishment. The parts belonging to the thorax are the wings and the legs. The former are two or four in number, and vary greatly in form and consistence, in the situation of the wing- bones or veins, as they are generally called, and in their posi- tion or the manner in which they are closed or folded when at rest. The under-side of the thorax is the breast, and to this are fixed the legs, which are six in number in adult insects, and in the larvae and pupae of tnose that are subject BASIS OF CLASSIFICATION. 9 only to a partial transformation. The parts of the legs are the liij>-joint, by which the leg is fastened to the body, the thio-h, the shank (tibia), and the foot, the latter consisting some- times of one joint only, more often of two, three, four, or five pieces (tarsi), connected end to end, like the joints of the miger, and armed at the extremity Avith one or two claws. Of the larvae that midergo a complete transformation, mag- gots and some others are destitute of legs ; many gmbs have six, namely, a pair beneath the under-side of the first three segments, and sometimes an additional fleshy prop-leg under the hindmost extremity ; caterpillars and false caterpillars have, besides the six true legs attached to the first three rings, several fleshy prop-like legs, amounting sometimes to ten or sixteen in number, placed in pairs beneath the other segments. The abdomen, or hindmost, and, as to size, the principal part of the body, contains the organs of digestion, and other internal parts, and to it also belong the piercer and the sting with which many winged or adult insects are provided. The piercer is sometimes only a flexible or a jointed tube, capable of being thrust out of the end of the body, and is used for conducting the eggs into the crevices or holes where they are to be laid. In some other insects it consists of a kind of scab- bard, containing a central borer, or instruments like saws, de- signed for making holes wherein the eggs are to be inserted. The sting, in like manner, consists of a sheath enclosing a sharp instrument for inflicting wounds, connected wherewith in the inside of the body is a bag of venom or poison. The parts belonging to the abdomen of larvie are various, but are mostly designed to aid them in their motions, or to provide for their respiration. An English entomologist has stated, that, on an average, there are six distinct insects to one plant. This proportion is probably tQO great for our country, where vast tracts are covered with forests, and the other original vegetable races still hold possession of the soil. There are above 1,200 2 10 INTRODUCTION. flowering plants in Massachusetts, and it -will be within bounds to estimate the species of insects at 4,800, or in the proportion of four .to one plant. To facilitate the study of such an immense number, some kind of classification is neces- sary ; it will be useful to adopt one, even in describing the few species noAv before us. The basis of this classification is fomided upon the structure of the mouth, in the adult state, the number and nature of the wings, and the transfoiinations. The first great divisions are called orders, of which the fol- lowing seven are very generally adopted by natui'ahsts. 1. CoLEOPTERA (^Beetles). Insects with jaws, two thick wing-covers meeting in a straight line on the top of the back, and two filmy wings, which are folded transversely. Trans- formation complete. Larvae, called grubs, generally provided with six true legs, and sometimes also with a terminal prop- leg ; more rarely without legs. Pupa with the wings and the legs distinct and unconfined. Many of these insects, particularly in the larva state, are very injurious to vegetation. The tiger-beetles [Cicindeladce*), the predaceous ground-beetles (Carabidce), the diving-beetles (Di/tis- cidce), the lady-birds (^ Cocci nelladts), and some others, are erai- Fic. 1 nently serviceable by preying upon caterpillars, w -rf plant-lice, and other noxious or destructive insects. ? ! L SbC- The water-lovers {Hydrophilidee), rove-beetles {Sta- phylinidce), carrion-beetles {Silphadce), skin-beetles {^Dermestadce, Byrrhidce, and Trogidce), bone-beetles (some of the Niiiduladoe and Clerida;), and vari- ous kinds of dung-beetles {^Sphceridiadce, Histeridce, T nebrio oiitor Geotrupid(E,'\ Copr%didc£^\ and Aphodiadce\), and (Mealworm.) cloL'ks {Pimeliadce and Blaptidce), act the useful Larva. ^^^^ ^^ scavengers, by removing can-ion, dung, and other filth, upon which alone they and tlieir larvae subsist. Many * See the Catalogue of Insects appended to Professor Hitchcock's Report on the Geology, Jlineralogy, Botany, and Zoology of Massachusetts. 2d edit. 8vo. Amlierst. 1835. t All the ScarabteidcB of my Catalogue, from Ateuchus to Geotntpes inclusive, to which may be added many included in the genus ScaraboBus. ; COLEOPTERA. — ORTHOPTERA. — HEMIPTERA. 11 Coleoptera (some Staphylinidce and Nitididadce, Dia- jig. 2. 'perididce, sotne Serropalpidce, Mycetophagidce, Eroty- lidce, and Endomychidce) live altogether on agarics, mushrooms, and toadstools, plants of very little use to man, many of them poisonous, and in a state of decay often offensive ; these fungus-eaters are therefore to be reckoned among our friends. There are others, such as "^*' the stag-beetles (Lucanidce), some spring-beetles {Elateridce), dark- ling-beetles (TenebriomdcB), (Figs. 1-3,) and many pio-. 3. bark-beetles (Helopidce, Clsteladce, SerropalpidcB, (Eie- meradce, Cucujada, and some Trogositadce), which, liv- ing under the bark and in the trunks and roots of old trees, though they may occasionally prove injurious, must on the whole be considered as serviceable, by contribut- ing to destroy and reduce to dust plants that have passed imago, their prime and are fast going to decay. And, lastly, the blistering-beetles {Cantharididce) have, for a long time, been employed with great benefit in the healing art. 2. Orthoptera ( CocAiroacAgs, Crickets, G-rasshopiyers, ^^O- Insects with jaws, two rather thick and opaque upper wino-s, overlapping a little on the back, and tAvo larger, thin wino-s, which are folded in plaits, like a fan. Transformation par- tial. LarvfB and pupa^ active, but wanting Avino-s. All of the insects of this order, except the camel-crickets (Man- tid(E), which prey on other insects, are injurious to our household possessions, or destructive to vegetation. 3. Hemiptera {Bugs, Locusts, Plant-lice, (f c). Insects with a horny beak for suction, four wings, whereof the uppermost are generally thick at the base, with thinner extremities, Avhich lie flat, and cross each other on the top of the back, or are of uniform thickness throughout, and slope at the sides like a roof. Transformation partial. Larvae and pupaj nearly like the adult insect, but wanting wings. The various kinds of field and house bugs giv^e out a stron"' and disagreeable smell. Many of them (some Pentatomadce and Ly- 12 INTRODUCTION. gceidce, Cimicidce, Reduviadce, Hydrometradce, Nepadae [Plate L Fig. 1, Nepa apiculata], and Nototiectadce) live entirely on the juices of animals, and by this means destroy great numbers of noxious insects ; some are of much service in the arts, affording us the costly cochineal, scarlet grain, lac, and manna ; but the benefits derived from these are more than counterbalanced by the injuries committed by the domestic kinds, and by the numerous tribes of plant-bugs, locusts or cicadas, tree-hoppers, plant-lice, bark-lice, mealy bugs, and the like, that suck the juices of plants, and re- quire the greatest care and watchfulness on our part to keep them in check. 4. Neuroptera (^Dragon-fiies^ Lace-^vinged fies; Mai^^ flies, Ant-lion, Dag-Jlg, WJdte Ants, (fc). Insects witli jaws^ four netted wings, of which the hinder ones are the largest^ and no sting or piercer. Transformation complete, or partial. Larva and pupa various. •The white anA, wood-lice, and wood-ticks, {Termitidce and P^cidce,) the latter including also the little ominous death-Avatch, -^..-are aJmSsi Jhe"itmy noxious insects in the order, and even these T^ not't-injure lijvilig j)lants. The dragon-flies, or, as they are com- monly call'ed i^ ^ tliis country, devil's-needles {LibelhdadcB), (Figs. 4, SJt (Plate *I. ^ig. '2, Agrion basalis,) prey upon gnats and mdsquitoes ; and their larvce and pupie, as well as those of the day-flies {^Ephemerada:), semblians (^Semblididce), and those of some of the May-flies, called caddis-worms {PhrygtineadcE), (Fig. 6,) all of which live in the water, devour aquatic insects. The predaceous habits of the ant-lions {Myrmeleontidce), (Fig. 7,) have been often described. The lace-winged flies {Hemerohi- adce), (Fig. 8,) in the larva state, live wholly on plant-lice, great mimbers of which they destroy. The mantispians {Mantispa- dce), and the scorpion-flies {PanorpadcB), are also predaceous insects. 5. Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths'). Mouth with a spiral sucking-tube ; wings four, covered with branny scales. Transformation complete. The larvae are caterpillars, and have six true legs, and from four to ten fleshy prop-legs. 14 INTRODUCTION. Pupa with the cases of the wings and of the legs indistinct, and soldered to the breast. Some kinds of caterpillars are domestic pests, and devour cloth, wool, furs, feathers, wax, lard, flour, and the like ; but by far the greatest number live wholly on vegetable food, certain kinds being exclusively leaf-eaters, while others attack the buds, fruit, seed^•, bark, pith, stems, and roots of plants. 6. Hymenoptera (^jSaw-Jiies, Ants, Wasjjs, Bees, ^c). Insects with jaAvs, four veined wings, in most species, the hinder pair being the smallest, and a piercer or sting at the extremity of the abdomen. Transformation complete. Larvas mostly maggot-like, or slug-like ; of some, caterpillar- like. Pupae with the legs and wings unconfined. In the adult state these insects live chiefly on the honey and pollen of flowers, and the juices of fruits. The larvfe of the saw-flies ( Tenthredinidce), under the form of false-caterpillars and slugs, are leaf-eaters, and are oftentimes productive of much injury to plants. The larvje of the xiphydrians {XiphydriadcB), and of the horn-tails ( JJroceridce), are borers and wood-eaters, and con- sequently injurious to the plants inhabited by them. Pines and firs suffer most from their attacks. Some of the warty excres- cences on the leaves and stems of plants, such as oak-apples, gall- nuts, and the like, arise from the punctures of four-winged gall-flies {Diphlepidid of the common dor-bug. In France the golden ground-beetle (^Carabus auratus) devours the female dor or chafer at the moment when she is about to deposit her eggs. I have taken one specimen of this fine ground-beetle in Massachusetts, and we have several other kinds, equally predaceous, wdiich probably contribute to check tha increase of our native Melolonthians. Very few of the flower-beetles are decidedly injurious to vegetation. Some of them are said to eat leaves ; but the greater number live on the pollen and the honey of flowers, or upon the sap that oozes from the wounds of plants. In the infant or grub state, most of them eat only the crumbled substance of decayed roots and stumps ; a feAV live in the wounds of trees, and by their depredations prevent them from healing, and accelerate the decay of the trunk. The flower-beetles belong chiefly to a group called Ceto- NiAD^, or Cetonians. They are easily distinguished from the other Scarab»ians by their lower jaws, which are generally soft on the inside, and are often provided with a flat brush of hairs, that serves to collect the pollen and juices on wdiich they subsist. Their upper jaws have no grinding plate on the inside. Their antennse consist of ten joints, the last three of which form a three-leaved oval knob. The head is often square, with a large and wide visor, overhanging and entirely 40 COLEOPTERA. concealing the upper lip. The thorax is either rounded, some- what square, or triangular. The wing-cases do not cover the end of the body. The fore legs are deeply notched on the outer edge ; and the claws are equal and entire. These beetles are generally of an oblong oval form, somewhat flat- tened above, and often brilliantly colored and highly polished, sometimes also covered with hairs. Most of the bright- colored kinds are day-fliers ; those of dark and plain tints are generally nocturnal beetles. Some of them are of im- mense size, and have been styled the princes of the beetle tribes ; such are the Incas of South America, and the Goliah beetle (^Hegemon Groliatiis^ of Guinea, the latter being more than four inches long, two inches broad, and thick and heavy in proportion. Two American Cetonians must suffice as examples in this Fig. 17. group. The first is the Indian Cetonia, Cetonia Incla * (Fig. 17), one of our eai'liest visitors in the spring, making its appearance towards the end of April or the beginning of May, when it may sometimes be seen in considerable numbers around the borders of Avoods, and in dry, open fields, fly- ing just above the grass Avith a loud humming sound, like a humble-bee, for Avhich perhaps it might at first sight be mis- taken. Like other insects of the same genus, it has a broad body, very obtuse behind, with a triangular thorax, and a little wedge-shaped piece on each side between the hinder angles of the thorax and the shoulders of the wing-covers : the latter, taken together, form an oblong square, but are somewhat notched or widely scalloped on the middle of the outer edges. The head and thorax of this beetle are dark copper-brown, or almost black, and thickly covered with short greenish-yellow hairs ; the wing-cases are light yellowish- * ScarabcBus Indus of Linnceus, Cetonia barbata of Say.^ [* Cetonia Inda. The old genus Cetonia has been divided recently into many genera, some of which have again been merged together by later investigators; our species belong to the one called Euryomia, as enlarged by Lacordaire. — Lkc] THE AMERICAN CETONIANS. 41 brown, but changeable, with pearly and metaUic tints, and spattered with numerous irregular black spots ; the under- side of the body, which is very hairy, is of a black color, with the edges of the rings and the legs dull red. It measures about six tenths of an inch in length. During the summer months the Indian Cetonia is not seen ; but about the middle of September a new brood comes forth, the beetles appearino- fresh and bright, as though they had just completed their last transformation. At this time they may be found on the flowers of the golden-rod, eating the pollen, and also in great numbers on corn-stalks, and on the trunks of the locust-tree, feeding upon the sweet sap of these plants. Fortunate would it be for us if they fed on these only ; but their love of sweets leads them to attack our finest peaches, which, as soon as ripe, they begin to devour, and in a very few hours entirely spoil. I have taken a dozen of them from a single peach, into which they had burrowed so that nothing but the naked tips of their hind-body could be seen ; and not a ripe peach remained unbitten by them on the tree. When touched, they leave a strong and disagreeable scent upon the fingers. On the approach of cold weather they disappear, but I have not been able to ascertain what becomes of them at this time, and only conjecture that they get into some warm and sheltered sjjot, Avhere they pass the winter in a torpid state, and in the spring issue from their retreats, and finish their career by depositincp their eo-srs for another brood. Those that are seen in the spring want the freshness of the autumnal beetles, a circumstance that favors my conjecture. Their hovering over and occasionally dropping upon the surface of the ground, is probably for the purpose of selecting a suitable place to enter the earth and lay their eggs. Hence I suppose that their iars'se or grubs may live on the roots of herbaceous plants. The other Cetonian beetle to be described is the Osmo- derma scaher* or rough Osmoderma (Fig. 18). It is a large * Triddus scaher, Palisot de Beauvois; Gymnodus scaher, Kirby. 6 42 COLEOPTERA. insect, with a broad, oval, aiid flattened body ; the thorax is J,, jg nearly round, but wider than long ; there are no wedge-shaped pieces be- tween the corners of the thorax and the shoulders of the wing-cases, and the outer edges of the latter are en- tire. It is of a purplish-black color, with a coppery lustre ; the head is punctured, concave or hollowed on the top, with the edge of the broad visor turned up in the males ; nearly flat, and with the edge of the visor not raised in the females ; the wing-cases are so thickly and deeply and irregularly punctured as to appear almost as rough as shagreen ; the under-side of the body is smooth and without hairs ; and the legs are short and stout. In addition to the differences between the sexes above described, it may be mentioned that the females are generally much larger than the males, and often want the coppery polish of the latter. They measure from eight tenths of an inch to one inch and one tenth in length. They are nocturnal insects, and conceal themselves during the day in the crevices and hollows of trees, Avhere they feed upon the sap that flows from the bark. They have the odor of Russia leather, and give this out so powerfully that their presence can be detected, by the scent alone, at the distance of two or three yards from thie place of their retreat. This strong smell suggested the name Osmoderma, that is, scented skin, given to these beetles by the French naturalists. They seem particularly fond of the juices of cherry and apple trees, in the hollows of which I have often discovered them. Their larvte live in the hollows of these same trees, feedin leg, serving to support the extremity of the body, and prevent it fi'om trailing on the ground. Other grubs of Elaters differ fi'om the foregoing in being proportionally broader, not cy- lindrical, but somewhat flattened, with a deep notch at the extremity of the last ring, the sides of which are beset with little teeth. Such grubs are mostly wood-eaters, devouring the woody parts of roots, or living under the bark and in the trunks of old trees. After their last transformation, Elaters or spring-beetles make their appearance upon trees and fences, and some are found on flowers. They creep slowly, and generally fall to the ground on being touched. They fly both by day and night. Their food, in the beetle state, appears to be chiefly derived fi-om flowers ; but some devour the tender leaves of plants. 54 COLEOPTERA. Fig. 27. The largest of our spring-beetles is the Mater QAlaug) oculatm of Linna3us (Fig. 27). It is of a black color ; the thorax is oblong- square, and nearly one third the length \ fflH^ / of the whole body, covered above with a jS^Sm^ whitish powder, and with a large oval ^^■S velvet-black spot, like an eye, on each side of the middle, from Avliich the in- sect derives its name, oadatus^ or eyed ; the wing-covers are marked with slen- der longitudinal impressed lines, and are sprinkled with numerous white dots ; the under-side of the body, and the leo-s, are covered with a white mealy powder. This large beetle measures from one inch and a quarter to one inch and three quarters in length. It is found on trees, fences, and the sides of buildings, in June and July. It undergoes its transformations in the trunks of trees. I have found many of them in old apple-trees, together with their larvae, Avhich eat the wood, and from which I subsequently obtained the insects in the beetle state. These larvee are reddish-yellow grubs, proportionally much' broader than the other kinds, and very much flattened. One of them, which was found frilly grown early in April, measured two inches and a half in length, and nearly four tenths of an inch across the mid- dle of the body, and was not much narrowed at either ex- tremity. The head was broad, broAvnish, and rough above ; the upper jaws or nippers were very strong, curved, and pointed ; the eyes were small and two in number, one being placed at the base of each of the short antennae ; the last segment of the body was blackish, rough with little sharp- pointed warts, with a deep semicircular notch at the end, and furnished around the sides with little teeth, the two hindmost of which were long, forked, and curved upwards like hooks ; under this segment was a large retractile fleshy prop-foot, armed behind with little claws, and around the THE SPRING-BEETLES. 55 sides with short spines ; the true legs were six, a pair to each of the first three rings ; and were tipped with a single claw. Soon after this grub was found, it cast its skin and became a pupa, and in due time the latter was transformed to a beetle. Elater (^Pyrophorus) noctilucus, the night-shining Elater, is the celebrated cucuio or fire-beetle of the West Indies, from whence it is frequently brought alive to this country. It resembles the preceding insect somewhat in form, and is an inch or more in length. It gives out a strong light from two transparent eye-like spots on the thorax, and from the segments of its body beneath. It eats the pulpy substance of the sugai'-cane, and its grub is said to be very injurious to this plant, by devouring its roots. The next two common Elaters, together with several other species, are distinguished by their claws, which resemble lit- tle combs, being furnished with a row of fine teeth along the under-side. The thorax is short and rounded before, and the body tapers behind. They are found under the bark of trees, where they pass the winter, having completed their transformations in the previous autumn. Their ^. _. J- Fig. 28. grubs live in wood. The first of these beetles is the ash-colored Elater, Elater (^Melanotus) cirie- reus of Weber (Fig. 28). It is about six tenths of an inch long, and is dark broAvn, but covered with short gray hairs, which give it an ashen hue ; the thorax is convex, and the wing-covers are marked with lines of punctures, resembling stitches. It is found on fences, the trunks of trees, and in paths, in April and May. Elater (^Melanotus) communis of Schonherr, is, as its name implies, an exceedingly common and abundant species. It closely resembles the preceding, but is smaller, seldom ex- ceeding half an inch in length ; it is also rather lighter colored ; the thorax is proportionally a little longer, not so convex, and has a slender longitudinal furrow in the middle. 56 C L E O P T E R A . This Elater appears in the same places as the cinereus in April, May, and June ; and the recently transformed beetles can also be found in the autumn under the bark of trees, where they pass the winter. Another kind of spring-beetle, which absolutely swarms in paths and among the grass during the warmest and brightest days in April and May, is the Mater (^Ludiiis) appressifrons of Say. Its specific name probably refers to the front of the head or visor being pressed downwards over the lip. The body is slender and almost cylindrical, of a deep chestnut- brown color, rendered gi'ay, however, by the numerous short yellowish hairs with which it is covered ; the thorax is of moderate length, not much narrowed before, convex above, with very long and sharp-pointed hinder angles, and in cer- tain lights has a brassy hue ; the wing-covers are finely punc- tured, and have very slender impressed longitudinal lines upon them ; the claws are not toothed beneath. This beetle usually measures from four to five tenths of an inch in length ; but the females frequently greatly exceed these di- mensions, and, being much more robust, with a more convex thorax, were supposed by Mr. Say to belong to a different species, named by him brevicornis^ the short-horned. The larvae are not yet known to me ; but I have strong reasons for thinking that they live in the ground, upon the roots of the perennial grasses and other herbaceous plants. Although above sixty different kinds of spring-beetles are J.. 29. now known to inhabit Massachusetts, I shall add to the foregoing a description of only one more species. This is the Mater (^Agriotes) ohcsus^ of Say (Fig. 29). It is a short and thick beetle, as the specific name implies ; its real color is a dark brown, but it is coA^ered Avith dirty yelloAvish-gray hairs, which on the wing- covers are arranged in longitudinal stripes ; the head and [8 Elater (Agriotes) obesiis. I am inclined to believe this species to be the Jila- ler mancns, Say, and not his E. obesus, which is now entirely unknown. — Lec] THE TIMBER-BEETLES. 57 thorax are thickly punctured, and the wing-covers are punc- tured in rows. Its length is about three tenths of an inch. This beetle closely resembles one of the kinds which, in the grub state, is called the wire-worm in Europe, and pos- sibly it may be the same. This circumstance should put us on our guard against its depredations. It is found in April, May, and June, among the roots of grass, on the under-side of boards and rails on the gi'ound, and sometimes also on fences. The utility of a knowledge of the natural history of in- sects in the practical arts of life was never more strikingly and triumphantly proved than by Linnreus himself, who, while giving to natural science its language and its laws, neglected no opportunity to point out its economical advan- tages.* On one occasion this great naturalist was consulted by the King of Sweden upon the cause of the decay and destruction of the ship-timber in the royal dock-yards, and. having traced it to the depredations of insects, and ascer- tained the history of the depredators, by directing the timber to be sunk under water dviring the season when these insects made their appearance in the winged state, and were busied in laying their eggs, he effectually secured it from future attacks. The name of these insects is Lym,exylon navale, the naval timber-destroyer. They have since increased to an alarming extent in some of the dock-yards of France, and in one of them, at least, have become very injurious, wholly in consequence of the neglect of seasonable advice given by a naval officer, who was also an entomologist, and pointed out the source of the injury, together with the remedy to be applied. * See the Prefiice to Smith's " Introduction to Botany," and Pulteney's " View of the Writings of Linnaus," for several examples, one of which it may not be amiss to mention here. Linnaeus was the first to point out the advantages to be derived from employing the Arundo nrenaria, or beach-grass, in fixing the eands of the shore, and thereby preventing the encroachments of the sea. The Dutch have long availed themselves of his suggestion, and its utility has been tested to some extent in Massachusetts. 8 58 COLEOPTERA. These destructive insects belong to a family called Ly- MEXYLiD^, which may be rendered timber-beetles. They cannot be far removed from the Buprestians and the spring- beetles in^a natm'al arrangement. From the latter, however, the insects of this small group are distinguished by having the head broad before, narrowed behind, and not sunk into the thorax ; they have not the breast-spine of the Elaters, and their legs are close together, and not separated from each other by a broad breast-bone as in the Buprestians ; and the hip-joints are long, and not sunk into the breast. In the principal insects of this family the antennae are short, and, from the third joint, flattened, widened, and saw-toothed on the inside ; and the jaw-feelers of the males have a singu- lar fringed piece attached to them. The body is long, nar- row, nearly cylindrical, and not so firm and hard as in the Elaters. The feet are five-jointed, long, and slender. The larv?e of Lymexylon and Hylecoetus are very odd- looking, long, and slender grubs. The head is small ; the first ring is very much hunched ; and on the top of the last ring there is a fleshy appendage, resembling a leaf in Ly- mexylon, and like a straight horn in Hylecoetus. They have six short legs near the head. These grubs inhabit oak-trees, and make long cylindrical burrows in the solid wood. They are also found in some other kinds of trees. Only a few native insects of this family are known to me, and these fortunately seem to be rare in New Fi.i,'- 30. '' England. I shall describe only two of them. The first was obtained by beating the limbs of some forest-tree. It may be called Lymexylon sericeum (Fig. 30), the silky timber-beetle. It is of a chestnut-brown color above, and covered with very short shining yellowish hairs, which give it a silky lustre. The head is bowed down beneath the fore part of the thorax ; the eyes are very large, and almost meet above and below ; the antenna) are brownish red, widened and compressed from the fourth to the last T H E W E E V I L S . 59 joint inclusive ; the thorax is longer than wide, rounded be- fore, convex above, and deeply indented on each side of the base ; the wing-covers are convex, gradually taper behind, and do not cover the tip of the abdomen ; the under-side of the body, and the legs, are brownish red. Its length is from four to six tenths of an inch. This insect was unknown to Mr. Say, and does not seem to have been described before. The generical name Hi/lecoetus, given to some insects of this family, means a sleeper in the woods, or one who makes his bed in the forest. We have one hitherto undescribed species, which may be called Htjleccetm Americanus, the American timber-beetle. Its head, thorax, abdomen, and legs are light brownish red ; the wing-covers, except at the base, where they are also red, and the breast, between the middle and hindmost legs, are black. The head is not bowed down under the fore part of the thorax ; the eyes are small and black, and on the middle of the forehead there is one small reddish eyelet, a character unusual among beetles, very few of which have eyelets ; the antennte resemble those of Lymexylon sericeum, but are shorter ; the thorax is nearly square, but wider than long ; and on each wing-cover there are three slightly elevated longitudinal lines or ribs. This beetle is about four tenths of an inch long. It appears on the wing in July. The foregoing beetles, though differing much in form and habits, possess one character in common ; namely, their feet are five-jointed. Those that follow have four-jointed feet. In this great section of Coleopterous insects are arranged the Weevil tribe, the Capricorn beetles or long-horned bor- ers, and various kinds of leaf-eating beetles, all of which are exceedingly injurious to vegetation. So gi-eat is the extent of the AYeevil tribe,* and so imper- fectly known is the history of a large part of our native * See page 21. 60 COLEOPTERA. species, that I shall be obliged to confine myself to an ac- count of a few only of the most remarkable weevils, and principally those that have become most known for their depredations. Mr. Kollar's excellent " Treatise on Insects injurious to Gardeners, Foresters, and Farmers," contains an account of several kinds of weevils that are unknown in this country ; and indeed but few resembling them have hitherto been discovered here. Should future observations lead to the detection in our gardens and orchards of any like those which in Europe attack the vine, the plum, the apple, the pear, and the leaves and stems of finiit-trees, the work of Mr, Kollar may be consulted with gi'eat advantage. Weevils, in the Avinged state, are hard-shelled beetles, and are distinguished from other insects by having the fore part of the head prolonged into a broad muzzle or a longer and more slender snout, in the end of which the opening of the mouth and the small horny jaws are placed. The flies and moths produced from certain young insects, called Aveevils by mistake, do not possess these characters, and their larvae or young differ essentially from those of the true weevils. The latter belong to a group called RnYNCHOPHORiDiE, lit- erally, snout-bearers. These beetles are mostly of small size. Their antennye are usually knobbed at the end, and are situated on the muzzle or snout, on each side of which there is generally a short groove to receive the base of the antenna? when the latter are turned backwards. Their feelers are very small, and, in most kinds, are concealed within the mouth. The abdomen is often of an oval form, and wider than the thorax. The legs are short, not fitted for run- ning or digging, and the soles of the feet are short and flattened. These beetles are often very hurtful to plants, by boring into the leaves, bark, buds, fi-uit, and seeds, and feeding upon the soft substance therein contained. They are diurnal insects, and love to come out of their retreats and enjoy the simshine. Some of them fly well ; but others have no wings, or only very short ones, under the wing- THE PEA-WEEVIL. 61 cases, and are therefore unable to fly. They walk slowly, and being of a timid nature, and without the means of de- fence, when alarmed they turn back their antenntB under the snout, fold up their legs, and fall from the plants on which they live. They make use of their snouts not only in feeding, but in boring holes, into which they afterwards drop their eggs. The young of these snout-beetles are mostly short fleshy grubs, of a whitish color, and without legs. The covering of their heads is a hard sh-ell, and the rings of their bodies are very convex or hunched, by both of which characters they are easily distino-uished from the magcrots of flies. Their jaws are strong and horny, and with them they gnaw those parts of plants which serve for their food. It is in the grub state that weevils are most injurious to vegetation. Some of them bore into and spoil fruits, grain, and seeds ; some attack the leaves and stems of plants, causing them to swell and become cankered ; while others penetrate into the solid wood, interrupt the course of the sap, and occasion the branch above the seat of attack to wither and die. Most of these grubs are transformed within the vegetable sub- stances upon Avhich they have lived ; some, however, when fully grown, go into the ground, where they are changed to pupa?, and afterwards to beetles. In the spring of the year, we often find among seed- peas many that have holes in them ; and, if the peas have not been exposed to the light and air, we see a little in- sect peeping out of each of these holes, and waiting appar- ently for an opportunity to come forth and make its escape. If we turn out the creature from its cell, we perceive it to be a small oval beetle, rather more than one tenth of an inch long, of a rusty black color, with a white spot on the hinder part of the thorax, four or five white dots behind the middle of each wing-cover, and a Avhite spot shaped like the letter T on the exposed extremity of the body. Tliis little insect is the Bruchus Pisi of Linnaeus (Fig. 31), the 62 COLEOPTERA. pea-Bruclius, or pea-weevil, but is better known in America by the incorrect name of pea-buo;. The original Fig. 31. -^ . . ^ meaning of the word Bruchus is a devourer, and the insects to which it is applied well deserve this name, for, in the larva state, they devour the in- terior of seeds, often leaving but little more than the hull untouched. They belong to a family of the great weevil tribe called Bruchid^e, and are distin- guished from other weevils by the following characters. The body is oval, and slightly convex ; the head is bent down- wards, so that the broad muzzle, when the insects are not eating, rests upon the breast ; the antennae are short, straight, and saw-toothed within, and are inserted close to a deep notch in each of the eyes ; the feelers, though very small, are visible ; the wing-cases do not cover the end of the ab- domen ; and the hindmost thighs are very thick, and often notched or toothed on the under-side, as is the case in the pea-weevil. The habits of the Bruchians and their larv« are similar to those of the pea-weevil, which remain to be described. It may be well, however, to state here, that these beetles frequent the legmninous or pod-bearing plants, such as the pea, Gleditschia, Robinia, Mimosa, Cassia, &c., during and immediately after the flowering season ; they wound the skin of the tender pods of these plants, and lay their eggs singly in the wounds. Each of the little maggot-like grabs hatched therefrom perforates the pod and enters a seed, the pulp of which suffices for its food till fully gi'own. Few persons while indulging in the luxury of early green peas are aware how many insects they unconsciously sAval- low. When the pods are carefully examined, small discol- ored spots may be seen within them, each one corresponding to a similar spot on the opposite pea. If this spot in the pea be opened, a minute whitish grub, destitute of feet, will be found therein. It is the weevil in its larva form, which lives upon the marrow of the pea, and arrives at its full size by the time that the pea becomes dry. This larva or THE PEA-WEEVIL. 63 oTub then bores a round hole from the hollow in the centre of the pea quite to the hull, but leaves the latter, and gen- erally the germ of the future sprout, untouched. Hence these buggy peas, as they are called by seedsmen and gar- deners, will frequently sprout and grow when planted. The "■rub is changed to a pupa within its hole in the pea in the autumn, and before the spring casts its skin again, becomes a beetle, and gnaws a hole through the thin hull in order to make its escape into the air, Avhich frequently does not hap- pen before the peas are planted for an early crop. After the pea-vines have flowered, and while the pods are young and tender, and the peas within them are just beginning to swell, the beetles gather upon them, and deposit their tiny eo-o-s singly in the punctures or wounds which they make upon the surface of the pods. This is done mostly during the night, or in cloudy weather. The grubs, as soon as they are hatched, penetrate the pod and bury themselves in the opposite peas ; and the holes through which they pass into the seeds are so fine as hardly to be perceived, and are soon closed. Sometimes every pea in a pod will be found to contain a weevil-grub ; and so great has been the injuiy to the crop, in some parts of the country, that the inhabitants have been obliged to give up the cultivation of this vegetable.* These insects diminish the weight of the peas in which they lodge nearly one half, and their leavings are fit only for the food of swine. This occasions a great loss where peas . are raised for feeding stock or for family use, as they are in many places. Those persons who eat whole peas in the winter after they are raised, run the risk of eating the weevils also ; but if the peas are kept till they are a year old, the insects will entirely leave them.f The pea-weevil is supposed to be a native of. the United States. It seems to have been first noticed in Pennsylvania, * See Kalm's Travels, (Svo. Warrington, 1770,) Vol. I. p. 173. t See the " Boston Cultivator " for July 1, 1848, for an interesting account of the habits of these insects, by Mr. S. Deane. 64 COLEOPTERA. many years ago, and has gradually spread from thence to New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. It is yet rare in New Hampshire, and I believe has not appeared in the eastern parts of Maine. It is unknown in the North of Europe, as we learn from the interesting account given of it by Kalm, the Swedish trav- eller, who tells us of the fear with which he Avas filled on finding some of these Aveevils in a parcel of peas Avhich he had carried home from America, having in view the whole damage which his beloved country would have suffered, if only two or three of these noxious insects had escaped him. They are now common in the South of Europe and in Eng- land, whither they may have been carried from this country. As the cultivated pea Avas not originally a native of Amer- ica, it would be interesting to ascertain what plants the pea- weevil formerly inhabited. That it should have preferred the prolific exotic pea to any of our indigenous and less productive pulse, is not a matter of surprise, analogous facts being of common occurrence ; but that, for so many years, a rational method for checkincr its ravao;es should not have been practised, is somewhat remarkable. An exceedingly simple one is recommended by Deane, but to be successful it should be universally adopted. It consists merely in keeping seed- peas in tight vessels over one year before planting them. Latreille and others recommend putting them, just before they are to be planted, into hot water for a minute or two, by which means the weevils will be killed, and the sprouting of the peas Avill be quickened. The insect is limited to a certain period for depositing its eggs ; late-sown peas there- fore escape its attacks. The late Colonel Pickering observed that those sown in Pennsylvania as late as the 20th of May were entirely free fi'om Aveevils ; and Colonel Worthington, of Rensselaer County, New York, who sowed his peas on the 10th of June, six years in succession, never found an insect in them dui'ing that period. . The crow black-bird is said to devour great numbers of THE ATTELABIANS. 65 the beetles in the spring ; and the Baltimore oriole or hang- bird splits open the green pods for the sake of the grubs con- tained in the peas, thereby contributing greatly to prevent the increase of these noxious insects. The instinct that en- ables this beautiful bird to detect the lurking grub, concealed, as the latter is, within the pod and the hull of the pea, is worthy our highest admiration ; and the goodness of Provi- dence, Avhich has endowed it with this faculty, is still further shown in the economy of the insects also, which, through His prospective care, are not only limited in the season of their depredations, but are instinctively taught to spare the germs of the peas, thereby securing a succession of crops for our benefit and that of their own progeny. The Attelabians (Attelabid^) are distinguished from the Bnichians by the form and greater length of the head, which is a little inclined, and ends with a snout, sometimes short and thick, and sometimes long, slender, and curved. The eyes also are round and entire, and the antennae are usually implanted near the middle of the snout. The larvae re- semble those of most of the snout-beetles, being short, thick, whitish grubs, with horny heads, the rings of the body very much hunched, and deprived of legs, the place of which is supplied by fleshy warts along • the under-side of the body. Some of the European insects of this family are knoAvn to be very injurious to the leaves, fruits, and seeds of plants. The different kinds of Attelabus are said to roll up the edges of leaves, thereby forming little nests, of the shape and size of thimbles, to contain their eggs, and to shelter their young, which afterwards devour the leaves. pig. 32. The larvro and habits of our native species are unknown to me. The most common one here is the Attelabus analis of Weber (Fig. 32), or the red-tailed Attelabus. It is one quarter of an inch long from the tip of the thick snout to the end of the body. The head, which is nearly cylindrical, the antennae, legs, and 9 66 COLEOPTERA. middle of the breast, are deep blue-black ; the thorax, wing- covers, and abdomen are dull red ; the wing-covers, taken together, are nearly square, and are punctured in rows. This beetle is found on the leaves of oak-trees in June and July. The two-spotted Attelabus, Attelabus hipustulatus of Fabri- cius, (Plate II. Fig. 6,) is also found on oak-leaves during the same season as the preceding. It is of a deep blue-black color, with a square dull red spot on the shoulders of each wing-cover. It measures rather more than one eighth of an inch in length. Two or three beetles of this family are very hurtful to the vine, in Europe, by nibbling the midrib of the leaves, so that the latter may be rolled up to form a retreat for their young. They also puncture the buds and the tender fiaiit of this and of other plants. In consequence of the damage caused by them and by their larvae, whole vineyards are sometimes stripped of their leaves, and fi'uit-trees are despoiled of their foliage and fi'uits. These insects belong to the genus Ryn- chites, a name given to them in allusion to their snouts. I have not seen any of them on vines or fruit-trees in this country. The largest one found here is the Ryrichites hicolor of Fabricius, or two-colored» Rynchites. This insect is met with in June, July, and August, on cultivated and wild rose-bushes, sometimes in considerable numbers. That they injure these plants is highly probable, but the nature and extent of the injury is not certainly known. The whole of the upper side of this beetle is red, except the rather long and slender snout, which, together Avith the antennae, legs,, and under-side of the body, is black ; it is thickly covered with small punctures, and is slightly downy, and there are rows of larger punctures on the wing-covers. It measures one fifth of an inch from the eyes to the tip of the abdomen. The grubs of many kinds of Apion destroy the seeds of plants. In Europe they do much mischief to clover in this T H E B R E N T III A N S . 67 way. They receive the above name from the shape of the beetles, which resembles that of a pear. Say's Apioii, Apion Sayi * of Schonherr (Fig. 33), is a minute black species, not more than one tenth of an inch long, exclusive of the slender, sharp-pointed snout. Its grubs live in the pods of the common wild-indigo bush, Baptisia tinctoria, devouring the seeds. A smaller kind, somewhat like it, inhabits the pods and eats the seeds of the locust-tree, or Rohinia pseudacacia. Naturalists place here a little group of snout-bestles, called Brenthid^, or Brenthians, which differ entirely in their forms from the other weevils, both in the beetle and grub state. They have a long, narrow, and cylindrical body. The snout projects from the head in a straight line with the body, and varies in shape according to the sex of the insect, and even in individuals of the same sex. In the males it is broad and flat, sometimes as long as the thorax, sometimes much shorter, and it is widened at the tip, where are situated two strong nippers or upper jaws ; in the females it is long, very slender, and not enlarged at the extremity, and the nippers are not visible to the naked eye. The feelers are too small to be seen. The antennse are short, straight, slightly thickened towards the tip, and implanted before the prominent eyes, on the middle of the snout in the males, and at the base of it in the females. The legs are short, the first pair being the largest, and the hindmost unusually distant from the middle pair. These insects live under the bark and in the trunks of trees, but very little has been published respecting their habits ; and the only description of their larvae that has hitherto appeared is con- tained in my first Report on the Insects of Massachusetts, printed in the year 1838, in the seventy-second number of the " Documents of the House of Representatives." The only beetle of this family known in the New England • Apion rostrum, Say. 68 COLEOPTERA. States is the Brenthus (^Arrhenodes) sejjtemtrioms * of Herbst (Fig. 34), the Northern Brenthus, so named because most Fig. 31. of the other species are tropical insects. It is of a mahogany-brown color ; the wing-cases are somewhat darker, ornamented with nar- row tawny-yellow spots, and marked with deep furrows, the sides of which are punctured ; the thorax is nearly egg-shaped, broadest behind the middle, and highly polished. The com- mon length of this insect, including the snout, is six tenths of an incli ; but much larger as well as smaller specimens frequently occur. The Northern Brenthus inhabits the Avhite oak, on the trunks and under the bark of which it may be found in June and July, having then completed its trans- formations. The female, when about to lay her eggs, punc- tures the bark with her slender snout, and drops an egg in each hole thus made. The grub, as soon as it is hatched, bores into the solid wood, forming a cylindrical passage, which it keeps clear by pushing its castings out of the orifice of the hole, as fast as they accumulate. These castings or chips are like very fine sawdust ; and the holes made by the insects are easily discovered by the dust around them. When fully grown,, the grub measures rather more than an inch in length, and not quite one tenth of an inch in thick- ness. It is nearly cylindrical, being only a little flattened on the under-side, and is of a whitish color, except the last segment, which is dark chestnut-brown. Each of the first three segments is provided with a pair of legs, and there is a fleshy prop-leg under the hinder extremity of the body. The last segment is of a horny consistence, and is obliquely hollowed at the end, so as to form a kind of gouge or scoop, the cdcres of which are flirnished with little notches or teeth. It is by means of this singular scoop that the grub shovels the minute grains of the wood out of its burrow. The pupa * A mistake undoubtedly for septemirionalis. It is the Brenthus maxillosus of Olivier aiul Schonherr. THE CURCULIONIANS. 69 is met with in the burrow formed by the larv^a. It is of a yellowish-white color ; the head is bent under the thorax, and the snout rests on the breast between the folded legs and wino-s : the back is furnished with transverse rows of little thorns or shai'p teeth, and there are two larger thorns at the extremity of the body. These minute .thorns probably enable the pupa to move towards the mouth of its burrow when it is about to be transformed, and may serve also to keep its body steady during its exertions in casting off its pupa skin. These insects are most abundant in trees that have been cut down for timber or fiiel, which are generally attacked during the first summer after they are felled ; it has also been ascertained that living trees do not always escape, but those that are in full vigor are rarely perforated bv grubs of this kind. The credit of discoverino; the habits and transformations of the Northern Brenthus is due to the Rev. L. W. Leonard, of Dublin, New Hampshire, who has favored me with specimens in all their forms. This insect is now known to inhabit nearly all the States in the Union. I am inclined to think that the Brenthians ought to be placed at the end of the weevil tribe ; but I have not ventured to alter the arrangement generally adopted. The rest of the weevils are short and thick beetles, differ- ing from all the preceding in their antennie, which are bent or elbowed near the middle, the first joint being much longer than the rest. Their feelers are not perceptible. They be- long to the family Curculionid^, so called from the princi- pal genus, Ciircidio^ a name given by the Romans to the corn- weevil. The Curculionians vary in the form, length, and direction of their snouts. Those belonging to the old genus Curcidio have short and thick snouts, at the extremity of which, and near to the sides of the mouth, the antennge are implanted ; those to which the name of Rkynchcenus was for- merly applied have longer and more slender snouts, usually bearing the antenna on or just behind the middle ; and the third great genus, called Calandra^ contains long-snouted 70 COLEOPTERA. beetles, whose antennae are fixed just before the eyes at the base of the snout. Curcidio (^Pandeleteius) hilaris of Herbst (Fig. 35), wliich we may call the gi-ay-sided Curculio, is a little pale-brown beetle, variegated with gray upon the sides. Its snout is short, broad, and slightly furrowed in the middle ; there are three blackish stripes on the thorax, between which are two of a light gray color ; the wing-covers have a broad stripe of light gray on the outer side, edged within by a slender blackish line, and sending two short oblique branches almost across each wing-cover ; and the fore-legs are much larger than the others. The length of this beetle varies from one eighth to one fifth of an inch. The larva lives in the trunks of the white oak, on which the beetles may be found about the last of May and the beginning of June. The Pales weevil, Curculio (^Hylohius) Pahs of Herbst (Fig. 36), is a beetle of a deep chestnut-brown color, having a line and a few dots of a yellow- ish-white color on the thorax, and many small yellowish-white spots sprinkled over the wing- covers. All the thighs are toothed beneath, and the snout is slender, cylindrical, inclined, and nearly as long as the thorax. On account of the length of the snout this insect has been placed in the genus Rhynckcenus by some nat- uralists ; but the antennse are implanted before the middle of the snout, and not far fi:'om the sides of the mouth. This beetle measures from two to three eighths of an inch in length, exclusive of the snout. It may be found in great abundance, in May and June, on board-fences, the sides of new wooden buildings, and on the trunks of pine-trees. I have discovered them, in considerable numbers, under the bark of the pitch-pine. The larvae, which do not mate- rially differ from those of other weevils, inhabit these and THE PALES WEEVIL. 71 probably other kinds of pines, doing sometimes immense injury to them. Wilson, the ornithologist, describes the depredations of these insects, in his account* of the ivory- billed woodpecker, in tlie following words : " Would it be believed that the larvae of an insect, or fly, no larger than a grain of rice, should silently, and in one season, destroy some thousand acres of pine-trees, many of them from two to three feet in diameter and a hundred and fifty feet high ! Yet whoever passes along the high road from George- town to Charleston, in South Carolina, about twenty miles from the former place, can have striking and melancholy proofs of the fact. In some places the whole woods, as far as you can see around you, are dead, stripped of the bark, their wintry-looking arms and bare trunks bleaching in the sun, and tumbling in ruins before every blast, presenting a frightful picture of desolation. Until some effectual prevent- ive or more complete remedy can be devised against these insects, and their larvae, I avouM humbly suggest the pro- priety of protecting, and receiving with proper feelings of gratitude, the services of this and the whole tribe of wood- peckers, letting the odium of guilt fall to its proper owners." Some years ago Mr. Nuttall kindly procured for me, near the place above mentioned, specimens of the destructive in- sects referred to by Wilson. They were of three kinds. Those in greatest abundance were the Pales weevil. One of the others was a larger, darker-colored weevil, without white spots on it, and named Hylohius picivorus by Ger- mar and Schonherr, or the pitch-eating weevil ; it is sel- dom found in Massachusetts. The third was the white-pine weevil, to be next described. It is said that these beetles puncture the buds and the tender bark of the small branches, and feed upon the juice, and that the young shoots are often so much injured by them as to die and break off at the wounded part. But it is in the larva state that they are found to be most hurtful to the pines. The larvse live under * American Ornithology, VoL IV. p. 21. 72 COLEOPTERA. the bark, devouring its soft inner surface, and the tender, newly formed wood. When they abound, as they do in some of our pine forests, they separate large pieces of bark from the wood beneath, in consequence of which the part perishes, and the tree itself soon languishes and dies. The white-pine weevil, Rliynchoenus (^Pissodes) Strohi* j,.^ g. of Professor Peck (Fig. 37), unites with the two preceding insects in destroying the pines of this country, as above de- scribed. But it employs also another mode of attack on the white pine, of Avhich an interesting account is given by the late Professor Peck, the first describer of th,e insect, in the fourth volume of the " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal," ac- companied by figures of the insect. The lofty stature of the white pine, and the straightness of its trunk, depend, as Pro- fessor Peck has remarked, upon the constant health of its leadino- shoot, for a long succession of years ; and if this shoot be destroyed, the tree becomes stunted and deformed in its subsequent growth. This accident is not uncommon, and is caused by the ravages of the white-pine weevil. This beetle is oblong oval, rather slender, of a brownish color, thickly punctured, and variegated with small brown, rust-colored, and whitish scales. There are two white dots on the thorax ; the scutel is white ; and on the wing-covers, which are punctured in rows, there is a whitish transverse band behind the middle. The snout is longer than the thorax, slender, and a very little inclined. The length of this insect, exclusive of its snout, varies fi'om one fifth to three tenths of an inch. Its eggs are deposited on the lead- ing shoot of the pine, probably immediately under the outer bark. The larvas, hatched therefrom, bore into the shoot in various directions, and probably remain in the wood more than one year. When the feeding state is passed, but before * PissoJes nemorensis of Gerniar. THE WHITE-PINK WEEVIL. 73 the insect is changed to a pupa, it gnaws a passage from the inside quite to the bark, which, however, remaining un- touched, serves to shelter the httle 'borers from the weather. After they have changed to beetles, they have only to cut away the outer bark to make their escape. They begin to come out early m September, and continue to leave the wood through that month and a part of October. The shoot at this time will be found pierced Avith small round holes on all sides ; sometimes thirty or forty may be counted on one shoot. Professor Peck has observed that an unlimited in- crease is not permitted to this destructive insect ; and that if it were, our forests would not produce a single mast. One of the means appointed to restrain the increase of the white- pine weevil is a species of ichneumon-fly, endued with sa- gacity to discover the retreat of the larva, the body of which it stings, and therein deposits an egg. From the latter a grub is hatched, Avhich devours the larva of the weevil, and is subsequently transformed to a four-winged fly, in the habita- tion prepared for it. The most effectual remedy against the increase of these weevils is to cut off" the shoot in August, or as soon as it is perceived to be dead, and commit it, with its inhabitants, to the flre. Such is the substance of Professor Peck's history of this insect ; to which may be added, that the beetles are found in great numbers, in April and May, on fences, buildings, and pine-trees ; that they probably secrete themselves during the winter in the crevices of the bark, or about the roots of the trees, and deposit their eggs in the spring ; or they may not usually leave the trees before spring. Perhaps the method used for decoying the pine-eating bee- tles in Europe may be practised here with advantage. It consists in sticking some newly-cut branches of pine-trees in the ground, in an open place, during the season when the insects are about to lay their eggs. In a few hours these branches will be covered with the beetles, which may be shaken into a cloth and burned. 10 74 COLEOPTERA. There are some of the long-snouted weevils which inhabit nuts of various kinds. Hence they are called nut-weevils, and belong chiefly to the modern genus Balaninus, a name that signifies living or being in a nut. The common nut- weevil of Europe lays her eggs in the hazelnut and filbert, having previously bored a hole for that purpose with her long and slender snout, while the fruit is young and tender, and dropping only one egg in each nut thus pricked. A little grub is soon hatched from the egg, and begins immedi- ately to devour the soft kernel. Notwithstanding this, the nut continues to increase in size, and, by the time that it is ripe and ready to tall, its little inhabitant also comes to its growth, gnaws a round hole in the shell, through which it afterwards makes its escape, and burrows in the gi'ound. Here it remains unchanged through the winter, and in the following summer, having completed its transformations, it comes out of the ground a beetle. In this country weevil-grubs are very common in hazel- nuts, chestnuts, and acorns ; but I have not hitherto been able to rear any of them to the beetle Fig. 38. -^ state. The most common of the nut-wee- vils known to me appears to be the Rhyn- chcenus (^Balaninus) nasicus of Say (Fig. 38), the long-snouted nut-weevil. Its form is oval, and its gi'ound color dark brown ; but it is clothed with very short rust-yellow flattened hairs, which more or less conceal its original color, and are disposed in spots on its wing-covers. The snout is brown and polished, longer than the whole body, as slender as a bristle, of equal thickness from one to the other, and slightly curved ; it bears the long elbowed antennae, which are as fine as a hair, just behind the middle. This beetle measures nearly three tenths of an inch in length, exclusive of the snout. Specimens have been found paired upon the hazel- nut-tree in July, at which time probably the eggs are laid. THE CURCULIO, OR PLUM-WEEVIL. 75 Others appear in September and October, and must pass the winter concealed in some secure place. From its size and resemblance to the nut-weevil of Europe, this is supposed to be the species which attacks the hazelnut here. It is now well known that the falling of unripe plums is caused by little whitish grubs, which bore into the fruit. The loss occasioned by insects of this kind is frequently very great ; and in some of our gardens and orchards the crop of plums is often entirely ruined by the depredations of the grubs, which have been ascertained to be the larvae or V0un2 of a small beetle of the weevil •^ . ® Fig. 30. Fig. 40. tribe, called Rhynchcenas (^Conotrache- lus) Nenuphar* (Figs. 39 and 40,) the Nenuphar or plum- weevil. This wee- vil, or ciirculio^ as it is often called, is a little rough, dark-brown, or blackish beetle, looking like a dried bud when it is shaken from the trees, Avhich resem- blance is increased by its habit of drawing up its legs and bending its snout close to the lower side of its body, and remaining for a time without motion, and seemingly lifeless. It is fi-om three twentieths to one fifth of an inch long, ex- clusive of the curved snout, which is rather longer than the thorax, and is bent under the breast, between the fore legs, when at rest. Its color is a dark broAvn, variegated with spots of white, ochre-yellow, and black. The thorax is un- even ; the wing-covers have several short ridges upon them, those on the middle of the back formino- two considerable humps, of a black color, behind which there is a wide band of ochre-yellow and white. Each of the thighs has two little teeth on the under-side. I have found these beetles as early as the 30th of March, and as late as the lOth of June, and at various intermediate times, according with the for- * First described by Herbst, in 1797, under the name of Curculio Nemiphar; Fabricius redescribed it under that of RhynchoEnus Argula ; and Dejean has named it Conotrachelus variegatus. 76 COLEOPTERA. wardness or backwardness of vegetation in the spring, and have frequently caught them flying in the middle of the day. They begin to sting the plums as soon as the fruit is set, and continue their operations to the middle of July, or, as some say, till the first of August. In doing this, the beetle first makes a small" crescent-shaped incision, -with its snout, in the skin of the plum, and then, turning round, inserts an egg in the Avound. From one plum it goes to another, until its store of eggs is exhausted ; so that, where these beetles abound, not a plum Avill escape being stung. Very rarely is there more than one incision made in the same fniit ; and the weevil lays only a single egg therein. The insect hatched from this egg is a little whitish grub, desti- tute of feet, and very much like a maggot in appearance, except that it has a distinct, rounded, light-brown head. It immediately burrows obliquely into the fruit, and finally pene- trates to the stone. The irritation, arising from the wounds and from the gnawings of the grabs, causes the young fruit to become gummy, diseased, and finally to drop before it is ripe. Meanwhile, the grub comes to its growth, and, im- mediately after the falling of the fruit, quits the latter and burrows in the ground. This may occur at various times between the middle of June and of August ; and, in about three weeks afterwards, the insect completes its transforma- tions, and comes out of the gi'ound in the beetle form. The earliest account of the habits of the plum weevil, that I have seen, was written by Dr. James Tilton, of Wilming- ton, DelaAvare. It will be found, under the article Fruit, in Dr. James Mease's edition of Willich's " Domestic Encyclo- psedia," published at Philadelphia in 1803. The same ac- coimt has been reprinted in the " Georgic Papers for 1809 " of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, and in other works. According to Dr. Tilton, this insect attacks not only nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries, but also peaches, apples, pears, and quinces, the truth of which has been abun- dantly confirmed by later writers. I have myself ascertained THE CURCULIO, OR PLUM-WEEVIL. 77 that the cherry-worm, so called, Avhich is very common in this fruit when gathered from the tree, produces, at maturity, the same curculio as that of the plum ; but, unlike the latter, it rarely causes the stung cherry to drop prematurely to the ground. The late Dr. Joel Burnett, of Southborough, the author of two interesting articles on the plum-weevil,* sent to me, in the summer of 1839, some specimens of the in- sect, in the chrysalis state, which were raised from the small grubs in apples ; and, since that time, I have seen the same grubs in apples, pears, and quinces, in this vicinity. They are not to be mistaken for the more common ajjjAe-tvorms, from which they are easily distinguished by their inferior size, and by their want of feet. In 1831, Mr. Thomas Say, in a note on the plum-weevil, stated that it " depredates on the plum and peach and other stone-fruits ; " and that his " kinsman, the late excellent William Bartram, informed him it also destroys the English walnut in this country." f Observers do not agree concerning some points in the economy of this insect, such as the time required for it to complete its transformations, the condition and j^lace wherein it passes the winter, and the agency of the curculio in pro- ducing the warts or excrescences on plum and cherry trees. The average time passed by the insect in the ground, during the summer, has appeared to me to be about three weeks ; but the transformation may be accelerated or retarded by temperature and situation. It has also been my impression that the late broods remained in the ground all winter, and that from them are produced the beetles which sting the fruit in the folloAving spring. Dr. Burnett's observations coincide with this opinion. According to him, the insect " under- goes transformation in about fifteen or twenty days, in the month of June or fore part of July ; but all the larvse, (as * New England Farmer, Vol. XVIIL p. 304, March 11, 1840; and Hovey's Mag- azine of Horticulture, Vol. IX. p. 281, August, 1843, reprinted in the New England Farmer, Vol. XXII. p. 49, August IG, 1843, and in the Transactions of the Jlassa- chusetts Horticultural Society, for 1843-1846, p. 18. t Descriptions of Curculionites, p. 19 (8vo, New Harmony, 1831). 78 COLEOPTERA. far as he had observed,) that go into the earth as late as the 20th of July, do not ascend that season, but remain there in the pupa stage until next spring." Dr. Tilton, in his account of the curculio, stated that " it remains in the earth, in the form of a grub, during the winter, ready to be metamorphosed into a beetle as the spring advances." According to M. H. Simpson, Esq., of Saxon ville, the larvae, or grubs, "go through their chrysalis state in three weeks after going into the ground, and remain in a torpid state through the season, unless the earth is disturbed." * Dr. E. Sanborn, of Andover, has come to entirely different conclusions, from a series of experiments made upon these insects. It is his opinion that they do not remain m the ground, during the winter, either in the grub or in the beetle state ; but that, under all conditions of place and temperature, " in about six weeks " after they have en- tered the earth " they return to the surface perfectly finished, winged, and equipped for the work of destruction " ; and that, " as neither the curculio nor its grub burrows in the ground during the winter, the common practice of guarding against its ravages, by various operations in the soil, rests upon a false theory, and is productive of no valuable results."! If these conclusions be correct, these insects must pass the win- ter above ground, in the beetle state, and the place of their concealment, during this season, remains to be discovered. In July, 1818, Professor W. D. Peck obtained, from the warty excrescences of the cheny-tree, the same insects that he " had long known to occasion the fall of peaches, apricots, and plums, before they had acquired half their growth"; and, not aware that this species had already received a scien- tific name, he called it Rhynchcenus Cerasi, the cherry- weevil. His account of it, with a figure, may be seen in the fifth volume of the " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and * Hovey's Magazine, Vol. XVI. p. 257, June, 1850. t See Dr. Sanborn's interesting communications on the Plum Curculio, in the Boston Cultivator, for May 19, 1849, and July 13, 1850, and in the Puritan Re- corder for May 2, and the Cambridge Chronicle for May 30, 1850. CURCULIO FOUND IN WARTS. 79 Journal." The grubs, found by Professor Peck in the tumors of the cherry-tree, went into the ground on the 6th of July, and on the 30th of the same month, or twenty-four days from their leaving the bark, the perfect insects began to rise, and were soon ready to deposit their eggs. The plum, still more than the cherry tree, is subject to a disease of the small limbs, that shows itself in the form of larffs irregular warts, of a black color. Professor Peck referred this disease, as well as that of the cherry-tree, to the agency of insects, but was imcertain whether to attribute it to his cherry-weevil " or to another species of the same genus." It was his opinion, that "the seat of the disease is in the bark. The sap is diverted from its regular course, and is absorbed entirely by the bark, which is very much increased in thick- ness ; the cuticle bursts, the swelling becomes irregular, and is formed into black lumps, with a cracked, uneven, granu- lated surface. The wood, besides being deprived of its nutri- ment, is very much compressed, and the branch above the tumor perishes." Dr. Burnett rejected the idea of the insect origin of this disease, which he considered as a kind of ftingus, arising in the alburnum, from an obstruction of the vessels, and bursting through the bark, which became involved in the disease. These tumors appear to me to begin between the bark and wood. They are at first soft, cellular, and full of sap, but finally become hard and woody. But whether caused by vitiated sap, as Dr. Burnett supposed, or by the irritating punctures of insects, which is the prevailing opin- ion, or whatever be their origin and seat, they form an appropriate bed for the growth of numerous little parasitical plants or fungi, to which botanists give the name of Sphceria mo7'bosa. These plants are the minute black granules that cover the surface of the wart, and give to it its black color. When fully matured, they are filled with a gelatinous fluid, and have a little pit or depression on their summit. They come to their growth, discharge their volatile seed, and die in the course of a single summer ; and with them perishes 80 COLEOPTERA. the trnnor whence they sprung. It is worthy of remark, that they are sure to appear on these warts in due time, and that they are never found on any other part of the tree. Insects are often found in the warts of the plum-tree, as well as in those of the cherry-tree. The larvae of a minute Cynips^ or gall-fly, are said to inhabit them,* but have never fallen under my observation. The naked caterpillars of a minute moth are very common in the warts of the plum- tree, in which also are sometimes found other insects, among them little ginibs from which genuine i)lum-weevils have been raised. This is a very interesting fact in the economy of the plum-weevil. It may be questioned, however, whether it be a mere mistake of instinct that leads the curculio to lay its eggs in the warts of the plum-tree, or a special pro- vision of a wise Providence to secure thereby a succession of the species in unfruitful seasons. The following, among other remedies that have been sug- gested, may be found useful in checking the ravages of the plum-weevil. Let the trees be briskly shaken or suddenly jarred every morning and evening during the time that the insects appear in the beetle form, and are engaged in laying their eggs. When thus disturbed, they contract their legs and fall ; and, as they do not immediately attempt to fly or crawl away, they may be caught in a sheet spread under the tree, from which they should be gathered into a large wide-mouthed bottle, or other tight vessel, and be thrown into the fire. Keeping the fruit covered with a coat of whitewash, which is to be applied with a syringe as often as necessary, has been much recommended of late to repel the attacks of the curculio. A little glue, added to the whitewash, causes it to stick better and last longer. We may succeed by this remedy in securing a crop of plums ; but as we cannot apply it to cherries and apples, they will be sure to suffer more than ever, and hence no check will * Schweinitz, Synopsis Fungorum ; in Transactions of the American Pliilo- sophical Society, Philadelphia, New Series, Vol. IV. p. 204. THE POTATO-WEEVIL. .81 be given to the increase of the weevil. All the fallen fruit should be immediately gathered and thrown into a tight vessel, and after it is boiled or steamed to kill the en- closed grubs, it may be given as food to swine. Many of the grubs will be found in the bottom of the vessel in which the fallen fi'uit has been deposited. Not one of these should be allowed to escape to the ground, but they should all be killed before they have time to complete their trans- formations. The diseased excrescences on the trees should be cut out, and, as they often contain insects, they should be burnt. If the wounds are washed with strong brine, the formation of new warts will be checked. The moose plum-tree (^Prunus Americana} seems to be free from warts, even when growing in the immechate vicinity of diseased for- eign trees. It would, therefore, be the best of stocks for budding or ingrafting upon. It can be easily raised from the stone, and grows rapidly, but does not attain a great size. Among the many insects that have been charged with being the cause of the wide-spread pestilence, commonly called the potato-rot, there is a kind of weevil that lives in the stalk of the potato. The history of this little insect was first made known by Miss Margaretta H. Morris, of Ger- mantown, Pennsylvania. In August, 1849, her attention was called to this subject by Mr. Wilkinson, the principal* of the JNIount Airy Agricultural Institute, " who discovered small grubs in the potato-vines on his farm, and naturally feared injurious consequences." On the 28th Fig. 4i. of the same month and year. Miss Morris sent to me some specimens of the insects in a piece of the potato-stalk, wherein they underwent their transformations. They proved to be the beetles described by Mr. Say under the name of Bari- dius trinotatus (Fig. 41), so called from their having three black dots on their backs. This kind of beetle is about three twentieths of an inch long. Its body is covered with short whitish hairs, which give to it a gray appearance. 11 82 COLEOPTERA. One of the black dots is on the scutel, and the others are on the hinder angles of the thorax ; and by these it can be readily distinguished from other species. According to Miss Morris, it lays its eggs singly on the plant at the base of a leaf. The grubs burrow into and consume the inner sulj- stance of the stalk, proceeding dowuAvards towards the root. In many fields in the neighborhood of Germantown every stem was found to be infested by these insects, causing the premature decay of the vines, and giving to them the appear- ance of having been scalded. The insects undergo all their transformations in the stalks. Their pupa state lasts from fourteen to twenty days, and they take the beetle form dur- ing the last of August and beginning of September. These insects, though common enough in the Middle States, I have never found in New England, in the course of thirty years of observation, and have failed to discover them here since my attention was called to their depredations by Miss Morris. That ihey may become very injurious to the potato crop where they abound, will be readily admitted ; but, as they do not occur in all places, either here or in Europe, where the potato-rot has prevailed, they cannot be justly said to produce this disease.* The most pernicious of the Rhynchophorians, or snout- 'beetles, are the insects properly called gi'ain- weevils, belong- ing to the old genus Calandra. These insects must not be confounded with the still more destructive larvae of the corn- moth (^Tinea (/ranella), which also attacks stored grain, nor with the orange-colored maggots of the wheat-fly (^Cecidomyia Tritici)^ which are found in the ears of growing wheat. Al- though the grain-weevils are not actually injurious to vege- tation, yet as the name properly belonging to them has often been misapplied in this country, thereby creating no little confusion, some remarks upon them may tend to prevent future mistakes. * See my communication on this insect, &c., in the New England Farmer, for June 22, 1850, Vol. II. p. 204. GRAIN-WEEVILS. 83 The true grain-weevil or wheat-weevil of Europe, Calan- dra (^Sitophilas) granaria, or Curculio granarius of Linnaeus, in its pertected state is a slender beetle of a pitchy-red color, about one eighth of an inch long, with a slender snout slightly bent downwards, a coarsely punctured and very long thorax, constituting almost one half the length of the whole body, and wing-covers that are furrowed and do not entirely cover the tip of the abdomen. This little insect, both in the beetle and grub state, devours stored wheat and other grains, and often commits much havoc in granaries and brewhouses. Its powers of multiplication are very great, for it is stated that a single pair of these destroyers may produce above six thousand descendants in one year. The female deposits her eggs upon the wheat after it is housed, and the young grubs hatched therefrom immediately burrow into the wheat, each individual occupying alone a single grain, the substance of which it devours, so as often to leave nothing but the hull ; and this destruction goes on within while no external ap- pearance leads to its discovery, and the loss of weight is the only evidence of the mischief that has been done to the grain. In due time the gi'ubs undergo their transformations, and come out of the hulls, in the beetle state, to lay their eggs for another brood. These insects are effectually de- stroyed by kiln-drying the wheat ; and grain that is kept cool, well ventilated, and is frequently moved, is said to be exempt from attack. Rice is attacked by an insect closely resembling the wheat- weevil, from which, however, it is distinguished by having two large red spots on each wing-cover ; it is also some- what smaller, measuring only about one tenth of an inch in length, exclusive of the snout. This beetle, the Calan- dra (^Sitophilus) Oryzoe* or rice- weevil (Plate 11. Fig. 8), is not entirely confined to rice, but depredates upon wheat, and also on Indian corn. In the Southern States it is called the black weevil, to distinguish it from other insects that in- * Curculio Oryzce of Linnaeus. 84 COLEOPTERA. fest grain. I am not aware that these weevils attack wlieat in New England ; but I have seen stored Southern corn swarming with them ; and, should they multiply and extend in this section of the country, they will become a source of serious injury to one of the most valuable of our staple productions. It is said that this weevil lays its eggs on the rice in the fields, as soon as the grain begins to swell. If this indeed be true, we have very little to fear from it here, our Indian corn being so well jjrotected by the husks that it would probably escape from any injury, if attacked. On the contrary, if the insects multiply in stored grain, then our utmost care will be necessary to prevent them from infesting our own garners. The parent beetle bores a hole into the grain, and drops therein a single egg, going from one grain to another till all her eggs are laid. She then dies, leaving, however, the rice well seeded for a future harvest of weevil-grubs. In due time the eggs are hatched, the grubs live securely and unseen in the centre of the rice, devouring a considerable portion of its substance, and when fully grown they gnaw a little hole through the end of the grain, artfully stopping it up again with ])articles of rice-flour, and then are changed to pup;B. This usually occurs during the winter ; and in the following spring the insects are transformed to beetles, and come out of the grain. By winnowing and sifting the rice in the spring, the beetles can be separated, and then should be gathered immediately and destroyed. The sudden change of the temperature that generally occurs in the early part of May, brings out great numbers of insects from their Avinter quarters, to enjoy the sunshine and the ardent heat which are congenial to their natures. While a continued hum is heard, among the branches of the trees, from thousands of bees and flies, drawn thither by the fragrance of the bursting buds and the tender foliage, and the very ground beneath our feet seems teeming with insect life, swarms of little beetles of various kinds come THE BARK-BEETLES. 85 forth to try their wings, and, with an uncertain and heavy flight, launch into the air. Among these beetles there are many of a dull red or fox color, nearly cylindrical in form, tapering a very little before, obtusely rounded at both ex- tremities, and about one quarter of an inch in length. They are seen sloAvly creeping upon the sides of wooden buildings, resting on the tops of fences, or wheeling about in the air, and every now and then suddenly alighting on some tree or wall, or dropping to the ground. If we go to an old pine-tree we may discover from whence they have come, and what they have been about during the past period of their lives. Here they will be found creeping out of thou- sands of small round holes which they have made through the bark for their escape. Upon raising a piece of the bark, already loosened by the undermining of these insects, Ave find it pierced with holes in every direction, and even the surface of the wood will be seen to have been gnawed by these little miners. After enjoying themselves abroad for a few days, they pair, and begin to lay their eggs. The pitch- pine is most generally chosen by them for this purpose, but they also attack other kinds of pines. They gnaw little holes here and there through the rough bark of the trunk and limbs, drop their eggs therein, and, after this labor is finished, they become exhausted and die. In the autumn the grubs hatched from these eggs will be found fully gi-own. They have a short, thick, nearly cylindrical body, wrinkled on the back, are somewhat curved, and of a yellowish- white color, with a horny darker-colored head, and are destitute of feet. They devour the soft inner substance of the bark, boring through it in various directions for this purpose, and, when they have come to their full size, they gnaw a passage to the surface for their escape after they have completed their transformations. These take place deep in their burrows late in the autumn, at which time the insects may be found, in various states of maturity, within the bark. Their depreda- tions interrupt the descent of the sap, and prevent the forma- 8G COLEOPTERA. tion of new Avood ; tlie bark becomes loosened fi'om the wood, to a greater or less extent, and the tree languishes and prema- Fig. 42. turely decays. The name of this insect is Hylur- yjty gus terebrans* the boring Hylm'gus (Fig. 42) ; the /vSh^ generical name signifying a carpenter, or Avorker in ■/^V wood. It belongs to the family Scolytid^, includ- ing various kinds of destructive insects, Avhich may be called cylindrical bark-beetles. The insects of this family may be recognized by the following characters. The body is nearly cylindrical, obtuse before and behind, and generally of some shade of brown. The head is rounded, sunk pretty deeply in the fore part of the thorax, and does not end Avith a snout ; the antenna are short, more or less crooked or curved in the middle, and end Avith an OA'al knob ; the feelers are very short. The thorax is rather long, and as broad as the folloAving part of the body. The Aving-covers are frequently cut off obliquely, or holloAved at the hinder extremity. The legs are short and strong, Avith little teeth on the outer edge or extremity of the shanks, and the feet are not AA'ide and spongy beneath. Though these cylindrical bark-beetles are of small size, they multiply very fast, and AA'here they abound are produc- tiA^e of much mischief, particularly in forests, Avhich are often greatly injured by their larvse, and the AA'ood is rendered unfit for the purposes of art. In the year 1780, an insect of this family made its appearance in the pine-trees of one of the mining districts of Germany, AAhere it increased so rapidly that in three years afterAA^ards A\diole forests had disappeared beneath its ravages, and an end A\'as nearly put to the AA'orking of the extensive mines in this range of country, for the AA'ant of fuel to cany on the operations. Pines and firs are the most subject to their attacks, but there are some kinds AA'hich infest other trees. The premature decay of the elm in some parts of Europe is occasioned by the ravages of the Scolytus destructor^ of Avhich an interesting * Scolytus terebrans of Olivier. THE BARK-BEETLES. . 87 account was written in 1824, by Mr. Macleay. An abstract of his paper may be found in the fifth volume of the " New EngUmd Fanner." * The larvae or gi*ubs of these bark- beetles resemble those of the Hylargus terebrans^ or pine bark- beetle already described. Like the grabs of the weevils, they are short and thick, and destitute of legs. The red cedar is inhabited by a veiy small bark-beetle, named by Mr. Say Hylargus dentatus, the toothed Hylurgus. It is nearly one tenth of an inch in length, and of a dark- brown color ; the wing-cases are rough mth little grains, which become more elevated towards the hinder part, and are arranged in longitudinal rows, with little furrows between them. The tooth-like appearance of these little elevations suggested the name given to this species. The female bores a cylindrical passage beneath the bark of the cedar, dropping her eggs at short intervals as she goes along, and dies at the end of her burrow when her eggs are all laid. The grubs hatched from these proceed in feeding nearly at right angles, forming on each side numerous parallel furroAvs, smaller than the central tube of the female. They complete their trans- fomiations in October, and eat their way through the bark, which will then be seen to be perforated with thousands of little round holes, thi'ough which the beetles have escaped. Under the bark of the pitch-pine I have found, in com- pany with the pine bark-beetle, a more slender bark-beetle, of a dark chestnut-brown color, clothed with a few short yel- lowish hairs, with a long, almost egg-shaped thorax, which is very rough before, and short wing-covers, deeply punctured in rows, holloAved out at the tip like a gouge, and beset around the outer edge of the hollow with six little teeth on each side. This beetle measures one fifth of an inch, or rather more, in length. It arrives at maturity in the autumn, but does not come out of the bark till the following spring, at which time it lays its eggs. It is the Tomicus exesus^ or excavated Tomicus ; the specific name, signifying eaten out * Page 169. 88 COLEOPTERA. or excavated, was given to it by Mr. Say on acconnt of the hollowed and bitten appearance of the end of its wing-covers. Its grubs eat zigzag and wavy passages, parallel to each other, between the bark and the wood. They are much less com- mon in the New England than in the Middle and Southern States, where they abound in the yellow pines. Another bark-beetle is found here, closely resembling the preceding, from which it differs chiefly in the inferiority of its size, being; but three twentieths of an inch in Fig. 43. * . length, and in having only three or four teeth at the outer extremity of each wing-cover. It is the Tomicus Pini of Mr. Say (Fig. 43). The ginibs of this insect are veiy injurious to pine-trees. I have found them under the bark of the white and pitch pine, and they have also been discovered in the larch. The beetles appear during the month of August. There is another small bark-beetle, the Tomicus liminaris^ of my Catalogue, which has been found, in great numbers, by Miss Morris, under the bark of peach-trees, affected with the disease called the yelloivs, and hence supposed by her to be connected with this malady.* I have found it under the bark of a diseased elm ; but have nothing more to offer, from my own observations, concerning its histoiy, except that it completes its transformation in August and September. It is of a dark-brown color ; the thorax is punctured, and the wing-covers are marked with deeply punctured fiirroAvs, and are beset with short hairs. It does not average one tenth of an inch in length. The pear-tree in New England has been found to be subject to a peculiar malady, which shows itself during mid- summer by the sudden withering of the leaves and fruit, and the discoloration of the bark of one or more of the limbs, [9 Tliis species differs from the others known in this country by having the last three joints of the antennas dilated laterally, forming a lamellate club like that of the Scarabseidas ; it therefore belongs to the genus Phloiotribus. — Lec] * See Miss Moms on the Yellows, in Downing's Horticulturist, Vol. IV. p. 502. THE BLIGHT-BEETLE. 89 followed by the immediate death of the part aft'ected. This kind of blight, as it has been called, being oftenest confined to a single branch, or to the extremity of a branch, seems to be a local affection only. It ends with the death of the branch, down to a certain point, but does not extend beloAV the seat of attack, and does not affect the health of other parts of the tree. In June, 1816, the Hon. John Lowell, of Roxbury, discovered a minute insect in one of the affected limbs of a pear-tree ; afterwards, he repeatedly detected the same insects in blasted limbs, and his discoveries have been confirmed by Mr. Henry Wheeler and the late Dr. Oliver Fiske, of Worcester, and by many other persons. Mr. Low- ell submitted the limb and the insect contained therein to the examination of Professor Peck, who gave an account and figure of the latter, in the fourth volume of the " Massa- chusetts Agiicultural Repository and Journal." From this account, and from the subsequent communica- tion by Mr. Lowell, in the fifth volume of the " New Eng- land Farmer," it appears that the gnib or larva of the insect eats its way inward through the alburnum or sap-wood into the hardest part of the wood, beginning at the root of a bud, behind which probably the egg was deposited, following the course of the eye of the bud towards the pith, around which it passes, and part of which it also consumes ; thus forming, afler penetrating through the alburnum, a circular burrow or passage in the heart-wood, contiguous to the pith which it surrounds. By this means the central vessels, or those which convey the ascending sap, are divided, and the circula- tion is cut off". This takes place when the increasing heat of the atmosphere, producing a greater transpiration from the leaves, renders a large and continued flow of sap necessar)^ to supply the evaporation. For the want of this, or from some other unexplained cause, the whole of the limb above the seat of the insect's operations suddenly withers, and perishes during the intense heat of midsummer. The larva is changed to a pupa, and subsequently to a little beetle, in 12 90 COLEOPTERA. the bottom of its burrow, makes its escape from the tree in the latter part of June, or beginning of July, and probably deposits its eggs before August has passed. This insect, which may be called the hli. 272. THE TICKLER. 105 tained in them, as well as to promote a more vigorous growth. Much evil might be prevented by employing chil- dren to collect the beetles while in the act of providing for the continuation of their kind. A common black bottle, con- talnino- a little water, would be a suitable vessel to receive the beetles as fast as they were gathered, and should be emptied into the fire in order to destroy the insects. The gathering should be begun as soon as the beetles first appear, and should be continued as long as any are found on the trees, and furthermore should be made a general business for several years in succession. I have no doubt, should this be done, that, by devoting one hour every day to this object, we may, in the course of a few years, rid ourselves of this destructive insect. The largest Capricorn-beetle, of the Cerambycian family, found in New England, is the Lamia (^Monohammus titillator) of Fabricius (Fig. 50), or the tickler, so named probably on Fig. 50. account of the habit which it has, in common with most of the Capricorn-beetles, of gently touching now and then the surface on which it walks with the tips of its long anten- nae. Three or four of these beetles may sometimes be seen 14 106 . COLEOPTERA. together in June and July, on logs or on the trmiks of trees in the woods, the males paying their coui't to the females, or contending with theu* rivals, waving their antennge, and showing the eagerness of the contest or pursuit by their rapid creaking sounds. The head of the Lamias is vertical or perpendicular ; the antennas of the males are much longer than the body, and taper to the end ; the thorax is cylindrical before and behind, and is armed on the middle of each side with a very large pointed wart or tubercle ; the tips of the wing-covers are rounded ; and the fore legs are longer than the rest, with broad hairy soles m the males. The titillator is of a brownish color, variegated or mottled with spots of gray, and the wing-covers, which are coarsely punctured, have also several small tufted black spots upon them ; the middle legs are armed with a small tooth on the upper edge ; the antennae of the male are twice as long as the body, and those of the other sex equal the body in length, which measures from one inch and one eiohth to one inch and one quarter. What kind of tree the grub of this insect inhabits is unknown to me. Trees of the poplar ti'ibe, both in Europe and America, are subject to the attacks of certain kinds of borers, differing essentially from all the foregoing when arrived at maturity. They belong to the genus Saperda. In the beetle state the head is vertical, the antennae are about the length of the body in both sexes, the thorax is cylindrical, smooth, and unarmed at the sides, and the fore legs are shorter than the others. Our largest kind is the Saperda calcarata of Say (Plate II. Fig. 21), or the spurred Saperda, so named because the tips of the wing-covers end with a little sharp point or spur. It is covered all over with a short and close nap, which gives it a fine blue-gray color, it is finely punc- tured with brown, there are four ochre-yellow lines on the head, and three on the top of the thorax, the scutel is also ochre-yellow, and there are several irregular lines and spots THE TWO-STRIPED SAPERDA. 107 of the same color on the wing-covers. It is from one inch to an inch and a quarter in length. This beetle closely resembles the European Sajyerda carcharias, •which inhabits the poplar ; and the grubs of our native species, with those of the broad-necked Prionus, have almost entirely destroyed the Lombardy poplar in this vicinity. They live also in the trunks of our American poplars. They are of a yellowish- white color, except the upper part of the first segment, which is dark buff. When fully grown they measure nearlv two inches in length. The body is very thick, rather larger before than behind, and consists of twelve segments separated from each other by deep ti'ansverse fiirrows. The first segment is broad, and slopes obliquely downwards to the head ; the second is very narrow ; on the upper and under sides of each of the following segments, from the third to the tenth inclusive, there is a transverse oval space, rendered rough like a rasp by minute projections. These rasps serve instead of legs, which are entirely wanting. The beetles may be found on the tininks and branches of the various kinds of poplars, in August and September ; they fly by night, and sometimes enter the open windows of houses in the evening. The borers of the apple-tree have become notorious, through- out the New England and Middle States, for their extensive ravages. They are the larvae of a beetle called Sape)'da Uvittata * by ]\Ir. Say, the two-striped, or the brown and white striped Saperda (Plate 11. Fig. 16) ; the upper side of its body being marked with two longitudinal white stripes between three of a liglit-brown color, while the face, the an- tennae, the under side of the body, and the legs are white. This beetle varies in length fi'om a little more than one half to three quarters of an inch. It comes forth fi'om the trunks of the trees, in its perfected state, early in June, making its escape in the night, during which time only it uses its ample wings in going fi'om tree to tree in search * Snperda Candida ? Fabricius. 108 COLEOPTERA. of companions and food. In the daytime it keeps at rest among the leaves of the plants which it devours. The trees and shrubs principally attacked by this borer are the apple-tree, the quince, mountain ash, hawthorn and other thorn bushes, the June-berry or shad-bush, and other kinds of Amelanchier and Aronia. Our native thorns and Aronias are its natural food ; for I have discovered the larvae in the stems of these shrubs, and have repeatedly found the beetles upon them, eating the leaves, in June and July. It is in these months that the eggs are deposited, being laid upon the bark near the root, during the night. The larvae hatched therefrom are fleshy whitish grubs, nearly cylindrical, and tapering a Httle from the first ring to the end of the body. (Plate II. Fig. 17.) The head is small, horny, and brown ; the first ring is much larger than the others, the next two are very short, and, with the first, are covered with punctures and very minute hairs ; tlie following rings, to the tenth inclusive, are each furnished, on the upper and under side, with two fleshy warts situated close together, and destitute of the little rasp-like teeth, that are usually found on the grubs of the other Capricorn-beetles ; the eleventh and twelfth rings are very short ; no appearance of legs can be seen, even with a magnifying glass of high power. The grub, with its strong jaws, cuts a cylindrical passage through the bark, and pushes its castings backwards out of the hole from time to time, while it bores upwards into the wood. The larva state continues two or three years, during which the borer will be found to have penetrated eight or ten inches upwards in the tmnk of the tree, its bvirrow at the end approaching to, and being covered only by, the bark. Here its transformation takes place. The pupa does not differ much from other pupjB of beetles ; but it has a trans- verse row of minute prickles on each of the rings of the back, and several at the tip of the abdomen. These prob- ably assist the insect in its movements, when casting off" its pupa-skin. The final change occmrs about the first of June, THE COATED SAPERDA. 109 soon after which, the beetle gnaws through the bark that covers the end of its burrow, and comes out of its place of confinement in the night. Notwithstanding the pains that have been taken by some persons to destroy and exterminate these pernicious borers, they continue to reappear in our orchards and nurseries every season. The reasons of this are to be found in the habits of the insects, and in individual carelessness. Many orchards suffer deplorably from the want of proper attention ; the trees are permitted to remain, year after year, without any pains being taken to destroy the numerous and various insects that infest them ; old orchards, especially, are neg- lected, and not only the rugged tninks of the trees, but even a forest of unpruned suckers around them, are left to the undisturbed possession and perpetual inheritance of the Saperda. On the means that have been used to destroy this borer, a few remarks only need to be made ; for it is evident that they can be fiilly successful only when generally adopted. Killing it by a wire thrust into the holes it has made, is one of the oldest, safest, and most successful methods. Cutting out the grub, with a knife or gouge, is the most common practice ; but it is feared that these tools have sometimes been used without sufficient caution. A third method, which has more than once been suggested, consists in plugging the holes with soft wood. If a little camphor be previously inserted, this practice promises to be more effectual ; but experiments are wanting to confirm its expediency. The coated Saperda, or Saperda vestita (Plate II. Fig. 19), described by Mr. Say in the Appendix to Keating's Narrative of Major Long's Expedition", resembles the foregoing species in forai. It measures from six to eight tenths of an inch in length ; it is entirely covered with a close gi-eenish-yellow down or nap, and has two or three small black dots near the middle of each wing-cover. Mr. Say discovered it near the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, and states that it is 110 COLEOPTERA. also sometimes found in Pennsylvania ; but he does not appear to have known anything of its history. It is also found in Massachusetts, but has been rarely seen until within a few years. One of my specimens was taken in Milton about twenty years ago, and several others were taken in Cambridge, during the summers of 1843 and 1844, upon the European lindens, from the tininks and branches of which they had just come forth. A knowledge of the habits of this insect might have led to its more frequent discovery. One of the lindens above named was a noble and A^enerable tree, with a trunk measuring eight feet and five inches in circvimference, three feet from the ground. A strip of the bark, two feet wide at the bottom, and extending to the top of the trunk, had been destroyed, and the exposed surface of the wood was pierced and grooved with countless numbers of holes, wherein the borers had been bred, and whence swarms of the beetles must have issued in past times. Some of the large limbs and a portion of the top of the tree had fallen, apparently in consequence of the ravages of these insects ; and it is a matter of surprise that this fine linden should have withstood and outlived the attacks of such a host of miners and sappers. The lindens of Philadelphia have suffered much more severely from these borers. Dr. Paul SAvift, in a letter written in jNIay, 1844, gave to me the following interesting account of them. " The trees in Washington and Inde- pendence Squares were first observed to have been attacked about seven years ago. Within two years, it has been found necessary to cut down forty-seven European Imdens in the former square alone, where there now remain only a few American lindens, and these a good deal eaten." " Many of the beetles were found upon the small branches and leaves on the 28th day of INIay, and it is said that they come out as early as the first of the month, and continue to make their way through the bark of the trunk and large branches during the whole of the warm season. They immediately fly THE SAPERDA TRIDENTATA. Ill into tlie top of tlie tree, and there feed upon the epidermis of the tender twigs, and the petioles of the leaves, often wholly denuding the latter, and causing the leaves to fall. They d^'posit their eggs, two or three in a place, upon the trunk and brandies, especially about the forks, making slight incis- ions or punctures, for their reception, with their strong jaws. As many as ninety eggs have been taken from a single beetle. The grubs, hatched from these eggs, undermine the bark to the extent of six or eight inches, in sinuous channels, or penetrate the solid wood an equal distance. It is supposed that three years are required to mature the insect. Various expedients have been tried to arrest their course, but without effect. A stream, thrown into the tops of the trees from the hydrant, is often used with good success to dislodge other insects ; but the borer-beetles, when thus disturbed, take wing and hover over the trees till all is quiet, and then alight and go to work again. The trunks and branches of some of the trees have been washed over with various preparations without benefit. Boring the trunk near the ground, and putting in sulphur and other drugs, and plugging, have been tried with as little effect." This beetle I have taken in Massachusetts only in June, mostly between the 1st and 17th, and none after the 20th day of the month. The grub closely resembles that of the apple-tree borer. Figures of the insect, in all its stages, may be seen in the tenth volume of Hovey's Magazine, page 330. There is another destructive Saperda, whose history re- mains to be written. It is the Saperda tridentata (Plate II. Fig. 13), so named by Olivier on account of the tridentate or three-toothed red border of its wing-covers. This beetle is of a dark brown color, with a tint of gray, owing to a thin coating of very short down. It is ornamented with a curved line behind the eyes, two stripes on the thorax, and a three-toothed or three-branched stripe on the outer edge of each wing-cover, of a rusty red color. There are also 112 COLEOPTERA. six black dots on the thorax, two above, and two on the sides ; and each of the angles between the branches and the lateral stripes of the Aving-covers is marked with a blackish spot. The two hinder branches are oblique, and extend nearly or quite to the suture ; the anterior branch is short and hooked. Its average length is about half an inch ; but it varies from four to six tenths of an inch. The males are smaller than the females, but have longer antennae. This pretty beetle has been long known to me, but its habits were not ascertained till the year 1847. On the 19th of June, in that year, Theophilus Parsons, Esq. sent me some fragments of bark and insects which were taken by Mr. J. Richardson from the decaying elms on Boston Com- mon ; and, among the insects, I recognized a pair of these beetles in a living state. My curiosity was immediately excited to learn something more concerning these beetles and their connection with the trees, but was not satisfied by a partial examination made in the course of the summer. It was not till the following winter, that an opportunity was afforded for a thorough search, with the permission of the Mayor, the Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jun., and with the help of the Superintendent of the Common. The trees were found to liave suffered terribly from the ravages of these insects. Several of them had already been cut down, as past recovery ; others were in a dying state, and nearly all of them were more or less affected with disease or premature decay. Their bark was perforated, to the height of thirty feet from the ground, with numerous holes, through which insects had escaped ; and large pie(!es had become so loose, by the undermining of the grubs, as to yield to slight efforts, and come off in flakes. The inner bark was filled with the burrows of the grubs, great numbers of which, in various stages of growth, together with some in the pupa state, were found therein ; and even the surface of the wood, in many cases, was furrowed with their irregular tracks. Very rarely did they seem to have penetrated far into the THE SAPERDA TRIDENTATA. 113 wood itself; but their operations were mostly confined to the inner layers of the bark, which thereby became loosened from the wood beneath. The grubs rarely exceed three quarters of an inch in length. They have no feet, and they resemble the larvae of other species of Saperda, except in being rather more flattened. They appear to complete their transforma- tions in the third year of their existence. The beetles probably leave their holes in the bark during the month of June and in the beginning of July ; for, in the course of thirty years, I have repeatedly taken them at various dates, from the 5th of June to the 10th of July. It is evident, from the nature and extent of their depreda- tions, that these insects have alarmingly hastened the decay of the elm-trees on Boston Mall and Common, and that they now threaten their entire destruction. Other causes, how- ever, have probably contributed to the same end. It will be remembered that these trees have greatly suffered, in past times, from the ravages of canker-worms. Moreover, the impenetrable state of the surface-soil, the exhausted condition of the subsoil, and the deprivation of all benefit fi'om the decomposition of accumulated leaves, which, in a state of nature, the trees would have enjoyed, but which a regard for neatness has industriously removed, have doubtless had no small influence in diminishing the vigor of the trees, and thus made them fall unresistingly a prey to insect-devourers. The plan of this work precludes a more full consideration of these and other topics connected with the growth and decay of these trees ; and I can only add, that it may be prudent to cut down and burn all that are much infested by the borers. The tall blackberry, Ruhus villosus, is sometimes cultivated among us for the sake of its fruit, which richly repays the care thus bestowed upon it. It does not seem to be known that this plant and its near relation, the raspberry, suffer from borers that live in the pith of the stems. These borers differ somewhat from the preceding, being cylindrical in tha 15 114 COLEOPTERA. middle, and thickened a little at each end. The head is proportionally larger than in the other borers ; the first three rings of the body are short, the second being the widest, and each of them is provided beneath with a pair of minute sharp-pointed warts or imperfect legs ; the remaining rings are smooth, and without tubercles or rasps ; the last three are rather thicker than those which immediately precede them, and the twelfth ring is very obtusely rounded at the end. The beetles from these borers are very slender, and of a cylindrical form, and their antennse are of moderate length and do not taper much towards the end. The species which attacks the blackberry appears to be the Saperda ( Oherea) tripmictata of Fabricius (Fig. 51). It is of a deep black color, except the fore part of the breast and the top of the tho- rax, which are rusty yellow, and there are two black elevated dots on the middle of the thorax, and a third dot on the hinder edge close to the scutel ; the wing-covers are coarsely punctured, in rows on the top, and irregularly on the sides and tips, each of which is slightly notched and ends with two little points. The two black dots on the middle of the thorax are sometimes wanting. This beetle varies from three tenths to half an inch in length. It finishes its transformations towards the end of July, and lays its eggs early in August, one by one, on the stems of the "blackberry and raspberry, near a leaf or small twig. The grubs burrow directly into the pith, which they consume as they proceed, so that the stem, for the distance of several inches, is completely deprived of its pith, and consequently withers and dies before the end of the summer. In Europe one of these slender Saperdas attacks the hazel-bush, and another the twigs of the pear-tree, in the same way. The Lepturians, or Lepturad>e, constitute the third fam- ily of the Capricorn-beetles. In most of them the body is narrowed behind, which is the origin of the name applied THE LEPTURIANS. 115 to them, signifying really narrow tail. They differ from the other Capricorn-beetles in the form of their eyes, which are not deeply notched, but are either oval or rounded and prom- inent, and the antennas are more distant from them, and are implanted near the middle of the forehead. Moreover, the head is not deeply sunk in the fore part of the thorax, but is connected with it by a narrowed neck. The thorax varies somewhat in shape, but is generally narrowed before and widened behind. The Lepturians are often gayly colored, and fly about by day, visiting flowers for the sake of the pollen and tender, leaves, which they eat. Their grubs live in the trunks and stumps of trees, are rather broad and somewhat flattened, and are mostly furnished with six ex- tremely short legs. • The largest and finest of these beetles in New England is the Desmocerus palliatus* (Plate II. Fig. 18,) which appears on the flowers and leaves of the common elder towards the end of June and until the middle of July. It is of a deep violet or Prussian-blue color, sometimes glossed with green, and nearly one half of the fore part of the wing-covers is orange-yellow, suggesting the idea of a short cloak of this color thrown over the shoulders, which the name palliatus^ that is, cloaked, was designed to express. The head is nar- row. The thorax has nearly the form of a cone cut off at the top, being narrow before and wide behind ; it is somewhat uneven, and has a little sharp projecting point on each side of the base. The antennae have the third and the three fol- lowing joints abruptly thickened at the extremity, giving them the knotty appearance indicated by the generical name Desmocerus, which signifies knotty horn. The larvae live in the lower part of the stems of the elder, and devour the pith ; they have hitherto escaped my researches, but I have found . ^ the beetles in the burrows made by them. ■"• ^ /^ I The bark of the pitch-pine is often extensively loosened by the grubs of Lepturians at work beneath it, in congjequence * Cerambyx palliatus of Forster; Stenocorus cynneus, Fslbficivis. 116 COLEOPTERA. of which it falls off in large flakes, and the tree perishes. These grabs live between the bark and the wood, often in great numbers together, and, when they are about to become pupae, each one surrounds itself with an oval ring of woody fibres, within which it undergoes its transformations. The beetle is matured before winter, but does not laave the tree until spring. It is the ribbed Rhagium, or '^' " Rhagium Kneatum* (Fig. 52,) so named be- cause it has three elevated longitudinal lines or ribs on each wing-cover ; and it measures from four and a half to seven tenths of an inch in length. The head and thorax are gray, striped Avith black, and thickly punctured ; the anten- nae are about as long as the two forenamed parts of the body together ; the thorax is narrow, cylindrical before and behind, and swelled out in the middle by a large pointed wart or tubercle on each side ; the wing-covers are wide at the shoulders, gradually taper behind, and are slightly convex above ; they are coarsely punctured between the smooth ele- vated lines, and are variegated with reddish ash-color and black, the latter forming two irregular transverse bands ; the under side of the body, and the legs, are variegated with dull red, gray, and black. The gray portions on this beetle are occasioned by very short hairs, forming a close Idnd of nap, which is easily rubbed off. The Buprestians and the Capricorn-beetles seem evidently allied in their habits, both being borers during the greater part of their lives, and living in the trunks and limbs of trees, to which they are more or less injurious in proportion to their numbers. Some of the beetles in these two groups resemble each other closely in their forms and habits. The resem- blance between the slender cylindrical Saperdas and some of the cylindrical Buprestians belonging to the genus Agrilus, is indeed very remarkable, and cannot fail to strike a common observer. Their larvse also are not only very similar in * Stenocorus Uneatus of Olivier. THE LEAF-BEETLES. 117 their forms, but they have the same habits ; hving in the centre of stems, and devouring the pith. The insects that have passed under consideration in the foregoing part of this treatise spend by far the greater por- tion of their lives, namely, that wherein they are larv£e only, in obscurity, buried in the ground, .or concealed within the roots, the stems, or the seeds of plants, where they perform their appointed tasks unnoticed and unknown. Thus the work of destruction goes secretly and silently on, till it be- comes manifest by its melancholy consequences ; and too late we discover the hidden foes that have disappointed the hopes of the husbandman, and ruined those sj)ontaneous produc- tions of the soil that constitute so important a source of our comfort and prosperity. There still remain several groups of beetles to be described, consisting almost entirely of insects that spend the whole, or the principal part, of their lives upon the leaves of plants, and which, as they derive their noux'ishment, both in the larva and adult states, from leaves alone, may be called leaf- beetles, or, as they have recently been named, phyllophagous, that is, leaf-eating insects. When, as in certain seasons, they appear in considerable numbers, they do not a little injury to vegetation, and, being generally exposed to view on the leaves that they devour, they soon attract attention. But the power possessed by most plants of renewing their foli- age, enables them soon to recover from the attacks of these devourers ; and the injury sustained, unless often repeated, is rarely attended by the ruinous consequences that follow the hidden and unsuspected ravages of those insects that sap vegetation in its most vital parts. Moreover, the leaf-eaters are more within our reach, and it is not so difficult to destroy them, and protect plants from their depredations.. The leaf- beetles are generally distinguished by the want of a snout, by their short legs and broad cushioned feet, and their antennae of moderate length, often thickened a little towards the end, or not distinctly tapei-ing. Some of them have an oblong 118 COLEOPTKRA. body and a narrow or cylindrical thorax, and resemble very much some of the Lepturians, with which Linnaeus included them. Others, and indeed the greater number, have the body oval, broad, and often very convex. The oblong leaf-beetles, called Criocerians (Crioceridid^), have some resemblance to the Capricorn-beetles. They are distinguished by the following characters. The eyes are prominent and nearly round ; the antennae are of moderate length, composed of short, nearly cylindrical or beaded joints, and are implanted before the eyes ; the thorax is narrow and almost cylindrical or square ; the wing-covers, taken together, form an oblong square, rounded behind, and much wider than the thorax ; and the thighs of the hind legs are often thickened in the middle. The three-lined leaf-beetle, Crioceris trilineata of Olivier,^^ (Fig. 53,) will serve to exemplify the habits of ^'^ ^ ■ the greater part of the msects of this family. This beetle is about one quarter of an inch long, of a rusty buflP or nankin-yellow color, with two black dots on the thorax, and three black stripes on the back, namely, one on the outer side of each wing-cover, and one in the middle on the inner edo-es of the same ; the antennte (except the first joint), the outside of the shins, and the feet are dusky. The thorax is abruptly narrowed or pinched in on the middle of each side. When held between the fingers, these insects make a creak- ing sound like the Capricorn-beetles. They appear early in June on the leaves of the potato-vines, having at that time recently come out of the ground, where they pass the winter in the pupa state. Within a few years, these insects have excited some attention, on account of their prevalence in some parts of the country, and from a mistaken notion that they were the cause of the potato-rot. They eat the leaves [18 The genus Cr-ioceris as now restricted contains only species indigenous to the oMier continent, although one of them, C. nfpnragi, has been recently introduced from Europe, and is found abundantly near Brooklyn, New York. The species above mentioned belongs to Lemn. — Lec] THE LEAF-BEETLES. 119 of the potato, gnawing large and irregular holes through them ; and, in the course of a few days, begin to lay their oblong oval golden-yellow eggs, which are glued to the leaves, in parcels of six or eight together. The grubs, which are hatched in about a fortnight afterwai'ds, are of a dirty yello\vish or ashen-white color, with a darker-colored head, and two dark spots on the top of the first wing. They are rather short, approaching to a cylindrical form, but thickest in the middle, and have six legs, arranged in pairs beneath the first three rings. After making a hearty meal upon the leaves of the potato, they cover themselves Avith their own filth. The vent is situated on the upper side of the last ring, so that their dung falls upon their backs, and, by motions of the body, is pushed forwards, as fast as it ac- cumulates, towards the head, until the whole of the back is entirely coated with it. This covering shelters their soft and tender bodies from the heat of the sun, and probably serves to secure them from the attacks of their enemies. When it becomes too heavy or too dry, it is thrown off, but re- placed again by a fresh coat in the course of a few hours. In eating, the grubs move backwards, never devouring the portion of the leaf immediately before the head, but that which lies under it. Their numbers are sometimes very great, and the leaves are then covered and nearly consumed by these filthy insects. When about fifteen days old, they throw off their loads, creep down the plant, and bury them- selves in the ground. Here each one forms for itself a little cell of earth, cemented and varnished within by a gummy fluid dischargad from its mouth, and when this is done, it changes to a pupa. In about a fortnight more the insect throws off its pupa skin, breaks open its earthen cell, and crawls out of the ground. The beetles come out towards the end of July or early in August, and lay their eggs for a second brood of grubs. The latter come to their growth and go into the ground in the autumn, and remain there in the pupa form during the winter. 120 COLEOPTEEA. The only method that occurs to me, by means of which we may get rid of them, when they are so numerous as to be seriously injurious to plants, is to brush them from the leaves into shallow vessels containing a little salt and water or vinegar. The liabits of the Hispas, little leaf-beetles, forming the family Hispad.e, were first made knoA\Ti by me in the year 1835, in the " Boston Journal of Natural History," * where a detailed account of them, with descriptions of three native species, and figures of the larvae and pupa?, may be found. The upper side of the beetles is generally rough, as the generical name implies. The larvae burrow under the skin of the leaves of plants, and eat the pulpy substance within, so that the skin, over and under the place of their opera- tions, turns brown and dries, and has somewhat of a blistered appearance, and within these blistered spots the larvse or grubs, the pupae, or the beetles may often be found. The eggs of these insects are little rough blackish grains, and are glued to the surface of the leaves, sometimes singly, and sometimes in clusters of four or five together. The gi'ubs of our common species are about one fifth of an inch in length, when fully grown. The body is oblong, flattened, rather broader before than behind, soft, and of a whitish color, except the head and the top of the first ring, which are brown, or blackish, and of a horny consistence. It has a pair of legs to each of the first three rings ; the other rings are provided Avith small fleshy Avarts at the sides, and transverse rows of little rasp-like points above and beneath. The pupa state lasts only about one week, soon after Avhich the beetles come out of their burroAvs. The leaves of the apple-tree are inhabited by some of these little mining insects, Avhich in tlie beetle state are probably the Hispa rosea f of Weber, or the rosy Hispa (Fig. 54). They are of a deep or taAvny reddish-yelloAV color above, marked Avith little deep red lines and spots. The head is * Vol. I. p. 141. t Hispa quadrata, Fabricius; 11. marginnia, Sny. THE ROSY HISPA. 121 small ; the antennoe are short, thickened towards the end, and of a black color ; the thorax is narrow Yig. 54: before and wide behind, rough above, striped with deep red on each side ; the wing-covers taken together form an oblong square ; there j^m | are three smooth longitudinal lines or ribs on each of them, spotted with blood-red, and the spaces between these lines are deeply punc- tured in double rows ; the under side of the body is black, and the legs are short and reddish. They measure about one fifth of an inch in length. These beetles may be found on the leaves of the apple-tree, and very abundantly on those of the shad-bush (^Amelanchier ovalis), and choke-berry (^Pyrus arbutifolia), during the latter part of JNlay and the beginning of June. In the middle of June, another kind of Jlisj^a may be found pairing and laying eggs on the leaves of the locust- tree. The grubs appear during the month of July, and are transformed to beetles in August. They measure nearly one quarter of an inch in length, are of a tawny yellow color, with a black longitudinal line on the middle of the back, partly on one and partly on the other wing-cover, the inner edges of which meet together and form what is called the suture ; whence this species was named Hispa suturalis by Fabricius ; the head, antennae, body beneath, and legs are black ; and the wing-covers are not so square behind as in the rosy Hispa. The tortoise-beetles, as they are familiarly called from their shape, are leaf-eating insects, belonging to the family Cassidad^. This name, derived from a word signifying a helmet, is applied to them because the fore part of the semicircular thorax generally projects over the head like the front of a helmet. In these beetles the body is broad oval or rounded, flat beneath, and slightly convex above. The antennae are short, slightly thickened at the end, and inserted close together on the crown of the head. The latter is small, IG 122 coleoptp:ra. and concealed under, or deeply sunk into, the thorax. The legs are very short, and hardly seen from above. These insects are often gayly colored or spotted, which increases their resemblance to a tortoise ; they creep slowly, and fly by day. Their larvae and pupse resemble those of the following species in most respects. Cassida auriclialeea (Plate I. Fig. 5), so named by Fabri- cius on account of the brilliant brassy or golden lustre it assumes, is found during most of the summer months on the leaves of the bitter-sweet (^Solanum dulcamara), and in great abundance on various kinds of Convolvulus, such as our large-flowered Convolvulus sepium, the morning-glory, and the sweet-potato vine. The leaves of these plants are eaten both by the beetles and their young. The former begin to appear during the months of May and June, having probably survived the Avinter in some place of shelter and concealment, and their larvaj in a week or two afterwards. The larvae are broad oval, flattened, dark-colored grubs igart of their lives. Their leaf- like form and green color evidently seem to have been de- signed for their better concealment. They are nocturnal insects, or at least more active by night than by dav. When taken between the fingers, they emit' from their mouths a considerable quantity of dark-colored fluid, as do also the locusts or diurnal gi-asshoppers. They devour the leaves of plants, and lead a solitary life, or at least do not associate and migrate from place to place in great swarms, like some of the crickets and the locusts. There is a remarkable differ- ence in their habits, which does not appear to have been described hitherto. Some of these grasshoppers live upon grass and other herbaceous or low plants in fields and mead- ows. The piercer of the females is often straight, or only slightly curved. They commit their eggs to the earth, thrust- ing them into holes made therein with the piercer. They lay a large number of eggs at a time, and cover them with a kind of varnish, which, when diy, forms a thin film that com- pletely encloses them. These eggs are elongated, and nearly of an ellipsoidal form. Other green Grylli live upon trees and shrubs. Their wino;-covers and wrings are broader, and THE KATY-DID. 157 their piercer is shorter and often more curved, than in the forecToing kinds. They do not lay their eggs in the ground, but deposit them upon branches and twigs, in regular rows. My attention was first directed to the eggs of the tree-grylli by Mr. F. C. Hill, late of Philadelphia. Some of these grasshoppers have the front of the head obtuse, and others have it conical, or prolonged to a point between the antenna. Among the former is the insect which, fi'om its peculiar note, is called the katy-did. Its body is of a pale green color, the wing-covers and wings being somewhat darker. Its thorax is rough like shagreen, and has somewhat the form of a saddle, being curved down- wards on each side, and rounded and slightly elevated behind, and is marked by two slightly transverse furrows. The wings are rather shorter than the wing-covers, and the latter are very large, oval, and concave, and enclose the body with- in their concavity, meeting at the edges above and below, somewhat like the two sides or valves of a pea-pod. The veins are large, veiy distinct, and netted like those of some leaves, and there is one vein of larger size running along the middle of each wing-cover, and simulating the midrib of a leaf. The musical organs of the male consist of a pair of taborets. They are formed by a thin and transparent mem- brane stretched in a strong half-oyal frame in the triangular overlapping portion of each wing-cover. During the daytime these insects are silent, and conceal themselves among the leaves of trees ; but at night they quit their lurking-places, and the joyous males begin the tell-tale call with which they enliven their silent mates. This proceeds from the friction of the taboret frames against each other when the wins-covers are opened and shut, and consists of two or three distinct notes almost exactly resembling articulated sounds, and cor- responding with the number of times that the wing-covers are opened and shut ; and the notes are repeated at intervals of a few minutes, for hours together. The mechanism of the taborets, and the concavity of the wing-covers, reverberate 158 ORTHOPTERA. and increase the sound to such a degree, that it may be heard in the stilhiess of the night, at the distance of a quarter of a mile. At the approach of twihght the katy-did mounts to the upper branches of the tree in which he lives, and, as soon as the shades of evening prevail, begins his noisy babble, while rival notes issue from the neighboring trees, and the groves resound with the call of "katy-did, she-did" the live- long night. Of this insect I have met with no scientific description except my owm, which was published in 1831 in the eighth volume of the " Encyclopsedia Americana," page J. 74_ 42. It is the Platyiyliyllum* concavum,\ (Fig. 74,) and measures, ft*om the head to the end of the wing-covers, rather more than one inch and a half, the body alone being one inch in length. The piercer is broad, later- ally compressed, and curved like a cimeter ; and there are, in both sexes, two little thorn-like projections fi*om the middle of the breast be- tween the fore legs. The katy-did is found in the per- fect state durincr the months of September and October, at which time the female lays her eggs. These are slate-colored, and are rather more than * Platyphyllum means broad-wing. t Can this be the Lociesta j)erspidllata of Fabricius?6 [6 This \a Cyrtophyllus perspicillatus^J&wrra. ^ Locusta perspicillota, Fab. Dr. Harris's generic name has priority o<^r that of Burmeister, and hence this insect must be called Platyphyllum perspicillatum, Fab. The insect called katy-did in the Southern States is entirely different from this one, although its habit of sitting upon the trees and issuing this shrill note has induced some persons to mistake it for the true one from New England. The Southern katy-did belongs to the genus Phylloptera, and from the ovipositor being shaped somewhat like that of Locusta curvlcauda, De Geer, Dr. Haixis supposed it to be that species. — Uhler.] THE OBLONG LEAF-WING. 159 one eighth of an inch in length. They resemble tiny oval bivalve shells in shape. The insect lays them in two con- tiguous rows along the surface of a twig, the bark of which is previously shaved off or made rough with her piercer. Each row consists of eight or nine eggs, placed somewhat obliquely, and overlapping each other a little, and they are fastened to the twig with a gummy substance. In hatching, the egg splits open at one end, and the young insect creeps through the cleft. I am indebted to Miss Morris for specimens of these eggs. We have another broad-winged green grasshopper, differ- ing from the katy-did, in having the wing-covers narrower, flat and not concave, and shorter than the wings, the thorax smooth, flat above, and abruptly bent downwards at a right angle on each side, and the breast without any projecting spines in the middle. The piercer has the same form as that of the katy-did. The musical organ of the left wing-cover, which is the uppermost, is not transparent, but is green and opaque, and is traversed by a strong curved vein ; that of the right wing-cover is semi-transparent in the middle. This insect is the Phylloijtera oblongifolia* (Fig. 75,) or ob- Fig. 75. long leaf-winged grasshopper. Its body measures about an inch in length, and from the head to the tips of the wings, from an inch and three quarters to three inches. It is found in its perfect state during the months of September and October, upon trees, and, when it flies, makes a whizzing noise somewhat like that of a weaver's shuttle. The notes * Locusta oblongifoUa of De Geer, a different species from the laurifoUa of Lin- naeus, with which it has been confounded by many naturahsts. 160 ORTHOPTERA. of the male, though grating, are comparative!}' feeble. The females lay their eggs in the autumn on the twigs of trees and shrubs, in double rows, of seven or eight eggs in each row. These eggs, in form, size, and color, and in their arrangement on the twig, strikingly resemble those of the katy-did. The Rev. Thomas Hill, of Waltham, had the kindness to procure some of them for me from Philadelphia. A third species, also of a green color, with still narrower \ving-covers, which are of almost equal width from one end to the other, but are rounded at the tips, and are shorter than the Avings, has the head, thorax, musical organs, and breast like those of the preceding species, but the piercer is Fig. 76. much shorter, and very much more crooked, being bent vertically upwards fi'om near its base. The male has a long tapering projection from the under side of the extremity of THE MEADOW GRASSHOPPERS. 161 the body, curved upwards like the piercer of the female. This grasshopper belongs to the genus Phaneroptera, so named, probably, because the wings are visible beyond the tips of the wing-covers ; and, as it does not appear to have been described before, I propose to call it angustifolia^* (Fig. 76,) the narrow-leaved. It measures from the fore- head to the end of the abdomen about three quarters of an inch, and to the tips of the wings from an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters. Its habits appear to be the same as those of the ohlongifolia. It comes to maturity some time in the latter part of August or the beginning of September. From the middle till the end of summer, the grass in our meadoAvs and moist fields is filled with myriads of little grass- hoppers, of different ages, and of a light green color, with a brown stripe on the top of the head, extending to the tip of the little smooth and blunt projection between the antennae, and a broader brown stripe bounded on each side by deeper brown on the top of the thorax. The antennae, knees, and shanks are gi'een, faintly tinted with brown, and the feet are dusky. When come to maturity, they measure three quar- ters of an inch or more, from the forehead to the end of the body, or one inch to the ends of the wing-covers. The latter are abruptly narrowed in the middle, and taper thence to the tip, which, however, is rounded, and extends as far back as the Avings. The color of the wing-covers is gi'een, but they are faintly tinged with brown on the overlapping portion, and have the delicacy and semi-transparency of the * I former!}' mistook this insect for the Locusia cnrvicaudn of De Geer, which is found in the Middle and Southern States, but not in Massachusetts, is a larger species, with wing-covers broadest in the middle, and different organs in the male, and belongs to the genus PhyllnpteraJ [T This is the true cwvicauda ; it was figured by Drury as P. myrttfoUa, but he unfortunately confounded it with a species somewhat resembling it from South America, w-hich has caused some authors to refer his figure to the one described by Linnffius; but that is a different insect, belonging to the genus Phyllnptera. The synonymy of this species is, Phnneroptera curvicaitth, De Geer = P. myrtifolia, Drury = P. septentnonalis, Serv. = P. angustifoUa, Harris. — TThler.] 21 162 ORTHOPTERA. skin of an onion. The shrillins: organs in the males consist of a transparent glassy spot, bounded and traversed by strong veins, in the middle of the overlapping portion of each wing- cover, which part is proportionally much larger and longer than in the other gi-asshoppers ; but the transparent spot is rather smaller on the left than on the right wing-cover. The male is furthermore distinguished by having two small black spots or short dashes, one behind the other, on each wing- cover, on the outside of the transparent spot. The wings are green on their front margins, transparent, and reflecting a faint pink color behind. The piercer of the female is cimeter-shaped, being curved, and pointed at the end, and is about three tenths of an inch long. The hindmost thighs, in both sexes, are smooth and not spinous beneath ; there are two little spines in the middle of the breast ; and the anten- nae are very long and slender, and extend, when turned back, considerably beyond the end of the hind legs. During the evening, and even at other times in shady places, the males make a sharp clicking noise, somewhat like that pro- duced by snapping the point of a pen against the thumb-nail, but much louder. This kind of grasshopper very much resembles the Locusta agilis of De Geer, which is found in Pennsylvania and the Southern States, but does not inhabit Massachusetts, and is distinguished from our species by having the wings nearly one tenth of an inch longer than the wing- covers, the antennae excessively long (two inches or more), and the piercer not quite so much curved as in our species, besides other differences which it is unnecessary to record here. As our species does not appear to have been named, or described by any previous writer, I propose to call it Orchelimum vulgare (Fig. 77), the com- mon meadow-grasshopper, the generical name signifying literally, I dance in the meadow. THE SWORD-BEARER. 163 With this species another one is also found, bearing a con- siderable resemblance to it in color and form, but measuring only four or five tenths of an inch from the head to the end of the body, or from seven to eight tenths to the tips of the wings, which are a little longer than the wing-covers. The latter are narrow and taper to the end, which is rounded, but the overlapping portion is not so large as in the common species, and the male has not the two black spots on each wing-cover. The upper part of the abdomen is brown, with the edges of the segments greenish-yellow, and the piercer, which is nearly three tenths of an inch long, is brown and nearly straight. This little insect comes very near to Lo- custa fasciata of De Geer, who, however, makes no mention of the broad brown stripe on the head and thorax. I therefore presume that our species is not the Fig. same, and propose to call it Orcheli- mum gradle (Fig. 78), the slender meadow-grasshopper. M. Serville, by whom this genus was instituted, has described three species, two of ^^ which are stated to be North Amer- ican, and the remaining one is probably also from this coun- try ; but his descriptions do not answer for either of our species. Both of these kinds of meadoAv-grasshoppers are eaten greedily by fowls of all kinds. One more grasshopper remains to be described. It is distinguished from all the preceding species by having the head conical, and extending to a blunt point between the eyes. It belongs to the genus Conocephalus^ a word express- ive of the conical form of the head, and, in my Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts, bears the specific name of ensiger (Fig. 79, male), the sword-bearer, from the long, straight, sword-shaped piercer of the female. It measures an inch or more from the point of the head to the end of the body, and from one inch and three quarters to two inches to the end of the wing-covers. It is pale green, with 164 ORTHOPTERA. the head whitish, or only faintly tinted Avith green, and the legs and abdomen are pale brownish-green. A little tooth Fig. 79. projects downwards from the under side of the conical part of the head, which extends between the antennae, and imme- diately before this little tooth is a black line bent backwards on each side like the letter U. The hindmost thighs have five or six exceedingly minute spines on the inner ridge of the under side. The shrilling organ of the male on the left wing-cover is green and opaque, but that on the right has a space in the middle that is transparent like glass. The piercer of the female is above an inch long, very slightly bent near the body, and is perfectly straight from thence to the tip, which ends in a point. The color of this grasshop- per is very apt to change after death to a dirty brown. It comes very near to the dissimilis described by M. Serville, but appears to be a different species.* * In the collection belonging to the Boston Society of Natural History, there is an insect which I suppose to be the Conocephalus dissimilis of Serville. It was taken in North Carolina by Professor Hentz. The conical projection of the head is shorter and more obtuse than in the ensiger, the sides of the thorax are brown- ish, the hindmost thighs have a double row of black dots on the under side, and the spines on this part are more numerous and rather larger. Professor Hentz has sent to me from Alabama another species distinct froui both of these, about the same in length, but considerably broader. The conical part of the head between the eyes is broader, flattened above, and, as well as the thorax, rough like shagreen. There is a projecting tubercle beneath, but the curved black line is wanting, and the tip of the cone has a minute point abruptly bent downwards, and formings hook. The sides of the thorax are bent down suddenly so as to make an angular ridge on each side of the middle. The wing-covers are dotted with black around their edges, and have also an irregular row of larger and more distinct spots along THE LOCUSTS. 165 3. Locusts. QLocustadce.^ The various insects included under the name of locusts nearly all agree in having their wing-covers rather long and narrow, and placed obliquely along the sides of the body, meeting, and even overlapping for a short distance, at their upper edges, which together form a ridge on the back like a sloping roof. Their antennae are much shorter than those of most grasshoppers, and do not taper towards the end, but are nearly of equal thickness at both extremities. Their feet have really only three joints ; but as the under side of the first joint is marked by one or two cross lines, the feet, when seen only from beloAv, seem to be four or five jointed. The females have not a long projecting piercer, like the crickets and grasshoppers, but the extremity of their body is provided with four short, wedge-like j^ieces, placed in pairs above and below, and opening and shutting opposite to each other, thus forming an instrument like a pair of nippers, only with four short blades instead of two. When one of these insects is about to lay her eggs, she drives these little wedges into the earth ; these, being then opened and withdrawn, enlarge the orifice ; upon which the insect inserts them again, and drives them down deeper than before, and repeats the operation above described until she has formed a perforation large and deep enough to admit nearly the whole of her abdomen. The males, though capable of producing sounds, have not the cymbals and tabors of the crickets and grasshoppers ; their instruments may rather be likened to violins, their hind legs being the bows, and the projecting veins of their wing- covers the strings. But besides these, they have on each side of the body, in the first segment of the abdomen, just above and a little behind the thighs, a deep cavity, closed by a thin piece of skin stretched tightly across it. These proba- the middle. The hindmost thighs have a double row of strong spines beneath, and the piercer is straight and only about six tenths of an inch long. This insect may be called Conocephalus uncinatua, from the hook on the tip of the head. 166 ORTHOPTERA. bly act in some measure to increase the reverberation of the sound, hke the cavity of a viohn. When a locust begins to play, he bends the shank of one hind leg beneath the thigh, where it is lodged in a fiirrow designed to receive it, and then draws the leg briskly up and down several times against tlie projecting lateral edge and veins of the wing-cover. He does not play both fiddles together, but alternately, for a little time, first upon one, and then on the other, standing meanwhile upon the four anterior legs and the hind leg wdiich is not otherwise employed. It is stated that, in Spain, people of fashion keep these insects, which they call grillo^ in cages, for the sake of their music. Locusts leap much better than grasshoppers, for the thighs of their hind legs, though shorter, are much thicker, and consequently more muscular within. The back part of the shanks of these legs, from a little below the knee to the end, is armed with strong sharp spines, arranged in two rows. These may serve as means of defence, but the lower ones also help to fix the legs firmly against the ground when the insect is going to leap. The power of flight in locusts is, in general, much greater than that of grasshoppers ; for the wing-covers, being narrow, do not, like the much wider ones of grass- hoppers, so much impede their passage through the air ; while their wings, which are ample, except in a few species, and when expanded together form half of a circle, have very strong joints, and are moved by very powerful muscles within the chest. From the shoulders of the wings several stout ribs or veins pass towards the hinder margin, spreading apart, when the wings are opened, like the sticks of a fan, and are connected and strengthened by little crossing veins, which form a kind of network. The same structure exists in the wings of grasshoppers, but in them the longitudinal ribs are not so strong, and the network is much more delicate. Hence the flight of grasshoppers is short and unsteady, while that of locusts is longer and better sustained. Many locusts, when they fly, make a loud whizzing noise, the source of which does THE LOCUSTS. 167 not seem to be understood. Those of our native locusts, whose flight is the most noisy, are the coral-winged, the yellow- winged, and the broad-winged species. But as these are comparatively small insects, and never assemble in such great swarms as the much larjier mim-atincr locusts of Asia and Africa, the noise of their flight bears no comparison to that of the latter. When a lariie number of these take flight together, it is said that the noise is like the rashing of a whirlwind ; and hence we read, of the symbolical locusts of the Apocalypse, that the sound of their wings Avas as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle ; * and of others, that their coming is like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains, or the crackling of stubble when \ overrun and consumed by a flame of fire.f / The East seems to have suffered severely at various times from the irruptions of immense swarms of locusts, darkening the sky during their passage, stripping the surface of the earth, where they alight, of all vestiges of vegetation, and thus reducing, in an inconceivably short time, the most fertile regions to barren wastes. The ground over which they have passed presents the appearance of having been scorched by fire ; and hence the name of locust, which is derived from the Latin, :j: and means a burnt place, is highly expressive of the desolation occasioned by their ravages. Famine and pesti- lence have sometimes followed their appearance, as we find recorded by various writers. In the Scriptures § frequent mention is made of the destructive powers of locusts, and these accounts are fully confirmed by the testimony of numer- ous travellers in Asia and Africa, some of whom have been eyewitnesses of the devastations of these insects. Among * Revelation ix. 9. t Joel ii. 5. J Locus and nstiis. (j For an explanation of the various passages in which allusion is made to lo- custs, and for much interesting matter relating to the history of these insects, as contained in the Bible and elucidated by the accounts of historians and travellers, the reader is referred to the article Locust in the leai-ned and instructive work of tny father, entitled, "The Natural History of the Bible, by Thaddeus Mason Har- ris," 8vo, Boston, 1820. 1G8 ORTHOPTERA. the later accounts, that contained in OHvier's " Travels " does not seem to have been quoted by English writers. The following is a free translation of the passage. Olivier, at the time of writing it, was in Syria. " After a burning south wind had prevailed for some time, there came, fi'om the interior of Arabia and from the southern parts of Persia, clouds of locusts, whose ravages in these countries are as grievous and as sudden as the destruction occasioned in Europe by the most severe hail-storm. Of these my com- panion, ]\I. Brugieres, and myself were twice witnesses. It is ditticult to describe the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled, on all sides, to a vast height, with a countless multitude of these insects, which flew along with a slow and even motion, and with a noise like the dash- ing of a shower of rain. The heavens Avere darkened by them, and the light of the sun was sensibly diminished. In a moment the roofs of the houses, the streets, and all the fields were completely covered with these insects, and in two days they almost entirely devoured the foliage of every plant. Fortunately, however, they continued but a short time, and seemed to have emigrated only for the purpose of providing for a continuation of their kind. In fact, nearly all of them which we saAV on the next day were paired, and in a day or two afterwards the ground was covered with their dead bodies." * These were not the still more celebrated and destructive migratory locusts (^Lociista inigratoria)^ but con- sisted of the species called Acri/duim perearinum. Althouo-h the ravages of locusts in America are not fol- lowed by such serious consequences as in the Eastern con- tment, yet they are sufficiently formidable to have attracted attention, and not unfrequently have these insects laid waste considerable tracts, and occasioned no little loss to the cul- tivator of the soil. Our salt-marshes, which are accounted among the most productive and valuable of our natural meadows, are frequented by great numbers of the small red- * Olivier, Voyage' dans I'Empire Ottoman, I'Egypte et la Perse, Tom. II. p. 424. THE RED-LEGGED LOCUSTS. 169 legged species (^Acrydium femur-ruhrum)^ (^'^§,- 80» P* 1^4,) intermingled occasionally with some larger kinds. These, in certain seasons, almost entirely consume the grass of these marshes, from whence they then take their course to the up- lands, devouring, in their way, grass, corn, and vegetables, till checked by the early frosts, or by the close of the nat- ural term of their existence. When a scanty crop of hay has been gathered from the grounds which these puny pests have ravaged, it becomes so tainted with the putrescent bodies of the dead locusts contained in it, that it is rejected by horses and cattle. In tliis country locusts are not dis- tinguislied from grasshoppers, and are generally, though in- correctly, comprehended under the same name, or under that of flying grasshoppers. They are, however, if we make allowance for their inferior size, quite as voracious and in- jurious to vegetation during the young or larva and pupa states, when they are not provided with wings, as they are when fully grown. In our newspapers I have sometimes seen accounts of the devastations of grasshoppers, which could only be apphcable to some of on;' locusts. At various times they have appeared in great abundance in dififerent parts of New England. It is stated that, in Maine, "during dry seasons, they often appear in great mul- titudes, and are the greedy destroyers of the half-parched herbage." " In 1749 and 1754 they were very numerous and voi-acious ; no vegetables escaped these greedy troops ; they even devoured the potato tops ; and in 1743 and 1756 they covered the whole country and threatened to devour everything green. Indeed, so great was the alarm they oc- casioned among the people, that days of fasting and prayer were appointed," * on account of the threatened calamity. The southern and western parts of New Hampshire, the northern and eastern parts of Massachusetts, and the south- em part of Vermont, have been overrun by swarms of these * See Williamson's History of Maine, Vol. L pp. 102, 103, and compare with p. 172 of the same work. 22 170 ORTHOPTERA. miscalled grasshoppers, and have suffered more or less from their depredations. Among the various accounts which I have seen, the follow- ing, extracted fi'om the Travels of the late President Dwight,* seems to be the most full and circumstantial. " Bennington (Vermont), and its neighborhood, liave for some time past been infested by grasshoppers (locusts) of a kind with which I had before been wholly unacquainted. At least, their his- torv, as given by respectable persons, is in a great measure novel. They appear at different periods, in different years ; but the time of their continuance seems to be the same. This year (1798) they came four weeks earlier than in 1797, and disappeared four weeks sooner. As I had no opportunity of examining them, I cannot describe their form or their size. Their favorite food is clover and maize. Of the latter they devour the part which is called the silk, the immediate means of fecundating the ear, and thus prevent the kernel from coming to perfection. But their voracity extends to almost every vegetable ; even to the tobacco plant and the burdock. Nor are they confined to vegetables alone. The garments of laborers, hung up in the field while they are at work, these insects destroy in a few hours ; and with the same voracity they devour the loose particles which the saw leaves upon the surface of pine boards, and which, when separated, are terniL'd sawdust. The appearance of a board fence, from which the particles had been eaten in this manner, and Avhich I saw, was novel and singular ; and seemed the result, not of the operations of the plane, but of attrition. At times, particularly a little before their disappearance, they collect in clouds, rise high in the atmosphere, and take extensive flights, of which neither the cause nor the direction has hitherto been discovered. I Avas authentically informed that some persons, employed in raising the steeple of the church in Williamstown, were, while standing near the vane, cov- ered by them, and saw, at the same time, vast swarms of * Travels in New England and New York, by Timothy Dwight, Vol. 11. p. 403. THE LOCUSTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 171 tliem flying far above their heads. It is to be observed, however, that they customarily return, and perish on the very grounds which they have ravaged." Through the kind- ness of the Rev. L. W. Leonard, of Dubhn, New Hampsliire, I have been favored with specimens of the destmctive locusts which occasionally appear in that part of New England, and which, most probably, are of the same species as the insects mentioned by President Dwight. They prove to be the little red-legged locusts, whose ravages on our salt-marshes I have already recorded. In the summer of 1838, the vicinity of Baltimore, Mary- land, was infested by insects of this kind ; arid I was in- formed by a young gentleman from that place, then a student in Harvard College, that they were so thick and destructive in the garden and grounds of his father, that the negroes were employed to drive them from the garden with rods ; and in this way they were repeatedly "whipped out of the grounds, leaping and flying before the e^vtended line of cas- tigators like a flock of fowls. Some of these insects were brought to me by the same gentleman, on his return to the University, at the end of the summer vacation, and they turned out to be specimens of the red-legged locusts already mentioned. It is not to be supposed that these are the only depreda- tory locusts in this country. Massachusetts alone produces a large number of species, some of which have never been described ; and the habits of many of them have not been fully investigated. The difficulty which I have met with in ascertaining, from mere verbal reports, or from the accounts that occasionally appear in our public prints, the scientific names of the noxious insects which are the subjects of such remarks, and the impossibility, without this knowledge of their names, of fixing upon the true culprits, has induced me to draw up, in this treatise, brief descriptions of all our locusts, as a guide to other persons in their investigations. All the locusts of Massachusetts that are known to me 172 ORTHOPTERA. may be included in three large groups or genera ; viz. Acry- dixim (of GeofFroy and Latreille), Locusta (^Grj/Uus Locusta of Linnaeus), and Tetnx (of Latreille). These three genera may be distinguished from each other by the following characters.* 1. Acrydlam. The thorax (^p'othorax of Kirby) and the wing-covers of ordinary dimensions ; a projecting spine in the middle of the breast ; and a little projecting cushion between the nails of all the feet. 2. Locusta. The thorax, and usually the Aving-covers also, of ordinary dimensions ; no projecting spine in the middle of the breast ; cushions between the nails of the feet. 3. Tetrix. The thorax (^protliorax') greatly prolonged, tapering to a point behind, and covering the whole of the back to the extremity of the abdomen ; wing-covers exceed- ingly minute, consisting only of a little scale on each side of the body ; fore part of the breast forming a projection, like a cravat or stock, to receive the lower part of the head ; no spine in the middle of the breast ; no cushions between the nails. * I have not considered it necessary to give, in addition to these, the characters that distinguish them from the other genera of American locusts, which are not found in Massachusetts, but add the characteristics of these genera in this note. Opsomala. Body slender and cylindrical; head long and conical, extending with an obtuse point between the antennte ; eyes oblong oval and oblique ; anten- nae short, flattened, and more or less enlarged toward the base, and tapering toward the point; a pointed tubercle between the fore legs on the breast; wing- covers narrow and pointed; face sloping down toward the breast, and forming an acute angle with the top of the head. Truxcills. Body rather thicker; head shorter, but ending in a blunt cone be- tween the antennte; eyes oval and oblique; antennas short, flattened, enlarged near the base, and tapering to a point; no tubercle between the fore legs; wing- covers wider and not so pointed; face sloping toward the breast, and forming an angle of forty-five degrees with the top of the head; thorax flat above, and marked with three longitudinal elevated lines. Xiphicera.- Robust; head not conical, but with a projection between the an- tennae; face vertical; antennte rather short, flattened more or less, and tapering at the end; a spine between the fore legs on the breast; wing-covers about as long as the abdomen, obtuse or notched at the end; thorax with three elevated crested lines, which are frequently notched. Romalea. Very thick and short; head obtuse; ftice vertical; antennre short, of Bqual thickness to the end, seventeen or eighteen jointed; thorax with a some- THE SPINE-BREASTED LOCUSTS. 173 I. AcRYDiUM. Spine-breasted Locusts. This word, which is nearly the same as one of the Greek names of a locust, has been variously applied by different entomologists. I have followed Latreille and Serville in con- fining it to those locusts which have a projecting s})ine or tubercle in the middle of the fore part of the breast between the fore legs. To this genus belong the following native species. 1. Acrydium alutaceum. Leather-colored Locust. Dirty brownish yellow ; a paler yellow stripe on the top of the head and thorax ; a slightly elevated longitudinal line on the top of the thorax ; wing-covers semi-transparent, with irregular brownish spots ; wings transparent, uncolored, netted with dirty yellow ; abdomen with transverse rows of minute blackish dots ; hindmost thighs whitish within and without, the white portion bounded by a row of minute distant black dots, and crossed, herring-bone fashion, by numerous brown lines ; hindmost shanks reddish, with yellowish-white spines, which are tipped with black. Length, to the end of the ab- domen, If inch ; the wing-covers expand over 3 inches. This insect was brought to me, from Martha's Vineyard, by Mr. Robert Treat Paine. It bears a close resemblance in form to Acrydium Americanum of De Geer,^ a much larger and more showy Southern species. 2. Acrydium jiavo-vittatum? Yellow-striped Locust. Dull green or olive-colored, with a yellowish line on each side fi-om the forehead to the tips of the wing-covers ; hind- ■what elevated crest; a spine between the fore legs on the breast; wing-covers and wings much shorter than the abdomen. The first two of these genera seem to connect the cone-headed grasslioppers with the locust family, while the last two approach nearer to the genus Acrydium; many foreign genera, however, are interposed between them. [ 8 This reference to De Geer is incorrect, no such species being found in his works; it may refer to Drury. Illustrations I. pi. 49, f. 2. — Uhler.] [9 This insect was previously described by Say, who calls it A. bim'ttatus. The difference between the species, as found in New England and that of the 174 ORTHOPTERA. most shanks and feet blood-red, the spines tipped with black ; wings transparent, faintly tinged with pale green, and netted with greenish-brown lines. The abdomen of the male is very obtuse and curves upwards at the end, and is furnished, on each side of the tip, with a rather large oblong square appendage, which has a little projecting angle in the middle of the lower side. Length, to tip of the abdomen, from 1 inch to 1| ; expands from 1^^ inch to 2 inches. This and the following species probably belong to the subgenus Oxya of Serville. The yellow-striped locust is one of our most common insects. It is readily known by its color, and by the two yellowish lines on the thorax, extend- ing, when the insect acquires wings, along the inner margin of the wing-covers. It is very troublesome in gardens, climbing upon the stems of beans, peas, and flowers, devour- ing the leaves and petals, and defiling them with its excre- ment. The young begin to appear in June, and they come to their growth and acquire their wings by the first of Au- gust. When about to moult, like other locusts, they cling to the stem of some plant, till the skin bursts and the insect withdraws its body and legs from it, and leaves the cast-skin still fastened to the plant. 3. Acrydium femur-ruhrum}^ Red-legged Locust. (Fig- 80.) Grizzled with dirty olive and brown ; a black spot extend- ino; from the eyes alono; the sides Fig. 80. 1 • ■ of the thorax ; an oblique yellow line on each side of the body be- neath the wings ; a row of dusky brown spots along the middle of the winff-covers : and the hindmost shanks and feet blood-red, with black spines. The wings western sections of the Union, consists only in the color of the legs and greater depth of tint upon the thorax, &c. In the latter, the synonymy stands as follows: A. ( Caloptenus) biviltatus, Say = A. ( Cohplenus) femoratus, Burm. = A. Milberti, Serv. = A flavo-viUatum. Harris. — Uhlek.] ( l" This is also a Caloptenus. — Uhleu.] THE LOCUSTS PROPER. 175 are transparent, with a very pale greenish-yellow tint next to the body, and are netted with brown lines. The hind- most thighs have two large spots, on the upper side, and the extremity, black ; but are red below, and yellow on the in- side. The appendages at the tip of the body in the male are of a long triangular form. Length from f inch to 1 inch ; exp. l^ to 1| inch. The red-legged locust was first described by De Geer from specimens sent to him from Pennsylvania, and I have re- tained the scientific name which he gave to it. It is the Grylliis (^Locmtd) erytlu'opus of Gmelin, and the Acrydiam femorale of Olivier, It appears to be very generally diffused throughout the United States, and sometimes so greatly abounds in certain places as to be productive of great injury to vegetation. I have already described its prevalence on our salt-marshes ; and it seems to constitute those large mi- grating swarms whose flight has been observed and recorded in various parts of this country. It comes to maturity with us by the latter part of July ; some broods, however, a little earlier, and others later. It is most plentiful and destructive dui'ing the months of August and September, and does not disappear till some time in October. II. LocuSTA. Locusts Proper. With the English entomologists,* I apply the name Locusta to that genus which includes the celebrated migrating locust, or Gryllus Locusta migratoria of Linnaeus. By the older French entomologists the insects contained in it were united to the genus Acrydiam ; but Latreille afterwards separated them from Acrydium under the generical name of (Edijwda (which means swelled leg), and he is followed in this by Serville, the latest writer on the Orthoptera. In the in- sects of this genus the breast is not armed with a blunt spine or tubercle, a character which distinguishes the genus Acrydium from it. In other respects these two genera are much alike. 176 ORTHOPTERA. 1. Locusta Carolina* ^^ Carolina Locust. (Plate III. Fig. 3.) Pale yellowish brown, witli small dusky spots ; wings black, with a broad yellow hind margin, which is covered with dusky spots at the tip. Length from 1 to \h inch ; exp. 2| to above 3^ inches. A more detailed description of this large, common, and well-known species is unnecessary. The Carolina locust is found in abundance by the road-side, from the middle to the end of summer. It generally makes use of its large and handsome wings in moving from place to place. It is fre- quently found in company with the red-legged locust in the vicinity of salt-marshes, but it generally prefers warm and dry situations. Pairing takes place with this species in the months of September and October, immediately after which the female prepares to lay her eggs. These are deposited at the bottom of a cylindrical hole in the ground, made in the manner already described, and are not hatched till the fol- lowing spring. The abdomen of the female admits of being greatly extended in length ; hence she frequently deposits her eggs at the depth of nearly two inches beneath the sur- face of the soil. 2. Locusta corallina. Coral-winged Locust. Light brown ; spotted with dark brown on the wing-cov- ers ; wings light vermilion or coral-red, with an external dusky border, which is wide and paler at the tip, narrowed and darker behind ; hind shanks yellow with black-tipped spines. Length 1 to 1^ inch ; exp. 2^ to 2| inches. This species closely resembles the Acridiiim tuberculatum of Palisot de Beauvois, which seems to be the (Edipoda dis- coidea of Serville, found in the Southern States, of a much larger size than the coral-wino;ed locust, and having the wings of a much deeper and duller red color, and the black- * Gryllus Locusta Carolinus, Linnseus. [ 11 L. Carolina must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.] THE YELLOW-WINGED LOCUST. 177 ish border not so much narrowed behind. It cannot be mistaken for the fenestralis, which M. Serville describes as liaving the antennae nearly as long as the body, whereas in this species they are not half that length. The coral- winged locust is the first that makes its appearance with wings in the spring, being found flying about in warm and dry pastures as early as the middle of April or the first of May, and is rendered very conspicuous by its bright-colored wings, and the loud noise wdiich it makes in flying. It probably passes the winter in the pupa state, and undergoes its last transfor- mation in the spring ; but its history is not yet fully known to me, and this opinion is the result only of conjecture. 3. Lociista sulphureaP Yellow-winged Locust. (Plate I. Fig. 6.) Dusky brown ; thorax slightly keeled in the middle ; wing- covers ash-colored at their extremities, more or less distinctly spotted with brown ; wings deep yellow next to the body, dusky at tip, the yellow portion bounded beyond the middle by a broad dusky brown band, which curves and is prolonged on the hind margin, but does not reach the angle next to the extremity of the body ; hindmost thighs blackish at the end, and with two black and two whitish bands on the inside ; hindmost shanks and their spines black, with a broad whitish ring just below the knees. Length y^j to 1| inch ; exp. If to 21 inches. This insect agrees tolerably well with the brief description given by Fabricius of his Gryllus sulphureus, except that the wings are not sulphur-yellow, but of a deeper tint. It is also described and figured by Palisot de Beauvois under the name of Acndium sulphureum. It is a rare species in this vicinity. I have taken it, though sparingly, in its perfect state, in May and in September. The elevated ridge on the top of the thorax is higher than in any other species found in Massachu- setts. [ 12 X. sulphurea must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.] 23 178 ORTHOPTERA. '4. Locusta Maritima}^ Maritime Locust Ash-gray ; face variegated with white ; wing-covers sprin- kled with minute brownish spots, and semi-transparent at tip ; wings transparent, faintly tinted with yellow next the body, uncolored at tip, with a series of irregular blackish spots forming a curved band across the middle ; hindmost shanks and feet pale yellow, Avith the extreme points of the spines black. Length | to 1^ inch ; exp. IxV inch to 2f inches. This species comes very near to Mr. Kirby's description of the Locusta leucostoma ; but is evidently distinct fi'om it, and does not appear to have been described before. I have received it from Sandwich, and have found it in great abun- dance among the coarse grass which grows near the edges of our sandy beaches, but have never seen it except in the immediate vicinity of the sea. It comes to maturity and lays its egffs about the middle of August or a little later. -OC3 5. Locusta cequalis}* Barren-ground Locust. Ash-gray, mottled with dusky brown and white ; wing- covers semi-transparent at tip, with numerous dusky spots which run together so as to form three transverse bands ; wings light yellow on their basal half, transparent Avith dusky veins and a few spots at the tip, with an intermediate broad black band, which, curving and becoming narrower on the hind margin, is continued to the inner angle of the wing ; hindmost shanks coral-red, with a broad white ring below the knees, and the spines tipped with black. Length Ij- inch ; exp. 2|- inches. Mr. Say, to whom I sent a specimen of this handsome locust, informed me that it was his Ciryllus equalis, probably intended for cequalis. It is found, during the months of July [ 18 L. maritimn must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.] [ i* L. cequalis and latiptnnia are merely to be separated as races of one species, and cannot remain as separate species. They must be referred to the genus (Edipoda. — Uhler.] THE MARBLED LOCUST. 179 and August, on dry barren hills and on sandy plains, upon the scanty herbage intermingled with the reindeer moss. 6. Locusta latipennis}* Broad-winged Locust. Ash-colored, mottled with black and gray ; wing-covers semi-transparent beyond the middle, with numerous blackish spots which run together at the base, and form a band across the middle ; wings broad, light yellow on the basal half, the remainder dusky but partially transparent, with black net- work, and deep black at tip, and an intermediate irregular band, formed by a contiguous series of black spots, reaching only to the hind margin, but not continued towards the inner angle ; hindmost shanks pale yellow, with a black ring below the knees, a broader one at the extremity, and a blackish spot behind the upper part of the shank. Length j^^j inch ; exp. IxV inch. It is possible that this may be a variety of the preceding species, from which it differs especially in the form and width of the wings and in the colors of the hindmost shanks. It is found in the same places, and at the same time, as the barren-ground locust. 7. Locusta marmorata}^ Marbled Locust. (Fig. 8L) Ash-colored, variegated with pale yellow and black ; thorax suddenly narrowed before the mid- rig. 8i. die, and' the slightly elevated longi- tudinal line on the top is cut through in the middle by a transverse fissure ; ^'^'—r";^t wing-covers marbled with large whit- ish and black spots, and semi-transparent at the end ; wings light yellow on the half next to the body, transparent near the end, with two black spots on the tip, and a broad inter- mediate black band, which, narrowed and curving inwards on the hind margin, nearly reaches the inner angle ; hind- most thighs pale yellow, black at the extremity, and nearly [ 16 Ij, mnrmorata must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.] 180 ORTHOPTERA. surrounded by two broad black bands ; hind shanks coral-red, with a black ring immediately below the knee, and followed by a white ring, black at the lower extremity also, with the tips of the spines black. In some individuals there is an additional black ring below the white one on the shanks. Length fi'om ^V to above -ju inch ; exp. l^^jj to l-j^j inch. The marbled locust, which is one of our prettiest species, is found in the open places contiguous to or within pitch-pine w^oods, flying over the scanty grass and reindeer moss which not unfrequently grow in these situations. It is marked on the wings somewhat like the barren-ground locust, but is invariably smaller, with the thorax much more contracted before the middle. It appears, in the perfect state, from the middle of July to the middle of October. 8. Locusta eucerata}^ Long-horned Locust. Ash-colored, variegated with gray and dark brown ; anten- nae nearly as long as the body, and with flattened joints ; thorax very much pinched or compressed laterally before the middle, with a slightly elevated longitudinal line, which is interrupted by two notches ; wing-covers and wings long and narrow ; the former variegated with dusky spots, and semi-transparent at tip ; wings next to the body yellow, sometimes pale, sometimes deep and almost orange-colored, at other times uncolored and semi-transparent ; with a broad black band across the middle, which is narrowed and pro- longed on the hinder margin, and extends quite to the inner angle ; beyond the band the wings are transparent, with the tips black or covered with blackish spots ; hindmost shanks whitish, with a black ring at each end, a broad one of the same color just above the middle, and the spines tipped with black. Length ^ inch to -/j inch ; exp. If^^y inch to more than 1^ inch. The wings of this species are very variable in color at the base. The fenestralis described by M. Serville has the base [ 18 X. eucerata must be referred to CEdipoda. — Uhlek.] THE DUSKY LOCUST. 181 of the wings vermilion-recl, but in other respects it approaches to this species. The long-lionied locust is found oftentimes in comi)any with the marbled species, and also near sea- beaches with the maritime locust, from the last of July to the middle of October. 9. Locusta nehulosay Clouded Locust. Dusky brown ; thorax with a slender keel-like elevation, which is cut across in the middle by a transverse fissure ; wing-covers pale, clouded, and spotted with brown ; wings transparent, dusky at tip, with a dark brown line on the front margin ; hindmost shanks brown, with darker spines, and a broad whitish ring below the knees. Length from y^j inch to more than ly^^. inch ; exp. from 1^ inch to more than 2 inches. A very common species, and easily known by its clouded wing-covers and colorless wings. It abounds in pastures, and even in corn-fields and gardens, during the months of September and October, at which time it is furnished with wings and may often be seen paired or busied in laying eggs. It does not appear to have been described before. The three following locusts differ from the j)receding in having the antennae shorter than the thorax, and slightly thickened towards the end, and the face somewhat oblique, the mouth being nearer the breast than in our other species of Locusta ; and they seem to constitute a distinct group or sub-genus, which may receive the name of Tragocepliala^^^ or goat-headed locusts. 10. Locusta {Tragocephala) infuscata. Dusky Locust. Dusky brown ; thorax with a slender keel-like elevation ; wing-covers faintly spotted with brown ; wings transparent, pale greenish yellow next to the body, with a large dusky [ 17 L. vebulosn must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.] [18 Tragocephala is synonymous with Gomphocerus, and L infuscata, L. viridi- fasciata, and L. radiata must be referred to it. — Uhler.] 182 ORTHOPTERA. cloud near tlie middle of the hind margin, and a black line on the front margin ; hind thighs pale, with two large black spots on the inside ; hind shanks brown, with darker spines, and a broad whitish ring below the knees. Length f inch ; exp. above Ij inch. Tliis somewhat resembles the clouded locust, from which, however, it is easily distinguished by its much shoi'ter anten- nas and the dusky cloud on the hinder margin of the wings. I have captured it in pastures, in the perfect state, from the middle of May to near the. end of July. I believe that it has never been described before. 11. Locusta {Tragocephald) viridi-fasciata. Green-striped Locust. (Plate III. Fig. 2.) Green ; thorax keeled above ; wing-covers with a broad green stripe on the outer margin extending from the base beyond the middle and including two small dusky spots on the edge, the remainder dusky but semi-transparent at the end ; wings transparent, very pale greenish yellow next to the body, with a large dusky cloud near the middle of the hind margin, and a black line on the front margin ; antennae, fore and middle legs reddish ; hind thighs green, with two black spots in the ftirrow beneath ; hind shanks blue-gray, with a broad whitish ring below the knees, and the spines whitish, tipped with black. Length about 1 inch ; exp. from more than If to nearly 2 inches. This insect is the Acrydiam viridi-fasciatum of De Geer, who was the first describer of it, the Grryllus Virginianus of Fabricius, the Grryllus Locusta chrysomelas of Gmelin, the Acrydium maryinatum of Olivier, and the Acridium hemipte- rum of Palisot de Beauvois. It is remarkable that a species so strongly marked as this is should have been so proftisely named. Palisot de Beauvois seems to have selected the most appropriate name for it ; for the green portion of the wing- covers is thick and opaque, and the dusky portion thin and semi-transparent, as in the wing-covers of Hemipterous in- THE RADIATED LOCUST. 183 sects. It is very common in pastures and mowing lands from the first of June to the middle of August, beino; found in various states of maturity throughout this period. The young also appear still earlier, and are readily known by their green color, and large compressed thorax, which is arched and crested or keeled above, and by their very short and flattened antennae. These locusts are sometimes very troublesome in gardens, living upon the leaves of vegetables and flowers, and attacking the buds and half-expanded petals. The larvae or young survive the winter, sheltered among the roots of grass and under leaves. 12. Locusta (^Tragocephala) radiata. Radiated Locust. Rust-brown ; thorax keeled above ; wing-covers entirely brown, but semi-transparent at the end ; wings transparent, with brown network, and the principal longitudinal veins black ; they are veiy faintly tinted with green next to the body, have a lax'ge dusky cloud near the middle of the hind margin, and a brown streak on the front margin ; hind shanks reddish brown, a little paler below the knees, and the spines tipped with black. Length about 1 inch ; exp. from 1| to 2 inches. This species is now for the first time described. It seems to be rare. I captured one specimen in Cambridge on the 1st of July, and have received another from Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith of Sutton, Massachusetts. It is found in North Caro- lina as early as the month of May in the perfect state. The folloAving species have the face still more oblique than the foregoing, but the antennae are much longer, particularly in the males, in which they nearly equal the body in length, and are not enlarged towards the end. The eyes are oval and oblique, and there is a deep hollow before each of them for the reception of the first joint of the antennae. The thorax is not crested or keeled, but is flattened above, with three slender threadlike elevated lines, and the hind margin is very nearly transverse, or not much (if at all) angulated 184 ORTHOPTERA. behind. The wing-covers and wings are extremely short. The hind legs are long and slender. I propose therefore to separate these species from the other locusts under a sub- genus by the name of Chloealtis, derived from the Greek, and signifying a grasshopper. 13. Locusta (Okloealtis) conspersa. Sprinkled Locust. Light bay, sprinkled with black spots ; a black line on the head behind each eye, extending on each side of the thorax on the lateral elevated line ; wing-covers oblong-oval, pale yellowish brown, with numerous small darker brown spots ; wings about three twentieths of an inch long, transparent, with dusky lines at the tip ; hind shanks pale red, with the spines black at the end. Length nearly ^% inch. This may be merely a variety of the following species, though very differently colored. 14. Locusta {^Chlo'ealtis) abortiva. Abortive Locust. Brown ; wing-covers with dark brown veins and confluent spots, covering two thirds of the abdomen ; wings three twentieths of an inch long, transparent, with dusky lines at the tip ; hind margin of the thorax straight ; hind shanks coral-red, Avhitish just below tlie knees, the spines tij)ped with black. Length nearly -f^s inch. This and the preceding locust have much the appearance of pupge or young insects ; nevertheless I believe that their wings and Aving-covers never become larger, and Mr. Leon- ard informs me that they are found paired. I have captm'ed the abortive locust in pastures near the end of July. 15. Locusta (Ghloealtis) curtipennis. Short-winged Locust. (Plate IIL Fig. 1.) Olive-gray above, variegated with dark gray and black ; legs and body beneath yellow ; a broad black line extends fi'om behind each eye on the sides of the thorax ; wing-cov- THE GROUSE-LOCUSTS. 185 ers, in the male, as long as the abdomen, in the female, covering two thirds of the abdomen ; wings rather shorter than the wing-covers, transparent, and faintly tinged with yellow ; hinder knees black ; spines on the hind shanks tipped with black. Length from i to more than ^j hich ; exp. from /^ to nearly 1 inch. The flight of the short- winged locust is noiseless and short, but it leaps well. Great numbers of these insects are found in our low meadows, in the perfect state, from the first of August till the middle of October. They are easily distin- guished from other locusts by their short and narrow wings, by the yellow color of the body beneath, and by the yellow legs and black knees. III. Tetrix. Grouse-locust. The Greeks applied the name of Tetrix to some kind of grouse, probably the heath-cock of Europe, and Latreille adopted it for a genus of locusts in which, perhaps, he fan- cied some resemblance to the bird in question. Linnaeus placed these locusts in a division of his genus Gryllus, which he called Bulla, a name that ought to have been retained for them. The principal distinguishing characters of the genus have already been given, and I will only add that the body is broadest between the middle legs, narrows gradually to a point behind, and veiy abruptly to the head, which is much smaller than in the other locusts. The wings are large, forming nearly the quadrant of a circle, thin and delicate, and scalloped on the edge ; when not in use they are folded beneath the projecting thorax. The four boring appendages of the females are notched on their edges with fine teeth, like a saw. Latreille and Serville have stated that the antennse consist of only thirteen or fourteen joints ; but some of our native species have twenty-two joints in the antennae. Upon this variation I would arrange those now to be described in two groups. 24 186 ORTHOPTERA. I. Antennce 14-Jointed; eyes very prominent, with a project- ing ridge between them, formed by a horizontal extension of the flat top of the head; thorax prolonged beyond the extremity of the body. 1. Tetrix ornata. Ornamented Grouse-locust. Dark asli-colored ; a large white patch between four black spots on the top of the thorax ; a white spot on the top of the hind thighs ; thorax nearly or quite as long as the wings. Length ^^ to -f^ inch to the apex of the thorax. This species varies in wanting the white spot on the top of the thorax sometimes. It was first described by Mr. Say, under the name of Acrydium ornatum* 2. Tetrix dorsalis. Red-spotted Grouse-locust. Rusty black, with ochre-yellow sj^ots on the sides and legs, and a large rusty-red spot on the top of the thorax ; wings extending beyond the apex of the thorax. Length h inch. 3. Tetrix quadrimaculata. Four-spotted Grouse-locust. Ash-colored or dark gray above, variegated with black ; four velvet-black spots on the top of the thorax ; wings projecting beyond the extremity of the thorax. Length from ■rs to yV of an inch. This is a shorter and thicker species than the ornamented grouse-locust. It is not uncommon in pastures from the first of May to the first of June. 4. Tetrix hilineata. Two-lined Grouse-locust. Ash-colored ; thorax paler, with a narrow angular whitish line, on each side, extending from the head beyond the mid- dle ; the angular portion including a long blackish patch on each side ; wings, in the male, rather shorter than the tho- rax, in the female longer. Length from sV to more than ^^o inch. * American Entomology, Vol. I. Plate 5. THE GROUSE-LOCUSTS. 187 5. Tetrix sordida. Sordid Grouse-locust. Yellowish ash-colored ; thorax with minute elevated black points ; wings, in both sexes, rather longer than the thorax. Length from ^j^ inch to nearly i inch. I have taken this species both in May and September, and have received a specimen from Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith, of Sutton, Massachusetts. II. Antennce 22-jointed ; eyes hardly 'prominent^ top of the head not horizontal between them, hat carving towards the front, with a very slightly projecting ridge; wings smaller than in those of the preceding group. 6. Tetrix lateralis. Black-sided Grouse-locust. Pale brown ; sides of the body blackish ; thorax yellowish clay-colored, shorter than the wings, but longer than the body ; wing-covers with a small white spot at the tips ; male with the face and the edges of the lateral margins of the tlio- rax yellow. Length from ^^ to -fa- of an inch. This species was first described by Mr. Say under the name of Acrydium laterale.* I have taken it from the mid- dle of April to the middle of May. It varies in being darker above sometimes. 7. Tetrix parvipennis. (Fig. 82.) Small-winged Grouse-locust. Dark brown ; sides blackish ; thorax clay-colored or pale brown, about as long as the body ; wing-covers with a small white spot at the tips ; wings much ^'s- §2. shorter than the thorax ; male with the face and the edges of the lateral margins of the thorax yellow. Length from ^V to more than ^(j inch.^^ This species is much shorter and thicker than the Tetrix lateralis. I have taken it in April and May, in the perfect state, and have found the pupae near the end of July. * American Entomology, Vol. I. Plate 5. [ 19 Color and style of marking is of very little value in separating the species of Tetrix, and the species described by Dr. Harris are probably all referable to the two species of Say. — Uhlek.] 188 ORTHOPTERA. The liablts of the grouse-locusts are said to be absolutely the same as those of other locusts. They seem, however, to be more fond of heat, being generally found in grassy places, on banks, by the sides of the road, and even on the naked sands, exposed to the full influence of the sun throughout the day. They are extremely agile, and consequently very diffi- cult to capture, for they leap to an astonishing distance, con- sidering their small size, being moreover aided in this motion by their ample wings. The young, Avhich are deprived of wings, are generally found about midsummer, and are readily distinguished by the thorax, which is somewhat like a re- versed boat, beino; furnished with a longitudinal ridjie or keel from one end to the other. These little locusts are analogous to the insects belonging to the genus Memhracis in the order Hemiptera, Avliich also are distinguished by a very large thorax covering the whole of the upper side of the body, small wing-covers, and have the faculty of making great leaps. Indeed, these two kinds of insects very naturally connect the orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera together. After so much space has been devoted to an account of the ravages of grasshoppers and locusts, and to the descriptions of the insects themselves, perhaps it may be expected that the means of checking and destroying them should be fully ex- plained. The naturalist, however, seldom has it in his power to put in practice the various remedies which his knowledge or experience may suggest. His proper province consists in examining the living objects about him with regard to their structure, their scientific arrangement, and their economy or histor}'. In doing this, he opens to others the way to a suc- cessful course of experiments, the trial of which he is gener- ally obliged to leave to those who are more favorably situated for their performance. In the South of France the people make a business, at certain seasons of the year, of collecting locusts and their eggs, the latter being turned out of the ground in little masses cemented and covered with a sort of gum in which they are REMEDIES. 189 enveloped by the insects. Rewards are offered and paid for their collection, half a franc beino; criven for a kiloo;rannne (about 2 lb. 3^- oz. avoirdupois) of the insects, and a quarter of a franc for the same weight of their eggs. At this rate twenty thousand francs were paid in Marseilles, and twenty- five thousand in Aries, in the year 1G13 ; in 1824, five thou- sand five hundred and forty-two, and in 1825, six thousand two hundred francs were paid in Marseilles. It is stated that an active boy can collect from six to seven kilogrammes (or from 131b. "^3 oz. 13.22 dr. to 151b. 7 oz. 2.09 dr.) of eggs in one day. The locusts are taken by means of a piece of stout cloth, carried by four persons, two of Avliom draw it rapidly along, so that the edge may sweep over the surface of the soil, and the tAvo others hold up the cloth behind at an angle of forty-fiA'e degrees.* This contrivance seems to oper- ate somewhat like a horse-rake, in gatherino; the insects into winrows or heaps, from wliich they are speedily transferred to large sacks. A somewhat similar plan has been successfully tried in this country, as appears by an account extracted from the " Portsmouth Journal," and published in the " New Eng- land Farmer." f It is there stated that, in Jnly, 1826, Mr. Arnold Thompson, of Epsom, New Hampshire, caught, in one evening, between the hours of eight and twelve, in his own and his neighbor's grain-fields, five bushels and three pecks of grasshoppers, or more properly locusts. " His mode of catching them was by attaching two sheets together, and fastening them to a pole, which was used as the front part of the drag. The pole extended beyond the width of the sheets, so as to admit persons at both sides to draw it forAvard. At the sides of the drag, braces extended from the pole to raise the back part considerably from the ground, so that the gi-asshoppers could not escape. After running the drag about a dozen rods with rapidity, the braces Avere taken out, and * See Annales de la Society Entomologique de France, Vol. II. pp. 486 - 489. t Vol. V. p. 5. 190 ORTHOPTERA. the sheets doubled over ; the grasshoppers were then swept from each end towards the centre of the sheet, where was left an opening to the mouth of a bag which held about half a bushel ; when deposited and tied up, the drag was again opened and ready to proceed. When this bag was filled so as to become burdensome (their weight is about the same as that of the same measure of corn), the bag was opened into a larger one, and the grasshoppers received into a new deposit. The drag can be used only in the evening, when the grass- hoppers are perched on the top of the grain. His manner of destroying them was by dipping the large bags into a kettle of boiling water. When boiled, they had a reddish appear- ance, and made a fine feast for the farmer's hogs." When these insects are very prevalent on our salt-marshes, it will be advisable to mow the grass early, so as to secure a crop before it has suffered much loss. The time for doing this will be determined by data furnished in the foregoing pages, where it will be seen that the most destructive species come to maturity during the latter part of July. If, then, the marshes are mowed about the first of July, the locusts, being at that time small and not provided with wings, will be unable to migrate, and will consequently perish on the ground for the want of food, while a tolerable crop of hay will be secured, and the marshes will suffer less from the insects during the following summer. This, like all other preventive measures, must be generally adopted, in order to prove .effectual ; for it will avail a farmer but little to take preventive measures on his own land, if his neighbors, who are equally exposed and interested, neglect to do the same. Among the natural means which seem to be appointed to keep these insects in check, violent winds and storms may be mentioned, which sometimes sweep them off" in great swarms, and cast them into the sea. Vast numbers are drowned by the high tides that frequently inundate our marshes. They are subject to be attacked by certain thread- NATURAL ENEMIES. 191 like brown or blackish worms (^Filarid), resembling in ap- pearance those called horse-hair eels (^Gordius). I ha^•e taken three or four of these animals out of the body of a single locust. They are also much infested by little red mites, belonging apparently to the genus Oajpete ; these so much weaken the insects, by sucking the juices from their bodies, as to hasten their death. Ten or a dozen of these mites will frequently be found pertinaciously adhering to the body of a locust, beneath its wing-covers and wings. A kind of sand-wasp preys upon grasshoppers, and provisions her nest with them. Many birds devour them, particularly our domestic fowls, which eat great numbers of grasshoppers, lo- custs, and even crickets. Young turkeys, if allowed to go at large during the summer, derive nearly the whole of their subsistence from these insects. CHAPTER IV. HEMIPTERA. Bugs. — Squash-Bug. — Chinch-Bug. — Plant-Bugs. — Harvest-Flies — Tree-Hoppers. — Leaf-Hoppers. — Vine-Hopper. — Bean-Hopper. — TiiRiPS. — Plant-Lice. — American Blight. — Enemies of Pl.\.nt-Lice. — Bark-Lice. THE word bug seems originally to have been used for any frightful object, whether real or imaginary, whose appearance was to be feared at night. It was applied in the same sense as bugbear, and also as a term of contempt for somethino; disao;reeable or hateful. In later times it became, with the common people, a general name for insects, which, beins little known, were viewed with dislike or terror. At present, however, we can say, with L'Estrange, though " we have a horror for uncouth monsters, upon experience all these bugs grow familiar and easy to us." We would except from this remark those domestic nocturnal species to which the name is now applied by way of pre-eminence ; the real, by an easy transition in the use of language, having assumed the name of the imaginary objects of terror and disgust by night. Entomologists now use the word bug for various kinds of insects, all, like the bed-bug, having the mouth provided with a slender beak, which, when not in use, is bent under the body, and lies upon the breast between the legs. This instrument consists of a horny sheath, containing, in a groove along its upper surface, three stiff bristles as sharp as needles. Bugs have no jaws, but live by sucking the juices of animals and plants, which they obtain by piercing them with their BUGS. 193 beaks. Although the domestic kinds above mentioned are without wing-covers and wings, yet most bugs have both, and, with the former, belong to an order called Hemiptera, literally half-wings, on account of the peculiar construction of their wing-covers, the hinder half of which is thin and fihny like the wings, while the fore part is thick and opaque. There are, however, other insects provided with the same kind of beak, but having the wing-covers sometimes entirely transparent, and sometimes more or less opaque, and these, by most entomologists, are also classed among Hemipte- rous insects, because they come much nearer to them than to any other insects, in stinicture and habits. Bugs, like other insects, undergo three changes, but they retain nearly the same form in all their stages ; for the only transformation to which they are subject, from the young to the adult state, is occasioned by the gradual development of their wing-covers and wings, and the growth of their bodies, which make it necessary for them repeatedly to throw off their skins, to allow of their increase in size. Young, half-grown, and mature, all live in the same way, and all are equally active. The young come forth from the egg without wing-covers and wings, which begin to appear in the form of little scales on the top of their backs as they grow older, and increase in size with each successive moulting of the skin, till they are ftilly developed in the full-grown insect. The Hemiptera are divided into two groups, distinguished by the following characters. 1. Bugs, or True Hemiptera, (^Hemiptera lietewptera^ in which the wing-covers are thick and opaque at the base, but thin and more or less transparent and wing-like at the tips, are laid horizontally on the top of the back, and cross each other obliquely at the end, so that the thin part of one wing- cover overlaps the same part of the other ; the wings are also horizontal, and are not plaited ; the head is more or less hori- zontal, and the beak issues from the fore part of it, and is abruptly bent backwards beneath the under side of the head 25 194 HEMIPTERA. and the breast. Some of the insects belono-ino; to this division hve on animal, and others on vegetable juices. 2. Harvest-flies, Plant-lice, and Bark-lice, (^Hemipie- ra Jiomo-ptera^ in which the wing-covers are, as the scientific name implies, of one texture throughout, and are either en- tirely thin and transparent, like wings, or somewhat thicker and opaque ; they are not horizontal, and do not cross each other at their extremities, but, together with the wings, are more or less inclined at the sides of the body, like the Aving- covers of locusts ; the face is either vertical, or slopes oblique- ly under the body, so that the beak issues from the under side of the head close to the breast. All the insects in- cluded in this division live on vegetable juices. I. BUGS. (Hemiptera heteroptera.) The hemipterous insects belonging to this division are vari- ous kinds of bugs, properly so called, such as squash-bugs, bed-bugs, fruit-bugs, Avater-bugs, water-boatmen, and many others, for which there are no common names in our lan- guage. In my Catalogue of the Insects of ]\Iassachusetts, the scientific names of ninety-five native species are given ; but, as the mere description of these insects, unaccompanied by any details respecting their economy and habits, would not interest the majority of readers, and as I am not suf- ficiently prepared to furnish these details at present, I shall confine my remarks to two or three species only. The common squash-bug, Coreua tristis (Fig. 83), so well known for the injurious effects of its punctures on the leaves of squashes, is one of the most remarkable of these insects. It was first described by De Geer, who gave it the specific name of tristis^ from its sober color, which Gmelin unwar- rantably changed to moestus, having, however, the same meaning. Fabricius called it Coreus rugator^ the latter word signifying one who wrinkles, which was probably THE COMMON SQUASH-BUG. 195 applied to this ins'jct because its punctures cause the leaves of the squash to become wrinkled. Mr. Say, not being aware that this insect had already been three times named and de- scribed, re-described it under the name of Coreiis ordinatus. Of these four names, however, that of tristis, being the first, is the only one which it can retain. Coreus, its generical name, was altered by Fabricius from Coris^ a word used by the Greeks for some kind of bujr. About the last of October squash-bugs desert the plants upon which they have lived during the summer, and conceal themselves in crevices of walls and fences, and other places of security, where they pass the winter in a torpid state. On the return of warm weather, they issue from their winter quarters, and when the vines of the squash have put forth a few rough leaves, the bugs meet beneath tlieir shelter, pair, and immediately afterwards begin to lay their eggs. This usually happens about the last of June or beginning of July, at which time, by carefully examining the vines, we shall find the insects on the ground or on the stems of the vines, close to the ground, from which they are hardly to be distinguished on account of their dusky color. This is the place where they generally remain during the daytime, apparently to es- cape observation ; but at night they leave the ground, get beneath the leaves, and lay their eggs in little patches, fasten- ing them with a gummy substance to the under sides of the leaves. The eggs are round, and flattened on two sides, and are soon hatched. The young bugs are proportionally shorter and more rounded than the perfect insects, are of a pale ash- color, and have quite large antennae, the joints of which are somewhat flattened. As they grow older and increase in size, after moulting their skins a few times, they become more oval in form, and the under side of their bodies gradually acquires a dull ochre-yellow color. They live together at first in little swarms or families beneath the leaves upon which they were hatched, and which, in consequence of the numerous punc- tures of the insects, and the quantity of sap imbibed by them, 196 HEMIPTERA. soon wither, and eventually become brown, dry, and wrin- kled ; when the insects leave them for fresh leaves, which they exhaust in the same way. As the eggs are not all laid at one time, so the bugs are hatched in successive broods, and consequently will be found in various stages of growth through the summer. They, however, attain their full size, pass through their last transformation, and appear in their perfect state, or furnished with wing-covers and wings, dur- incr the months of September and October. In this last state the squash-bug measures six tenths of an inch in length. It is of a rusty black color above, and of a dirty ochre-yellow color beneath, and the sharp lateral edges of the abdomen, which project beyond the closed wing-covers, are spotted with ochre-yellow. The tliin overlapping portion of the wing-cov- ers is black ; the ^vings are transparent, but are dusky at their tips ; and the upper side of the abdomen, upon which the wings rest when not in use, is of a deep black color, and vel- vety appearance. The ground-color of this insect is really ochre-yellow, and the rusty black hue of the head, thorax, thick part of the win(i'-covers, and legs, is occasioned by numerous black punc- tures, that, on the head, are arranged in two broad black longitudinal lines, between which, as well as on the margin of the thorax, the yellow is distinctly to be seen. On the back part of the head of this bug, and rather behind the eyes, are two little glassy elevated spots, which are called eyelets, and which are supposed to enable the insect to see distant objects above it, while the larger eyes at the sides of the head are for nearer objects around it. Eyelets are also to be found in grasshoppers, locusts, and many other insects. In some of our species of Coreus there is a little thorn at the base of the antennae, the legs are also thorny on the under side, and the hindmost thighs are much thicker than the others ; but none of these characters are found in squash-bugs.* When han- dled, and still more when crushed, the latter give out an odor * They appear to belong to the genus Gonocerus of Burmeister. THE CHINCII-BUG. 197 precisely similar to that of an over-ripe pear, but far too pow- erful to be agreeable. In order to prevent the ravages of these insects, they should be sought and killed when they are about to lay their eggs ; and if any escape our observation at this time, their eggs may be easily found and crushed. With this view the squash-vines must be visited daily, during the early part of their growth, and must be carefully examined for the bugs and their eggs. A very short time spent in this way every day, in the proper season, will save a great deal of vexation and disappointment afterwards. If this precaution be neglect- ed or deferred till the vines have begun to spread, it will be exceedingly difficult to exterminate the insects, on account of their numbers ; and if at this time dry weather should pre- vail, the vines will suffer so much from the bugs and drought together, as to produce but little if any fruit. Whatever con- tributes to bring forward the plants rapidly, and to promote the vigor and luxuriance of their foliage, renders them less liable to suffer by the exhausting punctures of the young bugs. Water drained from a cow-yard, and similar prepara- tions, have, with this intent, been applied with benefit. The Avheat-fields and corn-fields of the South and West often suffer severely from the depredations of certain minute bugs, long known there by the name of chinch^bugs, which fortunately have not yet been observed in New England.* It is not improbable, however, that they may spread in this direction, and attack our growing grain and other crops. In anticipation of such a sad event, and to gratify a curiosity that has been expressed concerning these offensive insects, I venture to offer a few remarks upon them. Attention seems early to have been directed to them. They are mentioned in the eleventh volume of Young's " Annals of Agriculture," published, I believe, about 1788. From this work Messrs. Kirby and Spence probably obtained the following account, * While this sheet is passing through the press, I have to record the discovery of one of theoe bugs in my own garden, on the 17tb of June, 1S52. 198 HEMIPTERA. contained in the first volume of their interesting " Introduc- tion to Entomology." " America suffers in its wheat and maize from the attack of an insect, which, for what reason I know not, is called the chinch-bug fly. It appears to be apterous, and is said in scent and color to resemble the bed- bug. They travel in immense columns from field to field, like locusts, destroying everything as they proceed ; but their injuries are confined to the States south of the 40th degree of north latitude. From this account," add Kirby and Spence, " the depredator here noticed should belong to the tribe Geocorisce^ Latr. ; but it seems very difficult to conceive how an insect that lives by suction, and has no mandibles, could destroy these plants so totally." I have ascertained, fi'om an examination of living speci- mens, that the chinch-bug is the Lygceus Leuco^terus (Fig. 84), or white-winged Lygaeus, described by Mr. Say, in December, 1831, in a rare little pamphlet on the " Heteropterous Hc- miptera of North America." It appears, moreover, to belong to the modern genus Rhjparoeliromus. In its perfect state it is not apterous, but is provided with wings, and then measures about three twentieths of an inch in length. It is readily distinguished by its white wing-covers, upon each of which there is a short central line and a large marginal oval spot of a black color. The rest of the body is black and downy, except the beak, the legs, the antennae at base, and the hinder edge of the thorax, which are reddish yellow, and the fore part of the thorax, which has a grayish lustre. The young and wingless indi- viduals are at first brio;ht red, chano;ino; with age to brown and black, and are always marked with a Avhite band across the back. It is a mistake that these insects are confined to the States south of the 40th degree ; for I have been fa^'ored with them by Professor Lathrop, of Beloit College, Wiscon- sin, and by Dr. Le Baron, of Geneva, Illinois. The latter THE PLANT-BUGS. 199 gentleman had no difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number without going out of his own garden. The eggs of the chinch-bu(T are laid in the ground, in which the young have been found, in great abundance, at the depth of an inch or more. They make their appearance on wheat about the middle of June, and may be seen in their various stages of growth on all kinds of grain, on corn, and on herds-grass, durino- the whole summer. Some of them continue alive through the winter in their places of concealment. A very good account of these destructive bugs, with an enlarged figure, will be found in the " Prairie Farmer," for December, 1845. In the same publication, for September, 1850, there is an excellent description of the chinch-bug, by Dr. Le Baron, who, not being aware that it had been previously named by Mr. Say, called it Rhyparocfiromus devastator. During the summer of 1838, and particularly in the early part of the season, which, it will be recollected, was very dry, our gardens and fields swarmed with immense numbers of little bugs, that attacked almost all kinds of herbaceous plants. My attention was first drawn to them in conse- quence of the injury sustained by a few dahlias, marigolds, asters, and balsams, with which I had stocked a little border around my house. In the garden of my friends the ]\Iessrs. Hovey, at Cambridge Port, I observed, about the same time, that these insects were committing sad havoc, and was in- formed that various means had been tried to destroy or expel them without effect. On visiting my potato-patch shortly afterwards, I found the insects there also in great numbers on the vines ; and, from information worthy of credit, am inclined to believe that these insects contributed, quite as much as the dry weather of that season, to diminish the produce of the potato-fields in this vicinity. They principally attacked the buds, terminal shoots, and most succulent growing parts of these and other herbaceous plants, puncturing them with their beaks, drawing off the sap, and, from the effects sub- sequently visible, apparently poisoning the parts attacked. 200 HEMIPTERA. These shortly afterwards withered, turned black, and in a few days dried up ; or curled, and remained permanently stunted in their growth. Early in the morning the bugs would be found buried among the little expanding leaves of the grow- ing extremities of the plants, at which time it was not very dithcult to catch them ; but, after being warmed by the sun, they became exceedingly active, and, on the approach of the fingers, would loose their hold, and either drop suddenly or fly away. Sometimes, too, when on the stem of a plant, they would dodge round to the other side, and thus elude our grasp. In July, 1851, some of these insects were sent to me by a gentleman, who brought them from St. Johns- bury, Vt., where they w'ere confidently believed to be the cause of the jyotato-i-ot This kind of bug is the Phytocoris lineolaris^ (Fig. 85), a variety of which Avas first described and figured by Palisot de Beauvois, under the specific name above given, and Avas doubtingly referred by him to the genus Coreus ; and it was subsequently described by Mr. Say, who called it Cajjsus oblmeatus. All the insects belonging to the genus Pliyto- coris* (Avhich means plant-bug) are found on plants, and subsist on their juices, Avhich they obtain by suction through their sharp beaks. They are easily distinguished from other bugs by the folloAving characters. Eyelets Avanting; antennaa four-jointed, Avith the first and second joints much thicker than the last tAvo, Avhicli are A-ery slender and threadlike ; the head short and triangular ; the body oA'al, flattened, and soft ; the thorax in the form of a broad triangle, Avith the tip of the anterior angle cut ofi', and the broadest side applied to the base of the Aving-covers ; the latter, Avhen folded, cover the whole of the abdomen, and their thin portions liaA'e only one [1 Dr. Harris misquotes Beauvois for this Phytocoris; the name applied by that author is P. linearis, not lineolaris. — Uhlee.] * This new genus, or sub-genus, was instituted by Fallen, and is not noticed by Latreille and Laporte. It differs ftom Cfipsus chiefly in having a smaller head, and the thorax wider behind, and narrower before, than in the latter genus. THE LITTLE-LINED PLANT-BUG. 201 or two little veins ; the legs are slender, and the shanks are bristled with little points. There are, in Massachusetts, a good many species belonghig to tliis genus ; but, in my Cata- logue of the insects of this Commonwealth, they are included among the species of Capsus, which, indeed, they closely re- semble. The Phytocoris Uneolaris (Fig. 85), or little- lined plant-bug, measures one fifdi of an inch, or rather more, in length. It is an exceed- ingly variable species. The males are gen- erally much darker than the females, being very deep livid brown or almost black above. The head is yellowish, with three narrow longitudinal reddish stripes ; the first joint of the antenna?, the terminal half of the sec- ond, and the last two joints are blackish ; the beak is more than one third the whole length of the body, when folded beneath the breast, extends to the middle pair of legs, and is of a yellowish color, ringed with black ; the thorax, or that part of the body that comes immediately behind the head, is thickly covered with punctures, has a yellow margin, and five longitudinal yellow lines upon it, which often disappear on the back part ; the scutel, or escutcheon, a small triangular piece behind the thorax, and interposed between the bases of the wing-covers, is also margined with yellow, and has a yellow spot upon it in the form of the letter V, which is often imper- fect, so that only three small yellow spots are visible in the place of the three extremities of the letter ; the thick part of the wing-covers is brown, with the outer edge and the longi- tudinal veins sometimes pale or yellowish, and behind this thick part there is a large yellowish spot, on tlie posterior tip of which is a small black point ; the thin or membranous part of the wing-covers is shaded with dusky clouds ; the under side of the body is marked with a yellowish line or a longitu- dinal series of yellow spots on each side of the middle ; the legs are dirty brownish yellow, the thighs blackish at base, and with two black rings near the tip, and the extremities of 26 202 HEMIPTERA. the feet are blackish. The females are most often of a pale olive-o-reen, or of a dirty greenish-yellow color ; the thorax spotted and more or less distinctly striped with black, and the thick part of the wing-covers also variegated with dusky or brownish lines and clouds. In both sexes, however, the yel- low V, or the three spots on the thorax, and the large yellow spot tipped with black on the wing-covers, are conspicuous charactei's, which readily afford the means of identifying the species. I have taken this insect in the spring, as early as the 20th of April, and in the autumn, as late as the middle of October; from which I infer that it passes the winter in the perfect state in some place of security. It is most abundant during the months of June and July. Specimens have been sent to me from Maine, New York, North Carolina, and Alabama, and Mr. Say records its occurrence in Pennsyl- vania, Indiana, the Northwest Territory, and Missouri. It seems, therefore, to be very generally diffused throughout the Union. The history of this species is yet imperfect. We know not where and when the eggs are laid ; the young have not been observed ; and the insects, during the early periods of their existence, have escaped notice, and are only known to us after they have completed their final transformations. It is possible that further information upon the history of these in- sects may afford some aid in devising proper remedies against their ravages. Upon a limited scale, as on plants growing in our gardens, may be tried the effect of sprinkling them wutli alkaline solutions, such as strong soap-suds, or potash-water, or with decoctions of tobacco and of walnut-leaves, or of dusting the plants with air-slacked lime or sulphur. But in field husbandry such applications would be impracticable. I am inclined to believe that nothing will prove so effectual as thorough irrigation, or copious and frequent showers of rain, which will bring forward the plants with such rapidity, that they will soon become so strong and vigorous as to withstand the attacks of these little buo;s. The great increase of these HARVEST-FLIES. 203 and other noxious insecls may fairly be attributed to the exterminating war which has wantonly been waged upon our insect-eating birds, and we may expect the evil to in- crease unless these little friends of the farmer are protected, or left undisturbed to multiply, and follow their natural habits. ]\lean while, some advantage may be derived from encouraging the breed of our domestic fowls. A flock of young chickens or turkeys, if suifei'ed to go at large in a garden, while the mother is confined within their sight and hearing, under a suitable crate or cage, will devour great numbers of destructive insects ; and our farmers should be urged to pay more attention than heretofore to the rearing of chickens, young turkeys, and ducks, with a view to the benefits to be derived from their destruction of insects. II. HARVEST-FLIES, &c. ( Hemiptera Homoptera. ) By many entomologists this division is raised to the rank of a separate oyder, under the name of Homoptera ; but the insects arranged in it are, as already stated, much more like the true Hemiptera, or bugs, than they are to the in- sects in any other order, which shows the propriety of keeping these two divisions together, and that separately they hold only a subordinate importance compared with other orders. The insects belonging to tliis division are divided by nat- uralists into three large groups, or tribes. . 1. Harvest-flies, or Cicadians (Cicadad.e) ; having short antennae, which are awl-shaped or tipped with a little bris- tle ; Avings and wing-covers, in both sexes, inclined at the sides of the body ; three joints to their feet ; firm and hard skins ; and in which the females have a piercer, lodged in a furrow beneath the extremity'- of the body. 2. Plant-lice (Aphidid^) ; having antennre longer than the head, and threadlike or tapering from the root to the end ; wing-covers and wings frequently wanting in the females ; feet tAvo-jointed ; the body veiy soft, generally fur- nished with two little tubercles at the end ; no piercer in the females. ^ 204 HEMIPTERA. 3. Bark-lice (Coccid^) ; having threadlike or tapering antennie, longer than the head ; the males alone provided with wings, which lie hoi'izontally on the top of the back ; no beak in tliis sex ; females wingless, but ftirnished Avith beaks ; the feet with only one joint, terminated by a single claw ; skins tolerably firm and hard ; two slender threads at the extremity of the body , no piercer in the females. 1. IIaryest-flies. ^ (Cicadada;.) The most remarkable insects in this group are those to which naturalists now apply the name of Cicada. They are readily distinguished by their broad heads, the large and very convex eyes on each side, and the three eyelets on the crown ; by the transparent and veined Aving-covers and wings ; and by the elevation on the back part of the thorax in the form of the letter X. The males have a peculiar organization, Avhich enables them to emit an excessively loud buzzing kind of sound, Avhich, in some species, may be heard at the distance of a mile ; and the females are furnished Avith a curiously contrived piercer, for perforating tlie limbs of trees, in Avhich they place their eggs. Without attempting a detailed description of the complicated mechanism of these pai'ts, Avhich could only be made intelligible by means of figures, I shall merely give a brief and general account of them, which may suffice for the present occasion. The musical instruments of the male consist of a pair of kettle- dnims, one on each side of the body, and these, in the seventeen-year Cicada (or locust as it is generally but im- properly called in America), are plainly to be seen just behind the Avincrs. These drums are formed of conA^ex pieces of parchment, gathered into numerous fine plaits, and, in the species above named, are lodged in cavities on the sides of the body behind the thorax. They are not played upon with sticks, but by muscles or cords fastened to the inside of the drums. When these muscles contract and relax, which they do Avith great rapidity, the drum-heads THE HARVEST-FLIES. 205 are alternately tiglitened and loosened, recovering their nat- ural convexity by their own elasticity. The effect of this rapid alternate tension and relaxation is the production of a rattling sound, like that caused by a succession of quick ])ressures upon a slightly convex and elastic piece of tin plate. Certain cavities within the body of the insect, which may be seen on raising two large valves beneath the belly, and which are separated from each other by thin partitions having the transparency and brilliancy of mica, or of thin and highly polished glass, tend to increase the vibrations of the sounds, and/ add. greatly to their intensity. In most of our species of Cicada the drums are not visible on the out- side of the body, but are covered by convex triang-ular pieces on each side of the first ring behind the thorax, which must be cut away in order to expose them. On raising the large valves of the belly, however, there is seen, close to each side of the body, a little opening, like a pocket, in which the drum is lodged, and from which the sound issues when the insect opens the valves. The hinder extremity of the body of the female is conical, and the under side has a longitudinal channel for the reception of the piercer, wdiich is furthei'more protected by four short grooved pieces fixed in the sides of the channel. The piercer itself consists of three parts in close contact with each other ; namely, two outer ones grooved on the inside and enlarged at the tips, which externally are beset with small teeth like a saw, and a central, spear-pointed borer, which plays betAveen the other two. Thus this instrument has the power and does the work both of an awl and of a double-edged saAV, or rather of two key-hole saws cutting opposite to each other. No species of ^ Cicada possesses the power of leaping. The legs are rather short, and the anterior thighs are armed beneath with two stout spines. The duration of life in winged insects is comparatively very short, seldom exceeding two or three weeks in extent, and in many is limited to the same number of days or hours. 206 HEMIPTERA. To increase and multiply is their principal business in this period of their existence, if not the only one, and the natural term of their life ends when this is accomplished. In their previous states, however, they often pass a much longer time, the l*ingth of which depends, in great measure, upon the nature and abundance of their food. Thus maggots, which subsist upon decaying animal or vegetable matter, come more quickly to their growth than caterpillars and other insects which devour living plants ; the former are appointed to remove an offensive nviisance, and do their work quickly ; the latter have a longer time assigned to them, corresponding in some degree to the progress or continuance of vegetation. The facilities afforded for obtaining food influence the dura- tion of life ; hence those grubs that live in the solid trunks of perennial trees, which they are obliged to perforate in order to obtain nourishment, are longer lived than those that devour the tender parts of leaves and fruits, which last only for a season, and require no laborious efforts to be prepared for food. The harvest-flies continue only a few weeks after their final transformation, and their only nourishment consists of vegetable juices, which they obtain by piercing the bark and leaves of plants with their beaks ; and during this period they lay their eggs, and then perish. They are, however, amply compensated for the shortness of their life in the winged state by the length of their previous existence, during which they are wingless and ginib-like in form, and live under ground, where they obtain their food only by much labor in perforating the soil among the roots of plants, the juices of Avhich they imbibe by suction. To meet the diffi- culties of their situation and the precarious supply of their food, for which they have to grope in the dark in their subterranean retreats, a remarkable longevity is assigned to them ; and one species has obtained the name of Cicada septendecim, on account of its life being protracted to the period of seventeen years. This insect has been observed in the southeastern parts of THE CICADA SEPTENDECIM. 207 Massachusetts, and in the valley of the Connecticut River, as far north at least as Hadley ; but does not seem to have ex- tended to other parts of the State. The earliest account that we have of it is contained in Morton's " Memorial," wherein it is stated that " there was a numerous company of flies, which were like for bigness unto wasps or bumblebees," which a])peared in Plymouth in the spring of 1633. " They came out of little holes in the ground, and did eat up the green things, and made such a constant yelling noise as made the woods ring of them, and ready to deafen the hearers." Judge Davis, in the Appendix to his edition of Secretary Morton's " Memorial," states that these insects appeared in Plymouth, Sandwich, and Falmouth, in the year 1804 ; but, if the exact period of seventeen years had been observed, they should have returned in 1803. Circumstances may occasionally retard or accelerate then' progress to maturity, but the usual interval is certainly seventeen years, accord- ing to the observations and testimony of many persons of undoubted veracity. Their occurrence in large swarms at long intervals, like that of the migratoiy locusts of the East, probably suggested the name of locusts, which has commonly been applied to them in this country. The following extract from a letter * from the late Rev. Ezra Shaw Goodwin, of Sandwich, contains some interesting particulars which this gentleman had the kindness to communicate to me. " I have not been unmindful of what you said to me re- specting the locust insects, nor of the promise I made you with respect to them. They appeared in this town in the year 1821, in the middle of June. Their last previous ap- pearance was in 1801, and their last, previous to that, was in 1787. I ascertained these periods from the statements of individuals, Avho remembered that it was locust-year when this or that event occurred ; as, when this one was married, or that one's eldest son was born ; events, the date of which the husband or the parent would not be very likely * Dated October 19, 1832. 208 HEMIPTERA. to forget. The remembrance of all, though fixed by differ- ent events, concurred in establishing the same years for the appearance of the locusts. " I first took notice of them in 1821, on the 17th of June, from their noise. They appeared chiefly in the forests, or in thickets of forest-trees, principally oak. Their nearest distance from my dwelling cannot be far from a mile ; yet, at a still hour, their music Avas distinctly heard there. On going to visit them, I found the oak-ti-ees and bushes swarm- ing with them in a winged state. They came up ovit of the ground a creeping insect. Very soon after they had ar- rived on the surface of the earth, the skin, or rather the shell of the insect, burst upon the back, and the winged insect came forth, leaving the skin or shell upon the earth, in a perfect form, and uninjured, saving at the rui)ture on the back ; showing an entire withdrawing of the living ani- mal, as much so as does the snake's skin after he has left it. Thus these skins lay in immense numbers under the trees, entirely empty, and perfect in shape. The winged insects did not, so far as I could ascertain, eat anything. Motion and propagation appeared to be the whole object of their existence. Tliey continued about four or five weeks, and then died." Previous to this event " the females laid their effo-s in the tender parts of oak branches, near the extremi- ties, making a longitudinal furrow, and depositing rows of eggs therein (Fig. 86). They then sawed the branch partly off below the eggs, so that the wind could twist off the extreme part containing the eggs, and let it fall to the ground. In this way they injured the trees extensively. The forest had a gloomy appearance from the number of these extremities partially twisted off, and hanging, with their dead leaves, ready to fall. In a few weeks they were nearly all separated from the trees, and carried their vital burdens to the earth, which was, certainly, well seeded for a harvest in 1838. I know of no other damage which they did I believe the locusts appear in different places, in THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA. 209 different years, and understand that the locust-year, in some places not far distant, is different from their *^' year in this town." This letter was ac- companied by specimens of the insects, in their various states, obtained and preserved by Mr. Goodwin. The writer of an ai*- ticle in the " Boston Magazine " for Novem- ber, 1784, observes that Mr. IMorton must have been mistaken as to these insects, in saying that they eat up the green things, which from the structure of their mouths we now know could not have been the case. This writer also records the appearance of these insects in 1784, and the place of his residence, in which this occurred, is believed to liavc been in the County of Bristol ; which coincides with the remark made by Mr. Goodwin, that in different places they appear in different years. This remark is furthermore con- firmed by the observations of various persons * who have * Among the authorities which I have consulted upon the history of the seven- teen-year Cicada, may be mentioned the Rev. Andrew Sandel, of Philadelphia, an abstract of whose account is given in the 4th vol. of Mitchill and Miller's "Medical Repository," p. 71; the "Columbian Magazine," Vol. I., pages 86 and 108; ^Ir. Moses Bartram's account in Dodsley's "Annual Register" for 1767, p 103; Dr. McMurtrie, in the 8th vol. of the "EncyclopEedia Americana," p. 43; Dr. S. P. Hildreth's interesting account in the 10th vol. of Silliman's " American Journal of Science," p. 327; and a pamphlet entitled "Notes on the Locusta," &c., with which I have been favored by the author, Pfofessor Nathaniel Potter, 27 210 HEMIPTERA. publislied accounts of the occurrence of these insects in the Middle, Southern, and Western States, where, at regular in- tervals of seventeen years, varying according to the locality, they are seen even in greater abundance than in Massachu- setts. The following dates and places of their ascent are jnven in Professor Potter's " Notes on the Locusta decern Septima " \/( CVca£?« septendechn) x Maryland, 1749, 1766, 1783, 1800, 1817, 1834 ; South Carolina and Georgia, 1817, 1834 ; Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1826 ; Louisiana, 1829 ; Gallipolis, Ohio, 1821, and Muskingum, 1829 ; west- ern parts of Pennsylvania, 1832 ; Fall River, Massachusetts, 1834. To these may be added from other sources, Penn- sylvania, 1715, 1766, 1783, 1800, 1817 ; * Marietta, Ohio, 1795, 1812 ; Plymouth, 1633, 1804 ; SandAvich, 1787, 1804, 1821 ; Hadley, 1818 ; Westfield, 1835 ; North Haven, Conn., 1724, 1741, 1758, 1792, 1809, 1826, 1843 ; Genesee Coun- ty, New York, 1832; Martha's Vineyard, 1833. From information derived from various sources it appears that this species is widely spread over the country, with the exception only of the northern parts of New England ; and that it may be seen in some portion of the United States almost every year ; and, although certain disturbing causes may occasionally accelerate or retaixl the return of individuals, or even of an entire swarm, in any one place, yet the lineal descendants of one particular faniily or swarm will ordina- rily come forth only once in seventeen years, Avhile those of other swarms may appear, after equally regular intervals, in the intervening period, in other places. of Baltimore. This last work is exclusively devoted to the history of this insect, and has afforded me much valuable information. From these various sources I have selected the principal facts which follow. Mr. Collins's " Observations on the Cicada of North America," published in the " Philosophical Transactions" of London, Vol. LIV. p. 65, with a pl.ate, probably refer to the seveiiteen-year Cica- da, but the insects figured are not the same, and seem to be the Cicada jjruinosa of Mr. Say. * A writer in the " United States Gazette " records the appearance of these insects in great numbers in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on the 2bth of May, at four successive periods. • THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA. 211 The seventeen-year Cicada (^Cicada ssptendecim of Lin- naeus), (Plate III. Fig. 7,) in the winged state, is of a black color, with transparent wings and wing-covers, the thick anterior edge and larger veins of which are orange-red, and near the tips of the latter there is a dusky zigzag line in the form of the letter W ; the eyes when living are also red ; the rings of the body are edged with dull orange ; and the legs are of the same color. The wings expand from 2^ to 3^ inches. In those parts of Massachusetts which are subject to the visitation of this Cicada, it may be seen in forests of oak about the middle of June. Here such immense numbers are sometimes congregated, as to bend and even break down the limbs of the trees by their weight, and the woods re- sound with the din of their discordant drums from morning to evening. After pairing, the females proceed to prepare a nest for the reception of their eggs. They select, for this purpose, branches of a moderate size, Avhich they clasp on both sides with their legs, and then, bending down the piercer at an angle of about forty-five degrees, they repeatedly thrust it obliquely into the bark and wood in the direction of the fibres, at the same time putting in motion the latei'al saws, and in this way detach little splinters of the wood at one end, so as to form a kind of fibrous lid or cover to the perforation. The hole is bored obliquely to the pith, and is gradually enlarged by a repetition of the same operation, till a longitudinal fissure is formed of sufficient extent to receive from ten to twenty eggs. The side-pieces of the piercer serve as a groove to convey the eggs into the nest, where they are deposited in pairs, side by side, but separated from each other by a portion of woody fibre, and they are implanted into the limb somewhat obliquely, so that one end points upwards. When two eggs have been thus placed, the insect withdraws the piercer for a moment, and then inserts it again and drops two more eggs in a line with the first, and repeats the operation till she has filled the fissure 212 HEMIPTERA. from one end to the other, upon which she removes to a Httle distance, and begins to make another nest to contain two more rows of egijs. She is about fifteen minutes in preparing a single nest and filhng it with eggs ; but it is not unusual for her to make fifteen or twenty fissures in the same hmb ; and one observer counted fifty nests extending along in a line, each containing fifteen or twenty eggs in two rows, and all of them apparently the work of one in- sect.* After one limb is thus sufficiently stocked, the Cicada goes to another, and passes from limb to limb and from tree to tree, till her store, which consists of four or five hundred eggs, is exhausted. At length she becomes so weak by her incessant labors to provide for a succession of her kind, as to falter and fall in attempting to fly, and soon dies. Although the Cicadas abound most upon the oak, they resort occasionally to other forest-trees, and even to shrubs, when impelled by the necessity for depositing their eggs, and not unfrequently commit them to fruit-trees, when the latter are in their vicinity. Indeed there seem to be no trees or shrubs that are exempted from their attacks, except those of the pine and fir tribes, and of these even the white cedar is sometimes invaded by them. The punctured limbs languish and die soon after the eggs which are placed in them are hatched ; they are broken by the winds or by their own weight, and either remain hanging by the bark alone, or fall with their withered foliage to the ground. In this way orchards have suffered severely in consequence of the in- jurious punctures of these insects. The eggs are one twelfth of an inch long, and one six- teenth of an inch through the middle, but taper at each end to an obtuse point, and are of a pearl-white color. The shell is so thin and delicate that the fonn of the included insect can be seen before the egg is hatched, which occurs, according to Dr. Potter, in fifty-two days after it is laid, but * See also my communication in Downing's Horticulturist, Vol. III. p. 278, Dec., 1848. THE SEVENTEEN- YEAR CICADA, 213 Miss Morris says in forty-two days, and other persons say in fourteen days. The young insect when it hursts the shell is one sixteenth of an inch long, and is of a yellowish-white color, except the eyes and the claws of the fore legs, which are reddish ; and it is covered with little hairs. In form it is somewhat grub- like, being longer in proportion than the pareiit insect, and is furnished with six legs, the first pair of which are veiy large, shaped almost like lobster-claAvs, and armed with stron"- spines beneath. On the shoulders are little prominences in the place of wings ; and under the breast is a long beak for suction. These little creatures when liberated from the shell are very lively, and their movements are nearly as quick as those of ants. After a few moments their instincts prompt them to get to the ground, but in order to reach it they do not descend the body of the tree, neither do they cast off themselves precipitately ; but, running to the side of the limb, they deliberately loosen their hold, and fall to the earth. It seems, then, that they are not borne to the ground in the egg state by the limbs in which their nests are contained, but spontaneously make the perilous descent, immediately after they are hatched, without any clew, like that of the canker- worm, to carry them in safety through the air and break the force of their fall. The instinct which impels them thus fearlessly to precipitate themselves from the trees, from heights of wliich they can have formed no conception, with- out any experience or knowledge of the result of their adven- turous leap, is still more remarkable than that which carries the gosling- to the water as soon as it is hatched. In those actions that are the result of foresight, of memory, or of experience, animals are controlled by their OAvn reason, as in those to which they are led by the use of their ordinary senses, or by the indulgence of their common appetites, they may be said to be governed by the laws of their organization ; but in such as arise from special and extraordinary instincts, we see the most striking proofs of that creative wisdom 214 H E M I P T E R A . which has implanted in them an unerring guide, where rea- son, the senses, and the appetites would fail to direct them. The manner of the young Cicadas' descent, so different from that of other insects, and seeming to require a special in- stinct to this end, would be considered incredible, perhaps, if it had not been ascertained and repeatedly contirmed by persons who have witnessed the proceeding. On reaching the ground the insects immediately bury themselves in the soil, burrowing by means of their broad and strong fore feet, which, like those of the mole, are admirably adapted for dig- ging. In their descent into the earth they seem to follow the ^ Fig 87. roots of plants, and are subsequently found attached to those which are most tender and succulent, perforating them with their beaks, and thus imbibing the vegetable juices which constitute their sole nourishment. (Fig. 87.) Miss Margaretta H. Morris, who attributes the decline of the pear-tree and the failure of its fruits to depredations of the young Cicadas on its roots, has given interesting accounts of her observations upon these insects. On removing the earth from " a pear-tree that had been declining for years, without any apparent cause," she " found the larvae of the Cicada in countless numbers clinging to the roots of the tree, with their suckers piercing the bark, and so deep and firmly placed, that they remained hanging for half an hour after being removed from the earth. From a root a yard long, THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA. 215 and about an inch in diameter, she gathered twenty-tliree larvse ; they Avere of various sizes, ft'om a qviarter of an inch to an inch in length. They were on all the roots that grew deeper than six inches below the surface. The roots were unhealthy, and bore the appearance of external injury from small punctures. On removing the outer coat of bark, this appearance increased, leaving no doubt as to the cause of the disease." * The grubs do not appear ordinarily to descend very deeply into the ground, but remain where roots are most abundant ; and it is probable that the accounts of their having been dis- covered ten or twelve feet from the top of the ground have been founded on some mistake, or the occurrence of the insects at such a depth may have been the result of accident. The only alteration to which the insects are subject, during the long period of their subterranean confinement, is an increase of size, and the more complete development of the four small scale-like prominences on their backs, which rep- resent and actually contain their future wings. As the time of their transformation approaches, they grad- ually ascend towards the surface, making in their progress cylindrical passages, oftentimes very circuitous, and seldom exactly perpendicular, the sides of which, according to Dr. Potter, are firmly cemented and varnished so as to be water- proof. These burrows are about five eighths of an inch in diameter, are filled below with earthy matter removed by the insect in its progress, and can be traced by the color and compactness of their contents to the depth of from one to two feet, according to the nature of the soil ; but the upper por- tion to the extent of six or eight inches is empty, and serves as a habitation for the insect till the period for its exit arrives. Here it remains during several days, ascending to the top of the hole in fine weather for the benefit of the warmth and the air, and occasionally peeping forth, apparently to recon- * Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Nov. and Dec, 1846; and Downing's Horticulturist, Vol. H. p. 16, July, 1847. 216 HEMIPTERA. noitre, but descending again on the occuri'ence of cold or wet weatlier. During their temporary residence in these burrows near the surface, the Cicada grubs, or more properly pupge, for such they are to be considered at this period, though they still retain something of a gnib-like form, acqviire strength for further efforts by exposure to the light and air, and seem then only to wait for a favorable moment to issue from their sub- terranean retreats. When at length this arrives, they issue from the ground in great numbers in the night, crawl up the trunks of trees, or upon any other object in their vicinity to which they can fasten themselves securely by their claAvs. After having rested awhile, they prepare to cast off" their skins, which, in the mean time, have become dry and of an amber color. By repeated exertions, a longitudinal rent is made in the skin of the back, and through this the included Cicada pushes its head and body, and withdraws its wings and limbs from their separate cases, and, crawling to a little distance, it leaves its empty pupa-skin, apparently entire, still fastened to the tree. At first the wing-covers and wings are very small and opaque, but, being perfectly soft and flexible, they soon stretch out to their full dimensions, and in the course of a few hours the superfluous moisture of the body evaporates, and the insect becomes strong enough to fly. During several successive nights the pupte continue to issue from the earth ; above fifteen hundred have been found to arise beneath a single apple-tree, and in some places the whole surface of the soil, by their successive operations, has appeared as full of holes as a honeycomb. In Alabama the species under consideration leaves the ground in Februaiy and jNIarch, in Maryland and Pennsylvania in May, but in Massachusetts it does not come forth till near the middle of June. Within about a fortnight after their final transforma- tion they begin to lay their eggs, and in the space of six weeks the whole generation becomes extinct. Fortunately these insects are appointed to return only at THE DOG-DAY HARVEST-FLY. 217 periods so distant that vegetation often lias time to recover from the injury inflicted by them ; but were they to appear at shorter intervals, our forest and fruit trees would soon be entirely destroyed by them. They are moreover subject to many accidents, and have many enemies, Avhich contribute to diminish their numbers. Their eggs are eaten by birds ; the young, when they first issue from the shell, are preyed upon by ants, which mount the trees to feed upon them, or destroy them when they are about to enter the ground. Blackbirds eat them Avhen turned up by the plough in fields, and hogs are excessively fond of them, and, when suffered to go at large in the woods, root them up, and devour immense numbers just before the arrival of the period of their final transformation, when they are lodged immediately under the surface of the soil. It is stated that many perish in the egg state, by the rapid growth of the bark and wood, which closes the perforations and buries the eggs before they have hatched ; and many, without doubt, are killed by their peril- ous descent from the trees. There are sevei-al other harvest-flies in the United States, the males of which are musical ; but their drums are con- cealed within little cavities in the sides of the first abdominal ring. One of these is found in Massachusetts, and, thoujih it never appears in such great numbers as the preceding species, it is more common or more generally met with throughout the State. It may be called the dog-day harvest-fly, or Cicada canicularis (Fig. 88}, from the circumstance of its in- variably appearing with the beginning of dog-days. During many years in succession, with only one or two exceptions, I have heard this insect, on the 25th of July, for the first time in the season, drumming in the trees, on some part of the day between the hours of ten in the morning and two in the afternoon. It is true that all do not muster on the same day ; for at first they are few in number, and scattered at great distances from each other ; new-comers, however, are added from day to day, till, in a short time, almost every 28 218 HEMIPTERA. tree seems to have its musician, and the rolling of their drums may be heard in every direction. This circumstance, however, does not render it any the less remarkable that the first of the band should keep their appointed time with such extreme regularity. The dog-day harvest-fly measures about one inch and six tenths from the front to the tips of the wing-covers, which, when spread, expand about three inches. Fig. 88. Its body is black on the upper side ; the under side of the head, the breast, and the sides of the belly are covered Avith a white substance resembling flour ; the top of the head and the thorax are ornamented with olive-green lines and char- acters, one of which, in the shape of the letter W, is very conspicuous ; the legs, and the front edge and principal veins of the wing-covers and of the wings are also green, and there is a dusky zigzag spot on the little cross-veins near the tip of the wing-covers ; and the valves beneath the body of the males are wider than long. This species has heretofore been mistaken for the^Cicada pruinosa, or frosted harvest-fly, described by Mr. Say, which is found in the Middle States, measures two inches to the tips of the wing-covers, has a white spot each side of the base of the abdomen, a second on the middle of the sides, and a third near to the tip, and has the valves of the males longer than wide.* I am not aware * The, form and proportions of the abdomhial valves have decided me to sepa- rate the caniculnris from Mr. Say's pruinosa, although, with the exception of their difference in size, they present no other constant characters which will invariably THE HARVEST-FLIES. 219 that the females of the dog-day harvest-fly prefer to lay their eggs in one rather than in another kind of tree ; for I have taken the pupae emerging from the ground beneath cherry, maple, and elm trees, and it is probable that they could not have travelled far from the trees upon which, when young, they were hatched, and upon the trunks of which they finally leave their vacant shells. These have much the same form and appearance as the pupa-shells of the seventeen-year har- vest-fly, but are considerably larger. Some individuals of this species continue with us as late as the end of September, As they are not very numerous, the injury sustained by the trees from their punctures is comparatively small. The other harvest-flies of this country have only two eye- lets, and are not furnished with musical instruments ; but they enjoy the faculty of leaping, which the Cicadas do not. This faculty does not, as in the grasshoppers and other leap- ing insects, result from an enlargement of their hindmost thifrhs, w^hich do not differ much in thickness from the others ; but is owing to the length of their hindmost shanks, or to the bristles and spines with which these parts are clothed and tipped. These spines serve to fix the hind legs securely to the surface, and, when the insect suddenly unbends its legs, its body is launched forward in the air. Some of these harvest-flies, when assisted by their wings, will leap to the distance of five or six feet, which is more than two hundred and fifty times their own length ; in the serve to distinguish them from each other.2 In my collection are four more na- tive species of C/catZa ; namely, the TT«feto of Germar, our largest species, from North Carolina; a second specie>, apparently undescriljed, about equal to this in magnitude, from Long Island, New York; the iibicen of Linn^us, also from New York, and quite common even within the city; and thernieroglyphica of Say, ■which, I believe, was captured in Florida, and was presented to me by Mr. Ed- ward Doubleday. A specimen of theMj6jC6n, or some other large species, has been taken in Massachusetts, but I have not the individual to refer to at this time. [2 This is nothing more than a local variety of C- pruinosa, Say; there is no persistency in the form and length of the abdominal valves, and the coloration and extent of ^riH'«(-»sewes« upon the iasect depend upon various contingencies to which it is liable. — Uhler.] 220 HEMIPTERA. same proportion, " a man of ordinary stature should be able at once to vault through the air to the distance of a quarter of a mile." Some of these leaping harvest-tiies have the fliC3 nearly vertical, and the thorax very large, tapering to a point behind, covering the whole of the upper side of the body, and overtopping even the head, which is not visible from above. These belong chiefly to the genus MemhraciSy to which allusion has already been made ; and, as they are found mostly on the limbs of trees and shrubs, they may receive the name of tree-hoppers.* In others the face slopes downwards towards the breast, the thorax is of moderate size, and does not extend much, if at all, beyond the base of the wing-covers, and does not conceal the head when viewed from above. Some of the insects, with this small- sized thorax, are familiarly called, in English works, cuckoo- spit, and frog-hoppers, and to others may be applied the name of leaf-hoppers, because they live mostly on the leaves of plants. The thorax differs very much in shape in different kinds of tree-hoppers (Membracidid^), and the variations of this part are productive of many odd forms among these insects, and particularly in foreign species. Among the species in- habiting; Massachusetts, there are some in which the thorax forms a thin and high arched crest over the body, as in ^ Membracis camelus of Fabricius, and the vait of my Cata- logue.^ To these the name of ^Memhracis^ which means sharp-edged, is most applicable. In other species (J/, emar- ginata and sinuata of Fabricius, and eoncava of Say*) the crest of the thorax is deeply notched on the top. In others the whole of the thorax is not elevated longitudinally in the middle, but only in some part; thus^/. Ampehpsidis^ has an oblong square crest on the middle of the thorax ; 31. hi- * Mr. Rennie, in the " Library of Entertaining Knowledge," has misapplied this name to the Cicadas, which do not leap. ■O [3 Both belong toithe genus Smilia, Amyot. — Uhler.] <'- [^M emnrginntrq sinuata, and eoncava belong to Entilia, Amyot. — Uiiler.] r [ ^^M. ampelopsidis belongs to Ttlamoiui, Fitch. — Uhler ] THE TREE-HOPPERS. 221 C' maculata of Fabricius and univittata^ of my Catalogue have a thin horn-hke projection, blunt, however, at the end, ex- tending obliquely forwards and upwards from the fore part of the thorax ; and^Jf". binotata an(Platii)e8 ^ of Say have a similarly situated horn, narrower however, and curved, so as to give to the insects, when viewed sidewise, the shape of a bird ; and, lastly, in'-' 3/. bubalas of FabriciusP diceros of Say, ancPtaurina^ of my Catalogue, the ridge of the tho- rax, viewed from above, has somewhat the shape of the letter T, becoming broad at the fore part, and extending outwards on each side like a pair of short thick horns, which gave rise to the foregoing specific names, meaning buffalo, two-horned, and kine-like. The habits of some of the tree-hoppers are presumed to be much the same as those of the musical harvest-flies, for they are found on the limbs of trees, where they deposit their eggs, only during the adult state, and probably pass the early period of their existence in the ground. Others, however, are known to live and undergo all their changes on the stems of plants. Among the former is our largest native species, the two-spotted tree-hopper, or Mem- o^^^ bracis bimaculata* of Fabricius (Fig. 89), which may be found in great abundance on the limbs of the locust-tree (^Robinia pseudacacid) during the months of September and October. These, as well as other tree-hoppers, show but little activity Avhen undis- turbed, remaining without motion for hours together on the limbs of the trees ; but on the approach of the fingers, they leap vigorously, and, spreading their wings at the same time, * Fabricius describes the male only under this name; the female is his Mem- bracis acuminata. This species belongs to Professor Germar's new genus, Btmi- ptycha.^ . [6 M. bimaculata and univhtata belong to Thella, Amyot. — Uhler.] \J^M. binotata unitcatipes belong to Euchenom, Amyot. — Uhleu.] r ^M. bubalus, diceros, anataurina belong to Ceresa, Amvot. — Uhler. 1 L o O [9 It might be added, that this genus is now restricted t(rMembracis j)unciata, Fab., and a few allied species. — Uhler.] 222 HEMIPTERA. fly to another limb and settle there, in the same position as before. They never sit across the hmbs, but always in the direction of their length, with the head or forepart of the body towards tlie extremity of the branches. On account of their peculiar form, which is that of a thick cone Avith a very oblique direction, their dark color, and their fixed pos- ture while perching, they would readily be mistaken for the thorns of the tree, a circumstance undoubtedly intended for their preservation. Other instances have been mentioned displaying proofs of equal wisdom in the formation of insects. Thus, in the leaf-insects, grasshoppers, and walking-sticks, which live in trees, the latter exactly simulating a little twig- in appearance, and the others having the form and color of leaves, their resemblance to the objects among Avliich they have been destined to live has doubtless been given to them with the express design of screening them from their enemies of the feathered race. Many other examples of the same kind might be mentioned, did time and the limits of my subject warrant ; but these alone suffice to show that special provision has been Avisely made in the construction of cer- tain defenceless animals with a view to secure them from observation. Surely insects, the most despised of God's creation, are not unworthy our study, since they are objects of His care and subjects of a special providence. But to return to our locust tree-hopper, Avhich remains to be described; — it measures about half an inch from the tip of the horn to the end of the body ; the male is black- ish above, with a long yellow spot on each side of the back ; and the female is ash-colored, and Avithout spots. While on the trees, these insects, though perfectly still, are not vniem- ployed ; but puncture the bark with their sharp and slender beaks, and imbibe the sap for nourishment. The female also appears to commit her eggs to the protection of the tree, being furnished with a piercer beneath the extremity of her body, Avith Avhich to make suitable perforations in the branches. As I have never seen the young on these trees, THE TREE-HOPPERS. 223 I presume that, as soon as they are hatched, they make their way to the ground, and remain under the surface of the soil, sucking the sap from the roots of plants, until they are about to enter upon their last period of existence, when they crawl up the trunks of the trees, throw off their coats, and appear in the perfect or winged state. From the great numbers of these tree-hoppers which exist in certain seasons, the locust-trees undoubtedly suffer much, not only in conse- quence of the quantity of sap abstracted fi'om their branches, but from the numerous punctures made by the insects in obtaining it and in laying their eggs. The oak-tree is attacked by another species, the white- lined tree-hopper \ilf. univittata), which may be found upon it during the month of July. It is about four tenths of an inch in length ; the thorax is brown, has a short obtuse horn extending obliquely upwards from its fore part, and there is a white line on the back, extending from the top of the horn to the hinder extremity. The common creeper (^Ampelopsis qidnquefolid) is inhabit- ed by a tree-hopper, which has an oblong square and thin elevation or crest on the middle of the thorax. Its body is usually of a reddish ash-color, and the thorax is ornamented with three reddish-brown bands, one of which is above the head and extends transversely between the lateral projecting angles of the thorax, the second is a short and oblique line on each side of the front part of the crest, and the third is also oblique, and begins on the outer edge of the thorax, and passes obliquely forwards on each side to the top of the hind part of the crest. '"" '^' This species may be CdWadiMemhracis Ampelopsidis * (Figs. 90 and 91), from the plant on wliich it is found in the perfect state. The young appear to live in the earth till they are fully grown and have acquired the rudiments of wing-covers and wings, or have become pupae, lO * It is the Memhracis Cissl of my Catalogue. 224 HEMIPTERA. after which they are seen ascending the stems of the creeper, on which they change their skins for the last time. Tliis occurs from the middle to the end of June- There is a little tree-hopper, which is found during the months of July and August on the wax-work, or Celastrus scandens, accompanied usually by its young. When fully grown, it is nearly three tenths of an inch in length, including the horn of the thorax ; is of a dusky brown color, with two yellowish spots on the ridge of the back ; and the first four shanks are exceedingly broad and flat. It is the two-spot- ted tree-hopper, or Memhracis hinotata of Say. When seen sidewise it presents a profile much like that of a bird, the head and neck of which are represented by the curved projecting horn of the thorax ; and a group of these little tree-hoppers, of various sizes, clustered together on a stem of the Avax-work, may be likened to a flock of old and young partridges. They appear to p^ss through all their transformations on the plant, are fond of society, and sit close together, with their heads all in the same direction. Tree-hoppers are often surrounded by ants, for the sake of their castings, and for the sap which oozes from the punc- tures made by the former, of Avhich the ants are very fond. Those kinds that live on the stems of plants fi'om the time when they are hatched till they are fully grown, are very closely attended by ants ; and as from their constant suck- ing the young become often wet, their careiul attendants, the ants, find regular employment in wiping them clean and dry with their antennas and tongues. The remaining Homopterous insects have a thorax of moderate size, not tapering to a point behind, and not cov- ering the whole body as in the preceding species. Their heads are visible from above, and the face slopes downwards towards the breast. Here may be arranged the singular insects called frog- hoppers (Cercopidid^), which pass their whole lives on plants, on the stems of which their eggs are laid in the THE LEAF-HOPPERS. 225 autumn. The following summer they are hatched, and the young immediately perforate the bark with their beaks, and begin to imbibe the sap. They take in such quantities of this, that it oozes out of their bodies continually, in the form of little bubbles, which soon completely cover up the insects. They thus remain entirely buried and concealed in large masses of foam, until they have completed their final trans- formation, on which account the names of cuckoo-spittle, frog-spittle, and frog-hoppers have been applied to them. We have several species of these frog-hoppers in Massachu- setts, and the spittle, with which they are sheltered from the sun and air, may be seen in great abundance, during the summer, on the stems of our alders and willows. In the perfect state they are not thus protected, but are found on the plants, in the latter part of summer, fully grown and preparing to lay their eggs. In this state they possess the power of leaping in a still more remarkable degree than the tree-hoppers ; and, for this purpose, the tips of their hind shanks are surrounded with little spines, and the first two joints of their feet have a similar coronet of spine's at their extremities. Their thorax narrows a little behind, and projects somewhat between the bases of the wing-covers ; their bodies are rather short, and their wing-covers are al- most horizontal and quite broad across the middle, which, with the shortness of their legs, gives them a squat appear- ance.* Q The leaf-hoppers (Tettigoniad^) leap almost as well as the spittle-insects just mentioned ; bvit their hind legs are longer, are not surrounded Avith coronets of short spines, but are three-sided, and generally fringed on two of their edges o * The following species are found in Massachusetts, namely: Cercopis ignipecta of my Catalogue, and t)\e^aralltla~qundrangukiris, nnA^obtum, of Say. The last three belong to Germar's genus Aphrophora,\ which means spume-bearer. Cercopis, which may be translated impostor, was applied by the Greeks to a small Cicada. y^Clastopttra protevs, an insect of this class which does great injury to the cran- berry crop in some parts of Massachusetts, but of whose habits very little has been ascertained, is figured on Plate HI. Fig. 6. — Ed ] 29 226 HEMIPTERA. with numerous long and slender spines, which contribute, like the coronets of the frog-hoppers, to fix their slianks firmly when they are about to leap. The leaf-hoppers have been divided, by Professor Germar and other entomologists, into many genera, according to the structure of their legs, the situation of the eyelets, and the form of the head ; but we may retain them, without inconvenience, in the genus Tettigonia^ proposed for them by Geoifroy, or rather adopted from the ancient Greeks, who gave this nape to the small kinds of harvest-flies, calling the larger ones Tettix. The Tettigonians, or leaf-hoppers, have the head and tho- rax somewhat like those of frog-hoppei's, but their bodies are, in general, proportionally longer, not so broad across the middle, and not so much flattened. The head, as seen from above, is broad, and either crescent-shaped, semicir- cular, or even extended forwards in the form of a triangle ; its upper side is more or less flattened, and the face slopes downwards towards the breast at an acute angle with the top of the head. The thorax is wider than long, with the front margin curving forwards, the hind margin transverse, or not extended between the wing-covers, which space is filled by a pretty lai'ge triangular scutel or escutcheon. The wing-covers are generally opaque, rather long and narrow, and more or less inclined at the sides of the body, not flat however, but moulded somewhat to the form of the body, and the wings are rather shorter and broader, not netted like those of the tree-hoppers, but strengthened by a few longitudinal veins. The eyes, which are distant from each other, and placed at the sides of the head, are pretty large, but flattish, and not globular as in the Cicadas; and the eyelets, which are rarely wanting, vary in their situation, being sometimes on the top and sometimes below the front edffe of the head. Notwithstanding the small size of most of these insects, they are deserving our attention on account of their beauty, delicacy, and surprising agility, as well as for the injury sustained by vegetation from them. THE VINE-HOPPERS. 227 It is stated by the late Mr. Fessenden, in the " New American Gardener," that some persons in this country have entirely " abandoned their grape-vines " in consequence of the depredations of a small insect, which, for many years, was supposed to be the vine-fretter of Europe. It is not, however, the same insect, but is a leaf-hopper, and was first described by me in the year 1831, in the eighth volume „ of the " Encyclopaedia Americana," * under the name of Tettigonia Vitis \Plate III. Fig. 5). In its perfect state it measures one tenth of an inch in length. It is of a pale yellow or straw color ; there are two little red lines on the head ; the back part of the thorax, the scutel, the base of the wing-covers, and a broad band across their middle, are scarlet ; the tips of the wing-covers are blackish, and there are some little red lines between the broad band and the tips. The head is crescent-shaped above, and the eyelets are situated just below the ridge of the front. The vine-hoppers, as they may be called, inhabit the for- eign and the native grape-vines, on the under surface of the leaves of which they may be found during the greater part of the summer ; for they pass through all their changes on the vines. They make their first appearance on the leaves in June, when they are very small and not provided with wings, being then in the larva state. Durino; most of the time they remain perfectly quiet, with their beaks thrust into the leaves, from which they derive their nourishment by suction. If disturbed, however, they leap from one leaf to another with great agility. As they increase in size they have occasion frequently to change their skins, and great numbers of their empty cast-skins, of a white color, will be found, throughout the summer, adhering to the under sides of the leaves and upon the ground beneath the vines. When arrived at maturity, which generally occurs during the month of August, they are still more agile than before, making use of their delicate wings as well as their legs in * Article Locust, p. 43. 228 HEMIPTERA. their motions from place to place ; and when the leaves are agitated, they leap and fly from them in swarms, but soon alight and begin again their destructive operations. The infested leaves at length become yellow, sickly, and prematurely dry, and give to the vine at midsummer the aspect it naturally assumes on the approach of winter. But this is not the only injury arising from the exhausting punc- tures of the vine-hoppers. In consequence of the interrup- tion of the important functions of the leaves, the plant itself languishes, the stem does not increase in size, very little new wood is formed, or, in the language of the gardeners, the canes do not ripen well, the fruit is stunted and mildews, and, if the evil be allowed to go on unchecked, in a few years the vines become exhausted, barren, and worthless. In the autumn the vine-hoppers desert the vines, and retire for shelter durins: the comino; winter beneath fallen leaves and among the decayed tufts and roots of grass, where they remain till the following spring, when they emerge from their winter-quarters, and in due time deposit their eggs upon the leaves of the vine, and then perish. As the vine-hoppers are much more hardy and more vivacious than the European vine-fretters or i)lant-lice, the applications that have proved destructive to the latter are by no means so efficacious with the former. Fumigations with tobacco, beneath a movable tent placed over the trel- lises, answer the purpose completely.* They require fre- quent repetition, and considerable care is necessary to pre- vent the escape and insure the destruction of the insects ; circumstances which render the discovery of some more expeditious method an object to those whose vineyards are extensive. There is another little leaf-hopper that has been mistaken for a vine-fretter or Thrips, though never found upon the grape-vine. It lives upon the leaves of rose-bushes, and is * See Fessenden's "New American Gardener," p. 299, for a description of the tent and of the process of fumigation. THE BEAN LEAF- HOPPER. 220 very injurious to them. In its perfect state it is rather less than three twentieths of an inch long. Its body is yellowish white, its wing-covers and wings are white and transparent, and its eyes, claws, and piercer brown. The male has two recurved appendages at the tip of its hind body. It may be callecr Tetti(jonia Hosce* Swarms of these insects may be found, in various stages of growth, on the leaves of the rose-bush, through the greater part of summer, and even in winter upon housed plants. Their numerous cast skins may be seen adhering to the lower side of the leaves. They pair and lay their eggs about the middle of June, and they probably live through the winter in the perfect state, con- cealed under fallen leaves and rubbish on the surface of the ground. Fumigations with tobacco, and the application of a solution of whale-oil soap in water with a syringe, are the best means for destroying these leaf-hoppers. I have found that the Windsor bean, a variety of the Vicia Faha of Linnaeus, is subject to the attacks of a species of leaf-hopper, particularly during dry seasons, and when cultivated in light soils. In the early part of summer the insects are so small and so light-colored that they easily escape observation, and it is not till the beginning of July, when the beans are usually large enough to be gathered for the table, that the ravages of the insects lead to their discovery. A large proportion of tlie pods will then be found to be rough, and covered with little dark-colored dots or scars, and many of them seem to be unusually spongy and not well filled. On opening these spongy pods, we find that the beans have not grown to their proper size, and if they are left on the plant they cease to enlarge. At the same time the leaves, pods, and stalks are more or less in- fested with little leaf-hoppers, not fully grown, and unpro- vided with wings. Usually between the end of July and * This insect may be the Cicada Bosce of LinnjEus. or lassus Rnsce of Fabricius. SJ s. or jassHs nosce or i^ aorjc tTettiaonia Fubce. The 7 It belongs to Dr. Fitch's genni^Empoa, as also does^etti^onia Faboe. The Tttti- i^onia Vitit is surErythroneura of the same author. 230 Hf:MIPTERA. the middle of August the insects come to their growth and acquire their wings ; but the mischief at this time is finished, and the plants have suffered so much that all prospect of a second crop of beans, from new shoots produced after the old stems are cut down, is frustrated. These leaf-hoppers have the same agility in their motions, and apparently the same habits, as the vine-hoppers ; but in the perfect state they are longer, more slender, and much more delicate. They are of a pale green color; the wing- covers and wings are transparent and colorless ; and the last joint of the hind feet is bluish. The head, as seen from above, is crescent-shaped, and the two eyelets are sit- uated on its front edge. The male has two long recurved feathery threads at the extremity of the body. The length of this species is rather more than one tenth, but less than three tAventieths of an inch. It may be csMed^ Tettigonia Faboe. Probably it passes the winter in the same way as the vine-hopper. 2. Plant-lice. {Aphididce.) The Aphidians, in which group we include the insects commonly known by the name of plant-lice, differ remarka- bly from all the foregoing in their appearance, their forma- tion, and their manner of increase. Their bodies are very soft, and usually more or less oval. The females are often without wing-covers and wings ; and the former, Avhen they exist, do not differ in texture from the wings, but are usually much larger and more useful in flight. We may therefore cease to call these parts wing-covers, in all the remaining insects of this order, and apply to them the name of upper wings. Some of the Aphidians have the power of leaping, like the leaf-hoppers, from which, however, they dif!er in having very large and transparent upper wings, which cover the sides of the body like a very steep roof; and their antennae are pretty iow'f and threadlike, and are tipped with two short bristles THE LEAPING PLANT-LICE. 231 at the end. Both sexes, when arrived at maturity, are winged, and some of the females are provided with a kind of awl at the end of the body, very diti'erent, however, from the piercers of the foregoing insects. With this they prick the leaves, in which they deposit their eggs, and the wounds thus made sometimes produce little excrescences or swellings on the plant. These leaping plant-lice belong to a genus called Psylla^ which was the Greek name for a small jump- ing insect. They are by no means so prolific as the other plant-lice, for ordinarily they produce only one brood in the year. They live in groups, composed of about a dozen individuals each, upon the stems and leaves of plants, the juices of which they imbibe through their tubular beaks. The vouncr are often covered with a substance resembling fine cotton arranged in flakes. This is the case with some which are found on the alder and birch in the spring of the year. Within a few years, a kind of Psylla^ before unknown here, has appeared upon pear-trees in the western parts of Connecticut and of Massachusetts, particularly in the valley of the Housatonic, and in the adjoining counties of Dutchess and Columbia iri New York. It was first made known to me, in December, 1848, by Dr. Ovid Plumb, of Salisbury, Connecticut, and it is the subject of a communication in the " American Agriculturist," for January, 1849. Since that time, Dr. Plumb has favored me with additional observa- tions, and an account of his experiments, with various rem- edies, and towards the end of July, 1851, a brief visit to Salisbury gave me an opportunity of seeing the insects in a living condition, and in the midst of their operations upon the trees. This Psylla^ or jumping plant-louse, is one of the kinds whose young are naked, or not covered with a coat of cotton. In some of its forms it is found on pear-trees during most of the time from May to October ; and probably two if not more broods are produced in the course of the summer. 232 HEMIPTERA. It was first observed by Dr. Plumb in the spring of 1833, on some imported pear-trees, which had been set the year before. These trees, in the autumn after they were planted, wore an unhealthy aspect, and had patches of a blackish rust upon their branches. During the second summer, these trees died ; and other trees, upon which the same nisty matter was found, proved to be infested Avith the same insects. Like the aphides, or plant-lice, these insects live by suc- tion. By means of their suckers, which come from the lower side of the head near the breast, they puncture the bark of the twigs and small branches, and imbibe the sap. They soon gorge themselves to such a degree, that the fluid issues constantly from their bodies in drops, is thrown over the surface of the twigs, and, mingled with their more solid castings, defiles the bark, and gives it the blackish color above noticed. Swarms of flies and ants upon the trees are a sui'e indication of the presence of these sap-suckers, being attracted by the sweetish fluid thrown out by them. Young trees sufler excessively by the attacks of these in- sects, nor do old trees escape without injury from them. In consequence apparently of their ravages alone. Dr. Plumb lost several hundred pear-trees from 1834 to 1838 inclusive ; his trees have continued to suffer, to some extent, from this cause, since that time ; and he informs me that the same destructive depredations have been observed in all the ad- jacent region. On the 23d of July, I saw these insects on the trees, some already provided with wings, and others advancing towards maturity. The young ones Avere of a dull orange-yellow color. They were short, and Avere ob- tuse behind, and had little wing-scales on the sides of their bodies. The perfect, or winged individuals, Avere about one tenth of an inch long from the forehead to the tips of the closed wings. The front of the head was notched in the middle. The eyes Avere large and prominent. The head and thorax were brownish orange, and the hind body green- THE PEAR-TREE PSYLLA. 233 ish. Their four ample wings were colorless and transparent, and were marked with a few dark veins. The body of the female is pointed at the end, and inclines to a reddish hue. The pear-tree, in Europe, is subject to the attacks of a similar insect, called Psylla Pyri^ the pear-tree Psylla. The European species is said to vary in color at different ages, and in different seasons of the year, being of a dull crimson color, shaded with black in the spring, when it comes forth to lay its eggs. Not having seen any of our pear-tree Psyllce in their spring dress, I cannot say whether they agree with those of Europe in being of the same crim- son color at this season of the year. As, however, they do correspond very nearly in other respects to the descriptions given of the European species, and have precisely the same destructive habits, and as they wei'e first detected upon imported pear-trees, I apprehend that they were introduced from abroad, and that they will prove to be the same species as the European Psylla Pyri. The following particulars, abridged from Kollar's " Trea- tise," if confirmed by future observations, will serve to complete the history of the American insect. The European pear-tree Psylla comes forth from its winter retreat, pro- vided with wings, as soon as the buds of fruit-trees begin to expand. After pairing, the female lays her eggs in great numbers near each other on the young leaves and blossoms, or on the newly-formed fruit and shoots. The eggs are oblong, yellowish, and look somewhat like grains of pollen. The young insects hatched therefrom resemble wingless plant- lice, and are of a dark yellow color. They change their skins and color repeatedly, and acquire wing-scales, or rudi- mentary wings. They then fix themselves to the bark in rows, and remain sucking the sap till their last change ap- proaches, at which time they disperse among the leaves, cast off" their skins, and appear in the winged form. When considerable numbers attack a pear-tree, the latter 30 234 HEMIPTERA. soon assumes an unhealthy appearance, its growth is checked, its leaves and shoots curl up, and the tree dies by degrees, if not freed fi'om its troublesome guests. Kollar recommends brushing off the insects, when young, with a brush of hog's bristles, and crushing under foot those that fall ; and also advises to search for the winged females in the spring, and destroy them by hand. Such a process would be altogether too tedious and uncertain here. I would therefore suggest the expediency of washing the twigs with a brush dipped in a mixture of strong soap-suds and flour of sulphur. If this be done before the buds expayid, the latter will not be injured thereby, while the application Avill be likely to deter the insects from laying their eggs on the tree. A weaker application of the same, or the common solution of whale-oil soap, may suffice to kill the young insects after they have fastened themselves upon the bark. If the latter be thrown upon the trees with a syringe, it will destroy the insects on the leaves also. Others, both sexes of which are also winged, have long and slender bodies, very narrow wings, which are fringed with fine hairs, and lie flatly on the back when not in use. They are exceedingly active in all their motions, and seem to leap rather than fly. They live on leaves, flowers, in buds, and even in the crevices of the bark of j)lants, but are so small that they readily escape notice, the largest being not more than one tenth of an inch in length. These minute and slender insects belong to the genus TItrips. Their punctures appear to poison plants, and often produce defomiities in the leaves and blossoms. The peach-tree sometimes suffers severely from their attacks, as well as from those of the time plant-lice ; and they are found be- neath the leaves, in httle hollows caused by their irritating punctures. The same applications that are employed for the destruc- tion of plant-lice may be used with advantage upon plants infested with the TJirijos. Mrs. N. G. S. Gage, fonnerly of THE PLANT-LICE. 235 Concord, N. H., to whom I am indebted for much valuable information respecting the wheat- fly, or Cecidomyia Tiilici^ has discovered another pernicious insect in the ears of grow- ing wheat. It seems to agree with the accounts of the Thrips cerealium, which sometimes infests wheat, in Europe, to a great extent. This insect, in its larva state, is smaller than the wheat maggot, is orange-colored, and is provided with six legs, two antennae, and a short beak, and is very nimble ill its motions. It is supposed to suck out the juices of the seed, thus causing the latter to shrink, and become what the English farmers call pungled. This little pest may proba- bly be destroyed by giving the grain a thorough coating of slacked lime. Aphides^ or plant-lice, as they are usually called, are among the most extraordinary of insects. They are found upon almost all parts of plants, the roots, stems, young shoots, buds, and leaves, and there is scarcely a plant which does not harbor one or two kinds peculiar to itself. They are, moreover, exceedingly prolific, for Reaumur has proved that one individual, in five generations, may become the progenitor of nearly six thousand millions of descendants. It often happens, that the succulent extremities and stems of plants will, in an incredibly short space of time, become completely coated with a living mass of these little lice. These are usually wingless, consisting of the young and of the females only ; for winged individuals appear only at particular seasons, usually in the autumn, but sometimes in the spring, and these are small males and larger females. After pairing, the latter lay their eggs upon or near the leaf-buds of the plant upon which they live, and, together with the males, soon afterwards perish. The genus to which plant-lice belong is called Aphis, (Plate III. Fig. 4, Aphis mali,') from a Greek word which signifies to exhaust. The folloAving are the principal char- acters by which they may be distinguished from other insects. Their bodies are short, oval, and soft, and are fiirnished at 236 HEMIPTERA. the liinder extremity with two httle tubes, knobs, or pores, from which exude ahnost constantly minute dro])s of a fluid as sweet as honey ; their heads are small, their beaks are very long and tubular, their eyes are globular, but they have not eyelets, their antennae are long, and usually taper to- wards the extremity, and their legs are also long and very slender, and there are only two joints to their feet. Their upper are nearly twice as large as the lower Avings, are much longer than the body, are gradually widened towards the extremity, and nearly triangular; they are almost ver- tical when at rest, and cover the body above like a very sharp-ridged roof. The winged plant-lice provide for a succession of their race by stocking the plants with eggs in the autumn, as before stated. These are hatched in due time in the spring, and the young lice immediately begin to pump up sap from the tender leaves and shoots, increase rapidly in size, and in a short time come to maturity. In this state, it is found that the brood, without a single exception, consists wholly of females, which are wingless, but are in a condition imme- diately to continue their kind. Their young, however, are not hatched from eggs, but are produced alive, and each female may bo the mother of fifteen or twenty young lice in the course of a single day. The plant-lice of this second generation are also Avingless females, which grow up and have their young in due time ; and thus brood after brood is produced, even to the seventh generation or more, with- out the appearance or intervention, throughout the whole season, of a single male. This extraordinary kind of prop- agation ends in the autumn with the birth of a brood of males and females, which in due time acquire wings and pair ; eggs are then laid by these females, and with the death of these winged individuals, which soon follows, the race becomes extinct for the season. Plant-lice seem to love society, and often herd together in dense masses, each one remaining fixed to the plant by THE PLANT-LICE. 237 means of its long tubular beak ; and tliey rarely change their places till they have exhausted the part first attacked. The attitudes and manners of these little creatures are ex- ceedingly amusing. When disturbed, like restive horses, they begin to kick and sprawl in the most ludicrous manner. They may be seen, at times, suspended by their beaks alone, and throwing up their legs as if in a high frolic, but too much engaged in sucking to withdraw their beaks. As they take in great quantities of sap, they would soon become gorged if they did not get rid of the superabundant fluid through the two little tubes or pores at the extremity of their bodies. When one of them gets running-over full, it seems to communicate its uneasy sensations, by a kind of animal magnetism, to the whole flock, upon which they all, with one accord, jerk upwards their bodies, and eject a shower of the honeyed fluid. The leaves and bark of plants much infested by these insects are often completely sprinkled over with drops of this sticky fluid, which, on drying, become dark colored, and greatly disfigure the foliage. This appear- ance has been denominated honey-dew ; but there is another somewhat similar production observable on plants, after very dry weather, which has received the same name, and consists of an extravasation or oozing of the sap from the leaves. We are often apprised of the presence of plant-lice on plants growing in the open air by the ants ascending and descending the stems. By observing the motions of the latter, we soon ascertain that the sweet fluid discharged by the lice is the occasion of these visits. The stems swarm with slim and hungry ants running upwards, and others lazily descending with their bellies swelled almost to bursting. When arriA'ed in the immediate vicinity of the plant-lice, they greedily wipe up the sweet fluid which has distilled from them, and when this fails, they station themselves among the lice, and catch the drops as they fall. The lice do not seem in the least annoyed by the ants, but live on the best possible terms with them ; and, on the 238 HEMIPTERA. Other liand, the ants, though unsparing of other insects weaker than themselves, u[)on -which they frequently prey, treat the plant-lice with the utmost gentleness, caressing them with their antenna?, and apparently inviting them to give out the fluid by patting their sides. Nor are the lice inattentive to these solicitations, when in a state to gratify the ants, for whose sake they not only seem to shorten the periods of the discharge, but actually yield the fluid when thus pressed. A single louse has been known to give it drop by drop successively to a number of ants, that were waiting anxiously to receive it. When the plant-lice cast their skins, the ants instantly remove the latter, nor will they allow any dirt or rubbish to remain upon or about them. They even protect them from their enemies, and run about them in the hot sunshine to drive away the little ichneumon flies that are forever hovering near to deposit their eggs in the bodies of the lice. Plant-lice differ very much in form, color, clothing, and in the length of the honey-tubes. Some have these tubes quite long, as the rose-louse, Aj)his Mosce, which is green, and has a little conical projection or stylet, as it is called, at the extremity of the body, between the two honey-tubes. The cabbage-louse, Aphis Brassicce, has also long honey- tubes, but its body is covered with a whitish mealy substance. This species is very abundant on the under side of cabbage- leaves in the month of August. The largest species known to me is found in clusters beneath the limbs of the pig-nut hickory {Cari/a porcina), in all stages of growth, from the first to the middle of July. It is the AjMs * Caryce of my Catalogue. Its body, in the winged state, measures one quarter of an inch to the end of the abdomen, and above four tenths of an inch to the tips of the upper wings, which expand rather more than seven tenths of an inch. It has no terminal stylet, and the honey- tubes are very short. Its body is covered with a bluish-white * It probably belongs to the genus Lachnus of Illiger, or Cinara of Curtis. THE SUBTERRANEAN PLANT-LICE. 239 substance like tlie bloom of a plum, with four rows of little transverse black spots on the back ; the top of the thorax and the veins of the wings are black, as are also the shanks, the feet, and the antenna,^, which are clothed Avith black hairs ; the thighs are reddish brown. This species sucks the sap from the limbs, and not from the leaves, of the hickory. There is another large species, living in the same way on the under side of the branches of various kinds of willows, and clustered together in great numbers. About the first of October they are found in the winged state. The body measures one tenth of an inch in length, and the Avings expand about four tenths. The stylet is wanting ; the body is black and without spots ; the wings are transparent, but their veins, the short honey-tubercles, the third joint of the antennae, and the legs, are tawny yellow. This species cannot be identical with the willow-louse. Aphis Salicis of Linuffius, which has a spotted body ; and therefore I pro- pose to call it ApJiis Salicti}^ the plant-louse of Avillow groves. When crushed, it communicates a stain of a red- dish or deep orange color. Some plant-lice live in the ground, and derive their nour- ishment from the roots of plants. We annually lose many of our herbaceous plants, if cultivated in a light soil, from the exhausting attacks of these subterranean lice. Upon pulling up China asters, which seem to be perishing from no visible cause, I have found hundreds of little lice, of a white color, closely clustered together on the roots. I could never discover any of them that were Avinged, and therefore conclude from this circumstance, as Avell as from their pecu- liar situation, that they never acquire wings. Whether these are of the same species as the ApMs radicum of Europe, I cannot ascertain, as no sufficient description of the latter [ 10 Tlie name Sidled was long ago appropriatefl by Schrank to a very different species of Aphin. inhabiting Europe. This name must therefore fall as a synonyme to some other which may be applied to it. It might be called Aphis Salicicola. — Uhler.] 240 hejMiptera. has ever come to my notice.^^ These httle Hce are attended by ants, whicli generally make their nests near the roots of the plants, so as to have their milch kine, as the plant-lice have been called, within their own habitations ; and in con- sequence of the combined operations of the lice and the ants, the plants wither and prematurely perish. When these subterranean lice are disturbed, the attendant ants are thrown into the greatest confusion and alarm ; they carefully take up the lice Avhich have fallen from the roots, and convey them in their jaws into the deep recesses of their nests ; and here the lice still contrive to live upon the fragments of the roots left in the soil. It is stated * that the ants bestow the same care and attention upon the root-lice as upon their own offspring, that they defend them from the attacks of other insects, and cany them about in their mouths to change their pas- ture ; and that they pay particular attention to the eggs of the lice, frequently moistening them with their tongues, and in fine weather bringing them to the surface of the nest to give them the advantage of the sim. On the other hand, the sweet fluid supplied in abundance by these lice forms the chief nutriment both of the ants and their young, which is sufficient to account for their solicitude and care for their valuable herds. The peach-tree suffers very much from the attacks of plant-lice, which live under the leaves, causing them by their punctures to become thickened, to curl or form hol- lows beneath, and corresponding crispy and reddish swell- ings above, and finally to perish and drop off prematurely. Wliether our insect is the same as the European Aphis of [11 It is very probable that the Aphis infestino; China asters is the same with the radicis of Europe. Many foreign species of plant-lice have become naturalized in this country, and we may thus expect to find most, if not all, of tlie commoner European species infesting our vegetation. The Aphis ( Tramn) rndicis of Europe corresponds with our own in color, and, as supposed by Dr. Harris, winged speci- mens have never been discovered. — Uhler] * See Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, Vol. II. pp. 91, 92. THE DOWNY PLANT-LICE. 241 the peach-tree (^Aphis Persicce of Sulzer) I cannot determine, for the want of a proper description of the latter. The injuries occasioned by plant-lice are much greater than would at first be expected from the small size and extreme weakness of the insects ; but these make up by their numbers what they want in strength individually, and thus become formidable enemies to vegetation. By their punctures, and the quantity of sap which they draw from the leaves, the functions of these important organs are de- ranged or interrupted, the food of the plant, which is there elaborated to nourish the^tem and mature the fruit, is with- drawn, before it can reach its proper destination, oris con- taminated and left in a state unfitted to supply the wants of vegetation. Plants are differently affected by these insects. Some wither and cease to grow, their leaves and stems put on a sickly appearance, and soon die from exhaustion. Others, though not killed, are greatly impeded in their growth, and their tender parts, which are attacked, become stunted, curled, or warped. The punctures of these lice seem to poison some plants, and affect others in a most singular manner, producing warts or swellings, which are sometimes solid and some- times hollow, and contain in their interior a swarm of lice, the descendants of a single individual, whose punctures were the original cause of the tumor. I have seen reddish tumors of this kind, as big as a pigeon's egg, growing upon leaves, to which they were attached by a slender neck, and con- taining thousands of small lice in their interior. Naturalists call these tumors galls, because they seem to be formed in the same way as the oak-galls aWiIcIi are used in the making of ink. The lice which inhabit or produce them generally differ from the others, in having shorter antennae, being without honey-tubes, and in frequently being clothed with a kind of white down, which, however, disappears when the insects become winged. 31 242 HEMIPTERA. These downy plant-lice are now placed in the genus Erio- 8oma^ which means woolly body, and the most destructive species belonging to it was first described, under the name of Aphis lanigera, by Mr. Hausmann,* in the year 1801, as infesting the apple-trees in Germany. It seems that it had been noticed in England as early as the year 1787, and has since acquired there the name of American blight, from the erroneous supposition that it had been imported from this country. It was known, however, to the French gardeners f for a long time previous to both of the above dates, and, according to Mr. Rennie, J is found in the or- chards about Harfleur in Normandy, and is very destructive to the apple-trees in the department of Calvados. There is now good reason to believe that the miscalled American blight is not indigenous to this country, and. that it has been introduced here with fruit-trees from Europe. Some persons, indeed, have supposed that it was not to be found here at all, but the late Mr. Buel has stated § that it existed on his apple-trees, and I have once or twice seen it on apple-trees in Massachusetts, where, however, it still appears to be rare, and consequently I have not been able to examine the insects sufficiently myself. The best account that I have seen of them is contained in Knapp's " Journal of a Naturalist," from which, and fi'om Hausmann's de- scription, the following observations are chiefly extracted. The eggs of the woolly apple-tree louse are so small as not to be distinguished without a microscope, and are en- veloped in a cotton-like substance furnished by the body of the insect. They are deposited in the crotches of the branches and in the chinks of the bark at or near the sur- face of the ground, especially if there are suckers springing from the same place. The young, when first hatched, are covered with a very short and fine down, and appear in * llliger's Magazin, Vol. 1. p. 440. J Insect Miscellanies, p. 180. t Salisbury's Hints on Orchards, p. 39. ^ New England Fanner, Vol. VII. p.- 169 ; Vol. IX. p, 178. THE APPLE-TREE LOUSE. 243 the spring of the year hke httle specks of moukl on the trees (F'm. 92). As the season advances, and ,.^''.^ .. ., ' Fig. 92. the uisect nicreases in size, its downy coat he- comes more distinct, and grows in length daily. This down is very easily removed, adheres to the fingers when it is touched, and seems to issue from all the pores of the skin of the abdomen. When fully grown, the insects of the first brood are one tenth of an inch in length, and, when the down is rubbed off, the head, antenniE, suck- er, and shins are found to be of a blackish color, and the abdomen honey-yellow. The young are produced alive during the summer, are buried in masses of the down, and derive their nourishment from the sap of the bark and of the alburnum or young wood immediately under the bark. The adult insects never acquire wings, at least such is the testimony both of Hausmann and Knapp, and are des- titute of honey-tubes, but from time to time emit drops of a sticky fluid from the extremity of the body. These insects, though destitute of wings, are conveyed from tree to tree by means of their long down, which is so plentiful and so light, as easily to be Avafted by the winds of autumn, and thus the evil will gradually spread throughout an extensive orchard. The numerous punctures of these lice produce on the tender shoots a cellular appearance, and Avherever a colony of them is established, warts or excrescences arise on the bark ; the limbs thus attacked become sickly, the leaves turn yelloAv and drop off ; and, as the infection spreads from limb to limb, the whole tree becomes diseased, and eventually perishes. In Gloucestershire, England, so many apple-trees were destroyed by these lice in the year 1810, that it was feared the making of cider must be abandoned. In the North of England the apple-trees are greatly injured, and some annu- ally destroyed by them, and in the year 1826 they abounded 244 HEMIPTERA. there in such incredible luxuriance, that many trees seemed, at a short distance, as if they had been whitewashed. Mr. Knapp thinks that remedies can prove efficacious in removing this evil only upon a small scale, and that when the injury has existed for some time, and extended its influ- ence over the parts of a large tree, it will take its course, and the tree will die. He says that he has removed this blight from young trees, and from recently attacked places in those more advanced, by painting over every node or infected part of the tree with a composition consisting of three ounces of melted resin mixed with the same quantity of fish-oil, which is to be put on while warm, with a painter's brush. Sir Joseph Banks succeeded in extirpating the in- sects from his own trees by removing all the old and rugged bark, and scrubbing the trunk and branches with a hard brush. The application of the spirits of tar, of spirits of turpentine, of oil, urine, and of soft soap, has been recom- mended. Mr. Buel found that oil sufficed to drive the insects from the trunks and branches, but that it could not be applied to the roots, where numbers of the insects har- bored. The following treatment I am inclined to think will prove as successful as any wliich has heretofore bsen recommended. Scrape off all the rough bark of the infected trees, and make them perfectly clean and smooth early in the spring ; then rub the trunk and limbs with a stiff brush wet with a solution of potash as hereafter recommended for the destruc- tion of bark-lice ; after which remove the sods and earth around the bottom of the trunk, and with the scraper, brush, and alkaline liquor, cleanse that part as far as the roots can conveniently be uncovered. The earth and sods should immediately be carried away, fresh loam should be placed around the roots, and all cracks and wounds should be filled with grafting cement or clay mortar. Small limbs and extremities of branches, if infected, and beyond reach of the applications, should be cut off and burned. REMEDIES. 245 There are several other species of Eriosoma or downy lice in this State, inhabiting various forest and ornamental trees, some of which may also have been introduced from abroad. The descriptions of foreign plant-lice are mostly so brief and imperfect, that it is impossible to ascertain from them which of our species are identical with those of Europe ; I shall therefore omit any further account of these insects, and close this part of the subject with a few remarks on the remedies to be employed for their destruction generally, and some notice of the natural enemies of plant-lice. Solutions of soap, or a mixture of soapsuds and tobacco- water, used warm and applied with a watering-pot or with a garden engine, may be employed for the destruction of these insects. It is said that hot water may also be employed for the same purpose with safety and success. The water, tobacco-tea, or suds should be thrown upon the plants with considerable force, and if they are of the cabbage or lettuce kind, or other plants whose leaves are to be used as food, they should subsequently be drenched thoroughly with pure water. Professor Lindley recommends syringing plants, as often as necessary to remove the lice, with a solution of half an ounce of strong carbonate of ammonia in one quart of water, which has the merit of being clean as well as effectual. Lice on the extremities of branches may be killed by bend- ino; over the branches and holding; them for several minutes in warm and strong soapsuds, or in a solution of whale-oil soap. Against the depredations of the plant-lice that sometimes infest potato-fields, dusting the plants with lime has been found a good remedy. Lice multiply much faster, and are more injurious to plants, in a dry than in a wet atmosphere ; hence in green-houses, attention should be paid to keep the air sufficiently moist ; and the lice are readily killed by fumi- gations with tobacco or with sulphur. To destroy subterra- nean lice on the roots of plants, I have found that watering with salt water was useful, if the plants were hardy ; but 246 HEMIPTERA. tender herbaceous plants cannot be treated in this way, but may sometimes be revived, when suffering from these hidden foes, by free and frequent watering with soapsuds. Plant-hce would undoubtedly be much more abundant and destructive, if they were not kept in check by certain re- doubtable enemies of the insect kind, which seem expressly created to diminish their numbers. These lice-destroyers are of three sorts. The first are the young or larvie of the hemispherical beetles familiarly known by the name of lady- birds, and scientifically by that of Coccinella. These little beetles are generally yellow or red, with black spots, or, black, with white, red, or yellow spots ; there are many kinds of them, and they are very common and ])]entiiul insects, and are generally diffused among plants. 1 hey live, both in the perfect and young state, upon ])lant-lice, and hence their ^. .„ services are very considerable. Their young are Fig. 93. '' J b k I small flattened grubs (Fig. 98) of a bluish or \9u blue-black color, spotted usually with red or yel- _flK. low, and furnished with six legs near the fore ' ^B^ part of the body. They are hatched from little ^m yellow eggs, laid in clusters among the jilant- lice, so that they find themselves at once Avithin reach of their prey, which, from their superior strength, they are enabled to seize and slaughter in great numbers. In July, 1848, a friend sent to me a whole brood of lady-bird grubs, which, being found upon potato- vines, were thought by some of his neighbors to be the cause of the rot. In a few weeks the grubs were transformed to beetles, Fig 94 about as big as half a pea, and having nine black dots on their dull orange-colored wing- shells. Hence they derive their name of Coccinella novomiotata^ (Fig. 94, pupa and imago, and Plate II. Fig. 4,) the nine-dot- ted Coccinella. It need hardly be added, that these little insects were wholly innocent of all offence to the plants, upon which, when infiested with PLANT-LICE DESTROYERS. 247 the common potato plant-lice, they may always be found. It is amusing, however, that both of these kinds of insects should have been charged with the same fault, one. having no more to do with producing the disease than the other. There are some lady-birds, of a very small size, and black- ish color, sparingly clothed with short hairs, and sometimes with a yellow spot at the end of the wing-covers, whose vouno- are clothed with short tufts or flakes of the most delicate white down. These insects belong to the genus Sci/mnus, which means a lion's whelp, and they well merit such a name, for their young, in proportion to their size, are as sanguinary and ferocious as the most savage beasts of prey. I have often seen one of these little tufted animals preying upon plant-lice, catching and devouring, with the greatest ease, lice nearly as large as its own body, one after another, in rapid succession, without apparently satiating its hunger or diminishing its activity. The second kind of plant-lice destroyers are the young of the golden-eyed lace- winged fly, Chr^sojja j^erla^^ (Plate III. Fig. 8). This fly is of a pale green color, and has four wings, resembling delicate lace, and eye.s of the brilliancy of polished gold, as its generical name implies ; but notwith- standing its delicacy and beauty, it is extremely disgusting from the offensive odor that it exhales. It suspends its eggs, by threads, in clusters beneath the leaves where plant-lice abound. The young, or larva, (Plate III. Fig. 9 ; Fig. 10, cocoon,) is a rather long and slender grub, provided Avith a pair of large curved and sharp teeth Q'atvs'), moving later- ally, and each perforated with a hole, through which it sucks the juices of its victims. The havoc it makes is astonishing ; for one minute is all the time it requires to kill the largest plant-louse, and suck out the fluid contents of its body. The last of the enemies of plant-lice are the maggots or [ 1'- Chrysnpa perla is not foiincf in this country; probably C. enrypfevft. Rnrm., or some other species common to New England, will be found destructive of tliuae pernicious plant-lice. — Uhler.] 248 HEMIPTERA. young of various two-winged flies belonging to the genus Syrphus. Many of these flies are black, with yellow bands on their bodies. I have often seen them hovering over small trees and other plants, depositing their eggs, which they do on the wing, like the bot-fly, curving their tails beneath the leaves, and fixing here and there an egg, wherever plant-lice are discovered. Others lay their eggs near the buds of trees, where the young may find their appropriate nourishment as soon as they are hatched. The young are maggots, which are thick and blunt behind, tapering and pointed before ; their mouths are armed with a triple-pointed dart, with which they pierce their prey, elevate it above their heads, and feast upon its juices at leisure. Though these maggots are totally blind, they are enabled to discover their victims without much groping about, in con- sequence- of the provident care of the parent flies, which leave their eggs in the very midst of the sluggish lice. Mr. Kirby says, that, on examining his currant-bushes, which but a week before were infested by myriads of aphides, not one was to be found ; but beneath each leaf were three or four full-fed maggots, surrounded by heaps of the slain, the trophies of their successful warfare. He also says that he has found it very easy to clear a plant or small tree of lice, by placing upon it several larvae of Coccinella or Syrphi. 3. Bark-lice. ( Coccidce.) The celebrated scarlet in grain, which has been employed in Asia and the South of Europe, from the earliest ages, as a coloring material, was known to the Romans by the name of Coccus^ derived from a similar Greek word, and was, for a long time, supposed to be a vegetable production, or grain, as indeed its name implies. At length it was ascertained that this valuable dye was an insect, and others agreeing with it in habits, and some also in properties, hav- ing been discovered, Linnaeus retained them all under the same name. Hence in the genus Coccus are included, not BARK-LICE. 249 only the Thola of the Phoenicians and Jews, the Kermes of the Ai'abians, or the Coccus of the Gi'eeks and Romans, but the scarlet grain of Poland, and the still more valuable Cochenille of Mexico, together with various kinds of bark- lice, asrreeino; with the former in habits and structure. These insects vary very much in form ; some of them are oval and slightly convex scales, and others have the shape of a muscle ; some are quite convex, and either formed like a boat turned bottom upwards, or are kidney-shaped, or globular. They live mostly on the bark of the stems of plants ; some, however, are habitually found upon leaves, and some on roots. In the early state, the head is completely withdrawn beneath the shell of the body and concealed, the beak or sucker seems to issue from the breast, and the legs are very short and not visible from above. The females undergo only d, partial transformation, or rather scarcely any other change than that of an increase in size, which in some species, indeed, is enormous, compared with the previous condition of the insect ; but the males pass through a complete transformation before arriving at the perfect or winged state. In both sexes we find threadlike or tapering antennae, longer than the head, but much shorter than those of plant-lice, and feet consisting of only one joint, terminated by a single claw. The mature female retains the beak or sucker, but does not acquire wings ; the male on the con- trary has two wings, but the beak disappears. In both there are two slender threads at the extremity of the body, very short in some females, usually quite long in the males, which moreover are provided with a stylet at the tip of the abdomen, which is recurved beneath the body. The following account * contains a summary of nearly all that is known respecting the history and habits of these insects. Early in the spring the bark-lice are found appar- ently torpid, situated longitudinally in regard to the bi'anch, * It was drawn up by me in the year 1828, and published in the seventh vol- ume of the " New England Farmer," pp. 186, 187. 32 250 HEMIPTERA. the head upwards, and sticking by their flattened inferior surface closely to the bark. On attempting to remove them •they are generally crushed, and there issues from tlie body a dark-colored fluid. By pricking them with a pin, they can be made to quit their hold, as I have often seen in the common species, Coccus Hesperidum, infesting the myrtle. A little later the body is more swelled, and, on carefully raising it with a knife, numerous oblong eggs will be dis- covered beneath it, and the insect appears dried up and dead, and only its outer skin remains, which forms a convex cover to its future progeny. Under this protecting shield the young are hatched, and, on the approach of Avarm Aveath- er, make their escape at the lower end of the shield, whicli is either slightly elevated or notched at this part. They then move with considerable activity, and disperse them- selves over the young shoots or leaves. The shape of the young Coccus is much like that of its parent, but the body is of a paler color and more thin and flattened. Its six short Ifegs and its slender beak are visible under a magnifier. Some are covered with a mealy powder, as the Coccus Cacti, or cochenille of commerce, and the Coccus Adonidum, or mealy bug of our greenhouses. Others are hairy or woolly ; but most of them are naked and dark- colored. These young lice insert their beaks into the bark or leaves, and draw from the cellular substance the sap that nourishes them. Reaumur observed the ground quite moist under peach- trees infested with bark-lice, wliich was caused by the drip- ping of the sap from the numerous jjunctures made by these insects. While they continue their exhausting suction of sap, they increase in size, and during this time are in what is called the larva state. When this is comj:)leted, the in- sects will be found to be of diflerent magnitudes, some much larger than the others, and they then prepare for a change that is about to ensue in their mode of life, by emitting from the under side of their bodies numerous little white downy BARK-LICE. 'Zb'l threads, ■which are fastened, in a radiated manner, around their bodies, to the bark, and serve to confine them securely in their places. After becoming thus fixed they remain- apparently inanimate ; but under these lifeless scales the transformation of the insect is conducted ; with this remark- able difference, that in a few days the large ones contrive to break up and throw off, in four or five flakes, their outer scaly coats, and reappear in a very similar form to that which they before had ; the smaller ones, on the contrary, continue under their outer skins, which serve instead of co- coons, and from which they seem to shrink and detach them- selves, and then become perfect pupae, the rudiments of wings, antennae, feet, &c. being discoverable on raising the shells. If we follow the progress of these small lice, which are to produce the males, we shall see, in process of time, a pair of threads and the tips of the wings protruding beneath the shell at its lower elevated part, and through this little fissure the perfect insect at length backs out. After the larger lice have become fixed, and have thrown off their outer coats, they enter upon the pupa or chrysalis state, which continues for a longer or shorter period, according to the species. But when they have become mature, they do not leave the skins or shells covering their bodies, which continue flexible for a time. These larger insects are the females, and are des- tined to remain immovable, and never change their place after they have once become stationary. The male is ex- ceedingly small in comparison to the female, and is provided with only two wings, which are usually very large, and lie flatly on the top of the body. After the insects have paired, the body of the female increases in size, or becomes quite convex, for a time, and ever afterwards remains without alteration ; but serves to shelter the eggs which are to give birth to her future off- spring. These eggs, when matured, pass under the body of the mother, and the latter by degrees shrinks more and 252 HEMIPTERA. Fig. 95. more, till nothing is left but the dry outer convex skin, and the insect perishes on the spot. Sometimes the insect's body is not large enough to cover all her eggs, in which case she beds them in a considerable quantity of the down that issues from the under or hinder part of her body (Fig. 95). There are several broods of some species in the year ; of the bark -louse of the apple-tree at least two are produced in one season. It is probable that the insects of the second or last brood pair in the au- tumn, after Avhich the males die, but the females survive the winter, and lay their eggs in the following spring. Young apple-trees, and the extremities of the limbs of older trees, are very much subject to the attacks of a small species of bark-louse. The limbs and smooth parts of the trunks are sometimes completely covered with these insects, and present a very singularly wrinkled and rouofh appearance from the bodies which are crowded closely together. In the winter these insects are torpid, and ap- parently dead. They measure about one tenth of an inch in length, are of an oblong oval shape, gradually decreasing to a point at one end, and are of a brownish color very near to tliat of the bark of the tree. These insects resemble in shape one which Avas described by Reaumur* in 1738, who found it on the elm in France, and Geoffroy named the insect Coc- cus arhorum linearis^ while Gmelin called it conchiformis (Fig. 96). This, or one much like it, is A^ery abundant upon apple-trees in England, as we learn from Dr. Shaw f and Mr. Fig. 9S. * Memoires, Vol. IV. p. 69, plate 5, figs. 5, 6, 7. t General Zoiilogy, Vol. VI. Part I. p. 196. BARK-LICE. 253 Kirby ; * and Mr. Rennie f states that he found it in great plenty on currant-bushes. It is higlily probable that we have received this insect fi'om Europe, but it is somewhat doubtful whether our apple- tree bark-louse be identical with the species found by Reau- mur on the elm ; and the doubt seems to be justified by the diiference in the trees and in the habits of the insects, our species being gregarious, and that of the elm nearly solitary. It is true that on some of our indigenous forest-trees bark- lice of nearly the same form and appearance have been ob- served ; but it is by no means clear that they are of the same species as those on the apple-tree. The first account that we have of the occurrence of bark-lice on apple-trees, in this country, is a communication by Mr. Enoch Perley, of Bridgeton, Maine, written in 1794, and published among the early papers of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society. J These insects have now become extremely common, and infest our nursei'ies and young trees to a very great extent. In the spring the eggs are readily to be seen on raising the little muscle-shaped scales beneath which they are concealed. These eggs are of a white color, and in shape nearly like those of snakes. Every shell contains from thirty to forty of them, imbedded in a small quantity of whitish friable down. They begin to hatch about the 25th of May, and finish about the 10th of June, according to Mr. Perley. The young, on their first appearance, are nearly white, very minute, and nearly oval in form. In about ten days they become stationary, and early in June throw out a quantity of bluish-white down, soon after which their transformations are completed, and the females become fertile, and deposit their eggs. These, it seems, are hatched in the course of the summer, and the young come to their growth and pro- vide for a new brood before the ensuing winter. Among the natural means which are provided to check the increase of these bark-lice are birds, many of which, * Introduction to Entomologj', Vol. I. p. 201. t Insect Transformations, p. 92. J See Papers for 1796, p 32. 254 HEMIPTERA. especially those of the genera Parus and Hegulus, contain- ing the chickadee and our wrens, devour great quantities of these lice._ I have also found that these insects are preyed upon by internal parasites, minute ichneumon-flies, and the holes (which are as small as if made with a fine needle), through which these little insects come forth, may be seen on the backs of a great many of the lice which have been destroyed by their intestine foes. The best application for the destruction of the lice is a wash made of two parts of soft soap and eight of water, with which is to be mixed lime enough to brino; it to the consistence of thick whitewash. This is to be put upon the trunks and limbs of the trees with a brush, and as high as practicable, so as to cover the whole surface, and fill all the cracks in the bai'k. The proper time for washing over the trees is in the early part of June, when the insects arc young and tender. These insects may also be killed by using in the same way a solution of two pounds of potash in seven quarts of water, or a pickle consisting of a quart of com- mon salt in two gallons of Avater. There has been found on the apple and pear tree another kind of bark-lous^^e, which differs from the foregoing in many important particulars, and approaches nearest to a species inhabiting the aspen in Sweden, of which a description has been given by Dalman in the " Transactions of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm," * for the year 1825, under the name of Coccus crypto (jamus. This species is of the kind in which the body of the female is not large enough to cover her eggs, for the protection whereof another provision is made, consisting, in this species, of a kind of membranous shell, of the color and consistence almost of paper. In the autumn and throughout the winter, these insects are seen in a dormant state, and of two different forms and sizes on the bark of the trees. The larger ones measure less than a tenth of an inch in length, and have the form of a common oyster-shell, * Kongl. Vetenskaps Academ Nya Handlingar. BARK-LICE. 255 being broad at the hinder extremity, but tapering towards the other, which is surmounted by a httle oval brownish scale. The small ones, which are not much more than half the length of the others, are of a very long oval shape, or almost four-sided, with the ends rounded ; and one extrem- ity is covered by a minute oval dark-colored scale. These little shell-like bodies are clustered together in great num- bers, are of a white color and membranous texture, and serve as cocoons to shelter the insects while they are under- going their transformations. The large ones are the pupa- cases or cocoons of the female, beneath which the ego-s are laid; and the small ones are the cases of the males, and differ from those of the females not only in size and shape, but also in being of a purer white color, and in having an elevated ridge passing down the middle. The minute oval dark-colored scales on one of the ends of these white cases are the skins of the lice while they were in the young or larva state, and the white shells are probably formed in the same way as the down which exudes from the bodies of other bark -lice, but which in these assumes a regular shape, vary- ing according; to the sex, and becomino- membranous after it is formed. Not having seen these insects in a living state, I have not been able to trace their progress, and must there- fore refer to Dalman's memoir above mentioned, for such particulars as tend to illustrate the remaining history of this species. The body of the female insect, which is covered and con- cealed by the outer case above described, is minute, of an oval form, wrinkled at the sides, flattened above, and of a reddish color. By means of her beak, which is constantly thrust into the bark, she imbibes the sap, by which she is nourished ; slie undero;oes no change, and never emerires from her habitation. The male becomes a chrysalis or pupa, and about the middle of July completes its transformations, makes its escape from its case, Avhich it leaves at the hinder extremity, and the wings with which it is provided are re- versed over its head during the operation, and are the last 256 HEMIPTEEA. to be extricated. The perfect male is nearly as minute as a point, but a powerful magnifier shows its body to be divided into segments, and endued with all the important parts and functions of a living animal. To the unassisted eye, says Dalman, it appears only as a red atom, but it is furnished with a pair of long whitish wings, long antennae or horns, six legs with their respective joints, and two bristles terminating the tail. This minute insect perforates the middle of the case covering the female, and thus celebrates its nuptials with its invisible partner. The latter subsequently deposits her eggs and dies. In due time the young are hatched and leave the case, under which they were fostered, by a little crevice at its hinder part. These young lice, which I have seen, are very small, of a pale yellowish brown color, and of an oval shape, very flat, and appearing like minute scales. They move about for a while, at length become stationary, increase in size, and in due time the whitish shells are produced, and the included insects pass from the larva to the pupa state. The means for destroying these insects are the same as those recom- mended for the extennination of the previous species. Many years ago, when on a visit from home, I observed on a fine native grape-vine, that was trained against the side of a house, great numbers of reddish-brown bark-lice, of a globular form, and about half as large as a small pea, arranged in lines on the stems. An opportunity for further examination of this species did not occur till the summer of 1839, when I Avas led to the discovery of a few of these lice on my Isabella grape-vines, by seeing the ants ascending and descending the stems. Upon careful search I discov- ered the lice, which were nearly of the color of the bai*k of the vine, partly imbedded in a little crevice of the bark, and arranged one behind another in a line. They drew great quantities of sap, as was apparent by their exudations, by which the ants were atti-acted. Further observations were arrested by a fire which consumed the house and the vines that were trained to it. Sour el del , CHAPTER V LEPIDOPTERA. Catekpillars. — Butterflies. — Skippers. — Hawk-Moths. — .(Egerians or Boring-Caterpillars, —r Glaucopidians. — Moths. — Spinners. — Litho- SIANS. — TiGER-MoTHS. — ErMINE-MoTHS. — TuSSOCK-MoTHS. — LaCKEY- Moths. — Lappet- Moths. — Saturnians. ^— Ceratocampians. — Carpenter- Moths — FSYCHIANS. — ^OTOnONTIANS. — OWL-MOTHS. — CUT-WOKMS. — Geometers, or Span-Worms, and Canker- Worisis. ^- Delta-Moths. — Leaf-Rollers — Bud-Moths — Fruit-Moths. — Bee-Moths.— Corn-Moths-. — Clothes-Moths. — Feather-winged Moths. THERE are perhaps no insects which are so commonly and so universally destructive as caterpillars ; they are inferior only to locusts in voracity, and equal or exceed them in their powers of increase, and in general are far more widely spread over vegetation. Caterpillars are the young of butterflies and of moths ; and of these, five hundred spe- cies, which are natives of Massachusetts, are already known to me, and probably there are at least as many more kinds to be discovered within the limits of this Commonwealth.^ As each female usually lays from two hundred to five hun- dred eggs, one thousand different kinds of butterflies and moths will produce, on an average, three hundred thousand caterpillars ; if one half of this number, when arrived at [ 1 The number of species in the United States may fairly be estimated at 3,500, or even more. My Catalogue, published by the Smithsonian Institute, contains the names of nearly 1,800 already described by various authors, exclusive of Microlepidoptera, which is a numerous family of it.self, and comparatively little progress has as yet been made in the discovery of our indigenous species gen- erally. Tlie latest and most complete work on German and Swiss Lepidoptera (Die SchmeUerUnge Dtulschlands und der Schweiz, von H. v. Heinemann, Brunswick, 1859) gives 1,387 species, exclusive of Microlepidoptera, in those two countries alone, and we can confidently reckon on finding over three times that number in the United States. — Morris ] 33 258 ^ . LEPIDOPTERA. maturity, are females, they will give forty-five millions of caterpillars in the second, and six thousand seven hundred and fifty millions in the third generation. These data suffice to show that the actual number of these insects, existing at any one time, must be far beyond the limits of calculation. The greater part of caterpillars subsist on vegetable food, and especially on the leaves of plants ; hence their injuries to vegetation are immense, and are too often forced upon our notice. Some devour the solid wood of trees, some live only in the pith of plants, and some confine themselves to grains and seeds. Certain species attack our woollens and fi^irs, thereby doing us much injury ; even leather, meat, wax, flour, and lard afford nourishment to particular kinds of caterpillars. Caterpillars vary greatly in form and appearance, but, in general, their bodies are more or less cylindrical, and composed of twelve rings or segments, with a shelly head, and from ten to sixteen legs. The first three pairs of legs are covered with a shelly skin, are jointed and tapering, and are armed at the end with a little claw ; the other legs are thick and fleshy, without joints, but elastic or contractile, and are generally surrounded at the extremity by numerous minute hooks. There are six very small eyes^ on each side of the head, two short antennae, and strong jaws or nippers, placed at the sides of the mouth, so as to open and shut sidewise. In the middle of the lower lip is a little conical tube, from which the insects spin the silken threads that are used by them in making their nests and their co- coons, and in various other purposes of their economy. Two Ions and slender bajis, in the interior of their bodies, and ending in the spinning tube, contain the matter of the silk. This is a sticky fluid, and it flows from the spinner in a fine stream, which hardens into a thread so soon as it comes [2 Though Dr. Harris mentions the "eyes" of caterpillars, yet be it under- stood, he does not assert that they see. It is very doubtful whether they have the faculty of vision. — MoRisis.] CATERPILLARS. 259 to the air. Some caterpillars make but very little silk ; others, such as the silk-worm and the apple-tree caterpillar, produce it in great abundance. Some caterpillars herd together in great numbers, and pass the early period of their existence in society ; and of these there are species which unite in their labors, and con- struct tents serving as a common habitation in which they live, or to which they retire occasionally for shelter. Others pass their lives in solitude, either exposed to the light and air, or sheltered in leaves folded over their bodies, or form for themselves silken sheaths, which are either fixed or portable. Some make their abodes in the stems of plants, or mine in the pulpy substance of leaves ; and others con- ceal themselves in the ground, from which they issue only when in search of food. Caterpillars usually change their skins about four times before they come to their growth. At lengtli they leave off eating entirely, and prepare for their first transformation. Most of them, at this period, spin around their bodies a sort of shroud or cocoon, into which some interweave the hairs of their own bodies, and some employ, in the same way, leaves, bits of wood, or even grains of earth. Other cater- pillars suspend tlismselves, in various ways, by silken threads, without enclosing their bodies in cocoons ; and again, there are others which merely enter the earth to undergo their transformations. When the caterpillar has thus prepared itself for the ap- proaching change, by repeated exertions and struggles it bursts open the skin on the top of its back, withdraws the fore part of its body, and works the skin backwards till the hinder extremity is extricated. It then no longer appears in the caterpillar form, but has become a pupa or chrysalis, shorter than the caterpillar, and at first sight apparently without a head or limbs. On close examination, however, there maybe found traces of a head, tongue, antennte, wings, and legs, closely pressed to the body, to which these parts 260 LEPIDOPTERA. are cemented by a kind of varnish. Some chrysalids are angular, or furnished with little protuberances ; but most of them are smooth, rounded at one end, and tapering at the other extremity. While in the pupa state these insects take no food, and remain perfectly at rest, or only move the hinder extremity of the body when touched. After a while, however, the chrysalis begins to swell and contract, till the skin is rent over the back, and from the fissure there issues the head, antennae, and body of a butterfly or moth. When it first emerges from its pupa-skin the in- sect is soft, moist, and weak, and its wings are small and shrivelled ; soon, however, the wings stretch out to their full dimensions, the superfluous moisture of the body passes off", and the limbs acquire their proper firmness and elas- ticity. The conversion of a caterpillar to a moth or butterfly is a transformation of the most complete kind. The form of the body is altered, some of the legs disappear, the others and the antennae become mucli longer than before, and four wings are acquired. Moreover, the mouth and digestive organs undergo a total change ; for the insect, after its final transfonnation, is no longer fitted to subsist upon the same gross aliment as it did in the caterpillar state ; its pow- erftil jaws have disappeared, and instead thereof we find a slender tongue, by means of which liquid nourishment is conveyed to the mouth of the insect, and its stomach be- comes capable of digesting only water and the honeyed juice of flowers. Ceasing to increase in size, and destined to live but a short time after their final transformation, butterflies and moths spend this brief period of their existence in flitting from flower to flower and recjalino; themselves with their sweets, or in slaking their thirst with dew or with the water left standing in puddles after showers, in pairing with their mates, and in laying their eggs ; after which they die a natural death, or fall a prey to their numerous enemies. CLASSIFICATION. 261 These insects belong to an order called Lepidoptera, which means scaly wings ; for the mealy powder with which their wings arc covered, when seen under a powerful micro- scope, is found to consist of little scales, lapping over each other like the scales of fishes, and implanted into the skin of the wings by short stems. The body of these insects is also more or less covered with the same kind of scales, together with hair or down in some species. The tongue consists of two tubular threads placed side by side, and thus forming an instrument for suction, which, when not in use, is rolled up spirally beneath the head, and is more or less covered and concealed on each side by a little scaly or hairy jointed feeler. The shoulders or wing-joints of the fore wings are covered, on each sido, by a small triangidar piece, forming a kind of epaulette, or shoulder-cover ; and between the head and the thorax is a narrow piece, clothed with scales or hairs sloping backwards, which may be called the collar. The wings have a few branching veins,^ generally formincf one or two large meshes on the middle. The legs are six in number, though only four are used in walking by some butterflies, in which the first pair are veiy short and are folded like a tippet on the breast ; and the feet are five- jointed, and are terminated, each, by a pair of claws. It would be difficult, and indeed impossible, to arrange the Lepidopterous insects according to their forms, appear- ance, and habits, in the caterpillar state, because the cater- pillars of many of them are as yet unknown ; and therefore it is found expedient to classify them mostly according to the characters furnished by them in the winged state. We may first divide the Lepidoptera into three great sections, called butterflies, hawk-moths, and moths, corre- [S The systematists of the present day determine genera, and even species, by the peculiar and various modifications of these veins. The main veins are called neixures, the branches nei-vules, and the whole system Pterology. The French and the Germans differ as to the names of the distinct veins, so that, unless a student knows to which of the schools a describer belongs, he would be apt to be misled. — Mokkis.] 262 • LEPIDOPTERA. spending to the genera Papilio, /Sjjhinx, and Phalcena of Linnfeus."^ The Butterflies (^Pa^jiliones) have threadhke antennae, which are knobbed at the end ; the fore wings in some, and all the wings in the greater number, are elevated pei'pen- dicularly, and turned back to back, when at rest ; they have generally two little spurs on the hind legs ; and they fly by day only. The Hawk-Moths (^Spldyiges) generally have the an- tennae thickened in the middle, and tapering at each end, and most often hooked at the tip ; the wings are naiTow in proportion to their length, and are confined together by a bristle or bvmch of stiff hairs on the shoulder of each hind wing, which is retained by a corresponding hook on the under side of each fore wing ; all the wings, when at rest, are more or less inclined like a roof, the upper ones cover- ing the lower wings ; there are two pairs of spurs on the hind legs. A few fly by day, but the greater number in the morning and evening twilight. In the Moths (^Phalcence) the antennae are neither knobbed at the end nor thickened in the middle, but taper from the base to the extremity, and are either naked, like a bristle, or are feathered on each side ; the wings are confined to- gether by bristles and hooks, the first pair covering the hind wings, and are more or less sloping when at rest ; and there are two pairs of spurs to the hind legs. These insects fly mostly by night. I. BUTTERFLIES. (PapiUones.) Besides the characters already given, which distinguish this section of the Lepidoptera, it may be stated that their [ * Modern writers divide them into two great divisions : 1st, Rhopalocera. with filiform antennffi, terminating in a chib or knob, from poTraXoi/, club, and Kfpas, horn; and 2d, Heierocern, with antennae of variable form, sometimes prismatic, linear, pectinated, plumose, &c., &c., from (Tfpos, variable, and Ktpas, horn. — Morris.] BUTTERFLIES. 263 caterpillars always have sixteen legs ; namely, two, which are tapering, jointed, and scaly, to each of the first three seg- ments behind the head, and a pair of thick fleshy legs, with- out joints, to all the remaining segments, except the fourth, fifth, tenth, and eleventh. The butterflies are divisible into two tribes ; namely, the true butterflies, which carry all their wings upright Avhen at rest ; and the skippers, which have only the fore wings upright, the hind wings being nearly horizontal when at rest. 1. Butterflies. In these insects all the wings are erect when at rest, and the antennae are knobbed, but never hooked, at the end. Their caterpillars have a head of moderate size, suspend themselves by the tail when about to transform, and are not enclosed in cocoons. Some of these butterflies have the six legs all equally fitted for walking ; their caterpillars are more or less cylindrical, and secure themselves by a trans- verse band, as Avell as by the tail, previously to their trans- formation to chrysalids ; and the latter are angular. All these characters exist in the following species. In the month of June there may be found on the leaves of the parsley and carrot certain caterpillars, (Plate IV. Fig. 6,) more commonly called parsley-worms, which are somewhat swelled towards the fore part of the body, but taper a little behind. When first hatched they are less than one tenth of an inch in length, are of a black color, Avith a broad white band across the middle, and another on the tail ; and the back is studded with little black projecting points. After they have increased in size, and have cast their coats, it is found that the white band covers only the sixth and seventh segments, that the black projecting points spring from spots of an orange color, and on the lower part of the sides is a row of white spots, two more spots of the same color on the top of the first segment, and one larger 264 LEPIDOPTERA. spot on the tail. These caterpillars alter in color and ap- pearance with each successive moulting, and before they are half grown the projecting points and the white band and spots entirely disappear, the skin becomes perfectly smooth, and of a delicate apple-green color, rather paler at the sides of the body and whitish beneath, and on each segment there is a transverse band consisting of black and yelloAv spots alternately arranged. When touched, they thrust forth, from a slit in the first segment of the body, just behind the head, a pair of soft orange-colored horns, growing together at the bottom, and somewhat like the letter Y in form. The horns are scent-organs, and give out a strong and disagreeable smell, perceptible at some distance, and seem to be designed to defend tlie caterpillars from the annoying attacks of flies and ichneumons. These caterpil- lars usually come to their full size between the 10th and 20th of July, and then measure about one inch and a half in length. After this they leave off eating, desert the plants, and each one seeks some sheltered spot, such as the side of a building or fence, or the trunk of a tree, where it prepares for its transformation. It first spins a little web or tuft of silk against the surface whereon it is resting, and entangles the hooks of its hindmost feet in it, so as to fix them securely to the spot ; it then proceeds to make a loop or girth of many silken threads bent into the form of the letter U, the ends of which are fastened to the surface on which it rests on each side of the middle of its body ; and under this, when finished, it passes its head, and gradually works the loop over its back, so as to support the body, and prevent it from falling downwards. Though it generally prefers a vertical surface on which to fasten itself in an upright posture, it sometimes selects the under side of a limb or of a project- ing ledge, where it hangs suspended, nearly horizontally, by its feet and the loop. Within twenty-four hours after it has taken its station, the caterpillar casts off its caterpillar-skin and becomes a chrysalis, or pupa, (Plate IV. Fig. T,) of a THE ASTERIAS BUTTERFLY. 265 pale green, ochre-yellow, or ash-gray color, with two short ear-like projections above the head, just below which, on the upper part of the back, is a little prominence like a puo-- nose. The chrysalis hangs in the same way as the cater- pillar, and remains in this state from nine to fifteen days, according to the temperature of the atmosphere, cold and wet weather having a tendency to prolong the period. When this is terminated, the skin of the chrysalis bursts open, and a butterfly issues fi-om it, clings to the empty shell till its crumpled and drooping wings have extended to their full dimensions, and have become dried, upon which it flies away in pursuit of companions and food. This butterfly is the Papilio Asterias^ of Cramer. (Plate IV. Fig. 4.) It is of a black color, with a double row of yellow dots on the back ; a broad band, composed of yellow spots, across the wings, and a row of yellow spots near the hind margin ; the hind wings are tailed, and have seven blue spots between the yellow band and the outer row of yellow spots, and, near their hinder angle, an eye-like spot of an orange color Avith a black centre ; and the spots of the under side are tawny orange. The female (Plate IV. Fig. 5) differs from the male, above described, in having only a few small and distinct yellow spots on the upper side of tlie wings. Tlie wings of this butterfly expand from three and a half to four inches. During the month of July the Asterias butterflies may be seen in great abundance upon flowers, and particularly on those of the sweet-scented Phlox. They lay their eggs, in this and the following month, on various umbellate plants, placing them singly on different parts of the leaves and stems. I have found the caterpillars on the parsley, carrot, parsnip, celery, anise, dill, caraway, and fennel of our gar- dens, as well as on the conium, cicuta, sium, and other native plants of the same natural family, which originally [ 5 The synonymes of P. Asterias are P. Troilus Smith Abbot, I. pi. 1 ; P. Ajax Clerck, Icon., t. 83; P. jwlyxenes Fab. — JIokris.] 34 266 LEPIDOPTERA. constituted the appropriate food of these insects, before the exotic species furnished them with a greater variety and abundance. Their injury to these cultivated plants is by no means inconsiderable ; they not only eat the leaves, but are par- ticularly fond of the blossoms and young seeds. I have taken twenty caterpillars on one plant of parsley, which was going to seed. The eggs laid in July and August are hatched soon afterwards, and the caterpillars come to their growth towards the end of September, or the beginning of October ; they then suspend themselves, become chrysalids, in which state they remain during the winter, and are not transformed to butterflies till the last of May or the begin- ning of June in the following year. I know of no method so effectual for destroying these caterpillars as gathering them by hand and crushing them. An expert person will readily detect them by their ravages on the plants which they inhabit ; and a few minutes de- voted, every day or two, to a careful search in the garden, during the season of their depredations, will suffice to re- move them entirely. There is another butterfly which bears a close resemblance to the female of the Asterias butterfly, and is nearly of the same size ; but the blue spots on the hind wings are much larger, and cover nearly one third of the surface ; the yel- low spots around the margin are larger and paler ; the eye- like spot near the hind angle has not a black centre, and there is a large orange-colored spot near the middle of the front margin of the same wings. This species is the Troilus butterfly, or Papilio Troilus of Linnaeus. The caterpillar is entirely different from that of the As- terias butterfly. It lives on the leaves of the sassafras-tree, upon the upper surface of which it spins a little web, and folds over the sides of the leaf so as to form a furrow or case, in which it resides. The fore part of its body is large and swollen, and it tapers thence to the tail. When first THE TROILUS BUTTERFLY. 267 liatched it is slate-colored above, with a black spot like an eye on each side of the third segment, below and behind which is a large and long white spot, and the top of the eleventh segment is white. After changing its skin, it be- comes of a pale brownish olive color, the white spots dis- appear, and on the top of the back we find two rows of minute blue dots. When fourteen or fifteen days old it changes its skin and its colors again, the back becoming pea- green, with blue dots, the sides yellowish, and the head, belly, and legs pink ; there is a transverse black line on the top of the first segment, and there are two large orange- colored spots on the fourth segment, and two of the same color, with a black centre, on the third segment. The cat- erpillar retains these colors from ten to sixteen days, increas- ing greatly in size during this period, and finally attains to the length of two inches or more. It comes to its full growth when about four weeks old, and then eats no longer, but, deserting its leafy habitation, it seeks a suitable place in which to undergo its transformation, previously to which it casts off its green coat, and appears in one of an ochre-yellow color. It then suspends itself in the same way as the cat- erpillar of the Asterias butterfly, and within two or 'three days after its last change of skin it moults again, and be- comes a chrysalis. The chrysalis is generally of a pale wood-color, smoother than that of the preceding species, and with rather longer and sharper ear-like projections. The chrysalids, which are pro- duced fi'om caterpillars hatched in August and September, remain unchanged through the winter, and are not trans- formed to butterflies till the middle of the following; June. It is possible that these butterflies may lay their eggs so early as to produce a brood of caterpillars in the summer, and these may come to their growth, and pass through their transfor- mations, before September ; but I have only found the cater- pillars towards the end of summer. I once discovered them on the leaves of the lilac, on Avhich they appeared to thrive ■juite as well as on the sassafras. 268 LEPIDOPTERA. One more butterfly is found in Massachusetts, resembling the preceding in its larva state and in its habits. It is our largest species, expanding from four and a half to five inches. The prevailing color of the wings is yellow, with a broad black margin, on which is a row of yellow spots ; the fore rig. 9". wings have four short black bands extending from their front edge, and the hind wings are tailed, and are ornamented with an orange-red spot near the hind angle. It is the Papilio Turnus of Linnaeus (Fig. 97).* The caterpillar of the Turnus butterfly (Fig. 98) lives upon the leaves of apple and wild-cherry trees, folding them up in the same way as does that of the Troilus butterfly, which, moreover. Fig. 98. [* In this figure, and others which follow, the under side of the wing, detached from the body of the insect, is represented, as well as the upper side, which in this figure is on the left, and connected with the body. — Ed.] THE WHITE BUTTERFLY. 2G9 it resembles in form. When fully grown, it measures from two to two and a half inches in length ; it is of a green color above, with little blue clots in rows, a yellow eye-spot with a black centre on each side of the third segment, a yellow and black band across the fourth segment, and the head, belly, and legs are pink. It suspends itself and becomes a chrysalis about the first of August, and is not changed to a butterfly till the month of June in the following summer. Great numbers of these butterflies are sometimes seen around puddles of water left by rain in New Hampshire, where this species is much more common and abundant than in Massa- chusetts. The caterpillars of the three foregoing species are the only ones in Massachusetts which are provided with forked scent-organs, capable of being withdrawn and concealed within the first segment of the body. All Avhich follow are destitute of this means of defence. In Europe there are several kinds of caterpillars which live exclusively on the cruciferous or oleraceous plants, such as the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radish, turnip, and mustard, and oftentimes do considerable injury to them. The prevailing color of these caterpillars is green, and that of the butterflies produced from them, white. They belong to a genus called Pontia ; in which the hind wings are not scalloped nor tailed, but are rounded and entire on the edges, and are grooved on the inner edge to receive the abdomen ; the feelers are rather slender, but project beyond the head ; and the antennjB have a short flattened knob ; their caterpillars are nearly cylindrical, taper a very little towards each end, and are sparingly clothed with short down, which requires a microscope to be distinctly seen ; they suspend themselves by the tail and a transverse loop ; and their chrysalids are angular at the sides, and pointed at both ends. In the northern and western parts of INIassachusetts there is a white butterfly, which, in all its states, agrees with the 270 LEPIDOPTERA, foregoing characters. Fig. 99. It is the Pontia oleracea^ (Fig. 99), potherb Pontia, or white butterfly, and was first de- scribed by me in the year 1829, in the seventh vol- ume of the " New England Farmer." * About the last of May, and the beginning of June, it is seen flutter- ing over cabbage, radish, and turnip beds, and patches of mustard, for the purpose of depositing its eggs. These are fastened to the under sides of the leaves, and but seldom more than three or four are left upon one leaf. The eggs are yellowish, nearly pear- shaped, longitudinally ribbed, and are one fifteenth of an inch in length. They are hatched in a week or ten days after they are laid, and the caterpillars produced from them attain their full size when three weeks old, and then measure about one inch and a half in length. Being of a pale green color, they are not readily distinguished from the ribs of the leaves beneath Avhich they live. They do not devour the leaf at its edge, but begin indiscriminately upon any part of its under side, through which they eat irregular holes. When they have completed the feeding stage, they quit the plants, and retire beneath palings, or the edges of stones, or into the interstices of walls, where they spin a little tuft of silk, entangle the hooks of their hindmost feet in it, and then proceed to form a loop to sustain the fore part of the body in a horizontal or vertical position. Bending its head on one side, the caterpillar fastens to the surface, beneath the middle of its body, a silken thread, which it carries across [6 Pontia oleracea belongs to the genus Pieris Schrk. (^lorris's Catalogue). The P. casta of Kirby, in Fuun. Bor., IV. 288, is only a variety of Harris's P. oleracea; and Kirby 's casta is the cruciferarum of Boisd. Spec. Gen., I. 619. — Morris ] * Page 402. For a figure of it, see " Lalie Superior," by Agassiz and Cabot, pi. 7, fig. 1. THE WHITE BUTTERFLY. 271 its back and secures on the other side, and repeats this operation till the united threads have formed a band or loop of sufficient strength. On the next day it casts off the caterpillar skin, and becomes a chrysalis. This is sometimes of a pale green, and sometimes of a white color, regularly and finely dotted with black ; the sides of the body are angular, the head is surmounted by a conical tubercle, and over the fore part of the body, corresponding to the thorax of the included butterfly, is a thin projection, having in profile some resemblance to a Roman nose. The chrysalis state lasts eleven days, at the expiration of which the insect comes forth a butterfly. The wings are white, but dusky next to the body ; the tips of the upper ones are yellowish beneath, with dusky veins ; the under side of the hinder wings is straw-colored, with broad dusky veins, and the angles next to the body are deep yellow ; the back is black, and the antennae are blackish, with narrow white rings, and ochre-yellow at the tips. The wings ex- pand about two inches. I have seen these butterflies in great abundance during the latter part of July and the beginning of August, in pairs, or laying their eggs for a second brood of caterpillars. The chrysalids produced from this autumnal brood survive the winter, and the butterflies are not disclosed from them till May or June. In gardens or fields infested by the cater- pillars, boards, placed horizontally an inch or two above tlie surface of the soil, will be resorted to by them when they are about to change to chrysalids, and here it will be easy to find, collect, and destroy them, either in the caterpillar or chrysalis state. The butterflies also may easily be taken by a large and deep bag-net of muslin, attached to a handle of five or six feet in length ; for they fly low and lazily, especially when busy in laying their eggs. In Europe the caterpillars of the white butterflies are eaten by the larger titmouse (^Parus major^, and probably our own titmouse or chickadee, Avith other insect-eating birds, will be found equally useful, if jiroperly protected. 272 LEPIDOPTERA. Fig. 101. Twice a year our pastures and road-sides are enlivened by great numbers of the small yellow Pliilodice butterfly (^Colias Philodice of Go- dart). (Fig. 100, male; Fig. 101, female.) They begin to appear towards the end of April, are common throughout the month of May, after which no more are seen till near the end of July, when a new brood begins to come forth, and some of them continue till late in the autumn. Their wings are yellow, with a black hind border, which in the fe- males is quite broad on the fore wings, and spotted with yellow ; the fringes of the wings, the antennae, and the shanks are red ; the fore Avings have a small narrow black spot on both sides near the mid- dle ; the hind wings have a round orange-colored spot in the middle of the upper side, which on the under side is replaced by a large and a small silvery spot close together, and surrounded by a rust-colored ring. The males are generally smaller than the females. The caterpillars live upon clover, medicago, and lucerne, and I have occasionally found them on pea-vines. They are green, slightly downy, paler or yelloAvish at the sides, and grow to the length of about one inch and a half. They suspend themselves to the stems of plants by the tail and a trans- verse loop, in the same way as the preceding species. The chrysalis (Fig. 102) is straw-colored, not angulated at the sides, with a slight prominence over the thorax, and the anterior extremity ends in a short and blunt point. The genus CoUas, to which the Philodice butterfly belongs, is THE LYCENIANS, 273 distinguished by the following characters. Six legs formed for walkino; ; short antennte, gradually '^ . . Fig- 102. thickened towards the end ; wings entire, hinder ones rounded, with a gutter on their inner edge to receive the abdomen, and the central mesh closed behind by an an- gular vein ; caterpillars cylindrical, smooth or downy ; not striped on the top of the back ; suspending themselves by the tail and a loop round the body ; chrysalids somcAvhat gibbous or bulging, not angulated at the sides, and conical at the upper ex- tremity. We have several kinds of small six-footed butterflies, some of which are found, during the greater part of the summer, in the fields and around the edges of Avoods, flying Ioav and frequently alighting, and oftentimes collected together in little swarms on the flowers of the clover, mint, and other sweet- scented plants. Their caterpillars secure themselves by the hind feet and a loop, Avhen about to transform ; but they are very short and almost oval, flat below and more or less convex above, with a small head, which is concealed under the first ring ; and the feet, Avhich are sixteen in number, are so short, that these caterpillars in moving seem to glide rather than creep. The chrysalids (Fig. 103) are Fig. 103. short and thick, with the under side flat, the upper side very convex, and both extremities rounded or obtuse. They belong to a little group which may be called Lycenians (Lyc^nad^), from the principal genus included in it. The most common of these butterflies has generally been mistaken for the European Lyccena Phlceas, but I am con- vinced that it is distinct, and propose to call it the American copper butterfly, Lyccena Americana (Fig. 104). The fore wings on the upper side are coppery red, Avith about eight small square black spots, and the hind margin broadly bor- 35 274 LEPIDOPTERA. Fig. 104. tiered with dusky brown ; hind wings with a few small black spots on the middle, and a broad cop- pery-red band on the hind margin. The wings expand from lyV to 1| inch. This butterfly is found through- out the summer fluttering on the grass and other low plants. The caterpillar is long, oval, and slightly convex above, and of a greenish color ; it probably lives, like the Phlceas^ on the leaves of dock and sorrel. The chrysalis, which is usually suspended under a stone, is light yellowish-brown, and spot- ted with black dots. The Epixanthe butterfly, Lyccena Epixanthe (Boisduval), resembles the preceding in form and size, but is of a dusky brown color above, with a few black spots on the middle of the wings, and a narrow, wavy band, or a few contiguous spots of an orange color on the hinder margin of the pos- terior wings. This species is rather rare. The wings in both these butterflies are entire, or not notched or tailed, and the knobs of their antennae are short, thick, and nearly oval. There are others with the hind wings also entire and rounded, but the knobs of the antennae are longer and not near so thick, and their caterpillars are shorter and very convex above. These characters exist in the beautiful azure-blue butterfly, Polyommatus Pseudargiolus (Boisd.), (Fig. 105, male. Fig. 106, var. profile,) which measures Fig. 105. Fig. 106. from lyV to 1\ inch across the win rrs. These in the male are lio[ht blue on the upper side, with the lustre of satin ; the fore wings of the female have a broad blackish outer margin, and on that of the hind wings is a row of small blackish spots ; all the wings on the under side are pearl-gray, with little blackish spots ; the fringes of the wings are white. THE COMYNTAS BUTTERFLY. 275 The blue Lucia butterfly (^Polyommatiis Lucia of Kirby) greatly resembles the preceding, but the black border of the fore wings in the female is not so broad, the fringes of the wings are spotted with black, and all the wings on the under side are dusky gray, with larger blackish spots, and a broad blackish border behind. INIr. Kirby has described only the male of this butterfly, in the fourth volume of the Fauna Boreali- Americana. It is found in April and May. The Comyntas butterfly (^Polyommatus Comyntas of Go- dart) is readily distinguished from the foregoing by having a little thread-like tail on the edge of the hind wings. The wings in the males are violet blue, and in the females black- ish glossed with blue on the upper side, Avith whitish fringes ; there are several blackish spots around the hind margins, and on the hind wings near the posterior margin two cres- cents of a deep orange-color. The under sides of all the wings are gray, with black spots encircled with white, and each of the two orange-colored crescents of the hind wings encloses a deep black spot encircled with silvery blue. The wings expand about one inch. This butterfly is found in dry woods and pastures in July and August, and the cater- pillars live on the leaves of the Lespedeza^ which grows in those places. They are oval, convex, and downy, of a pale green color with three darker green lines, the sides of the body reddish, and the head black. The chrysalis, which is usually fastened to a leaf, is at first pale green, but becomes brownish afterwards ; it is sparingly clothed with whitish hairs, and there are three rows of black dots on the back. The chrysalis state lasts from nine to eleven days. We have several more of these small butterflies with thread-like tails on their hind wings, but they differ from all the preceding species in having the knobs of the antennae longer and nearly cylindrical, the eyes covered with a very fine down, and an oval opaque spot on the fore wings, near the front margin in the males. They belong to the genus Thecla. Their caterpillars are longer and flatter than those 276 LEPIDOPTERA. in the genus PolyommatuB, and tliey usually live on trees. One of our largest kinds is the Falacer butterfly ( Thecla Falacer of Godart). Its wings expand from lyV ii^^li ^o \-^^ inch, are dark brown on the upper side, with two slender tails, one of which is very short, on each of the hind wino;s ; and on the hind marmn of the same wings is an orange-colored spot, larger and more conspicuous in the females than in the other sex ; the under side of the wings is lighter brown; and on each wing near the middle is a dark-brown spot margined within and without with white, and beyond the middle thai'e are two rows of spots of the same color, bordered on one side only with white ; besides these spots, there are on the hind Avings near the margin three or four orange-colored crescents, the inner one of which is separated from the others by a large blue spot. This insect is found among bushes in July and August. The caterpil- lar is said to live upon various kinds of hawthorns. The streaked Thecla (^Thecla strigosa') has a long and a short tail on each of the hind wings, and is of a dark -brown color without spots on the upper side ; the wings beneath are ornamented with wavy transverse white streaks, and near the hind margin of the posterior wings is a row of deep orange-colored crescents, with a large blue spot near the hindmost ano;le. It measures one inch and one tenth across the wino-s. I took it on Blue Hill on the 1st of August. In the markings of the under side of the wings it nearly resem- bles Thecla Liparo2?s. The heads of the common hop are frequently eaten by the little green and downy caterpillars of a very pretty butterfly, which has been mistaken for the Thecla Favonius, figured in Mr. Abbot's " Natural History of the Insects of Georgia"; but it diflers from it in so many respects, that I do not hesitate to give it another name, and will therefore call it the hop-vine Thecla, TJiecla Humuli ' * (Plate IV. Fig. 3). [ T r. Humuli is the T. melinus of Hiibner. — Morris.] * M. Boisduval has figured and described this species under the name of Thecla Favonius, in his "Histoire des Lepidopteres de rAm^rique Septentrionale." THE AUBURN THECLA. 277 The wings on the upper side are dusky brown, with a tint of blue-gray, and, in the males, there is an oval darker spot near the front edge ; the hind wings have two short, thread-like tails, the inner one the longest, and tipped with white ; along the hind margin of these same wings is a row of little pale blue spots, interrupted by a large orange-red crescent enclosing a small black spot , the wings beneath are slate-gray, with two Avavy streaks of brown edged on one side with white, and on the hind wings an orange- colored spot near the hind angle, and a larger spot of the same color enclosing a black dot just before the tails. It expands one inch and one tenth. The last of these butterflies with two tails to each of the hind wings, does not seem to have been described, unless it is to be referred to the Simaethis of Drury, the Damon of Cramer, or the Smilacis of Boisduval, with the descriptions of which it does not fully agree. I propose, therefore, to call it the Auburn Thecla {Thecla Auhmniana)^ from a favorite spot near Cambridge, formerly known by the name of Sweet Auburn, where I have repeatedly taken it before the place was converted to a cemetery. As in the preceding species, the outermost of the tails is very short, and often nothing remains of it but a little tooth on the edge of the wing. It varies considerably in color ; the females are generally deep brown above, but sometimes the wings are rust-colored or tawny in the middle, as they always are in the males ; the oval opaque spot which characterizes the latter sex is ochre- yellow. Upon the under side the wings in both sexes are green, the anterior pair tinged with brown from the middle to the inner edge ; externally, next to the fringe, they are all margined by a narrow wavy white line, bordered inter- nallv with brown ; this line on the fore wings does not reach the inner margin ; on the hind wings it consists of six spots arranged in a zigzag manner, and the last spot next to the inner margin is remote from the rest ; besides these there are on the same wings three more white spots bordered with 278 LEPIDOPTERA'. brown between the zigzag band and the base ; and between the same band and the margin three black spots, behind the middle one of which is a rust-red spot with a black centre. The wings expand from l^'j to ll'^y inch. This pretty species is found on the mouse-ear (^G-naphaliiun plantacjineurn) in May, and on the flowers of the spearmint in August. Some kinds of Tliecla have the hind edo;es of the wings notched, but not tailed. This is the case with the Niphon Fig. 107. butterfly (^Thecla Niphon of Hiib- ner), (Fig. 107,) which has been taken at Sweet Auburn early in j\Iay. As in the Auburn butterfly, the wings are deep brown above, with a large rusty space on each ; the notches on their edges are white, and the teeth between them are rounded and of a black color ; on the under side the wings are light brown, with dark brown wavy and zigzag lines, two of which are bordered on one side with white. The wings expand 1^ inch. The Mopsus butterfly ( Thecla Mopsus of Hiibner) differs from all the foregoing in having the hind wings entire and not tailed ; but the inner angle projects a little, as it does in some species of Lycoena. In form, and in the color and arrangement of the spots on the under side of the wings, it approaches to the Phlceas and Americana; but in these species the eyes are not downy, and the males have not the oval opaque spot near the front margin of the anterior wings. The Mopsus butterfly is dark brown above, with a row of seven or eight deep orange-colored spots near the margin of the hind wings, larger and much more conspicuous on the under than on the upper side. The Avings beneath are light brown, with a row of deep orange or vermilion-colored spots near the hind marn;ins of all the wings, an inner and more irregular row of small black spots encircled with white on the same, and two more similar spots close together on the middle of the hind wings. It expands 1^^ inch. My only FOUR-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES. 279 specimen of this fine butterfly was taken at Sandwich, by Mr. John Betliune. Some butterflies have the first pair '^ of legs so much shorter than the oth- ers that they cannot be used in walk- ing, and are folded on the breast like a tippet. Their caterpillars, when about to transform, do not make a Thecia Augusta, loop to support the fore part of tlie body, but suspend them- selves vertically by the hindmost feet. As they all secure themselves pretty much in the same way, it may be proper to explain the process. Having finished eating, the caterpil- lar wanders about till it has discovered a suitable situation in which to pass through its transformations. This may be the under side of a branch or of a leaf, or any other hor- izontal object beneath which it can find sufficient room for its future operations. Here it spins a web or tuft of silk, fastening it securely to the surface beneath Avliich it is restino;, entangles the hooks of its hindmost feet among the threads, and then contracts its body and lets itself drop so as to hang suspended by the hind feet alone, the head and fore part of the body being curved upwards in the form of a hook. After some hours, the skin over the bent part of the body is rent, the fore part of the chrysalis protrudes from the fissure, and, by a wrig- ghng kind of motion, the caterpillar-skin is slipped back- wards till only the extremity of the chrysalis remains attached to it. The chrysalis has now to release itself entirely from the caterpillar-skin, which is gathered in folds around its tail, and to make itself fast to the silken tuft by the minute hooks with Avhich the hinder extremity is provided. Not having the assistance of a transverse loop to support its body while it disengages its tail, the attempt would seem perilous in the extreme, if not impossible. Without having witnessed the operation, we should suppose that the insect would inevitably fall, while endeavoring to accomplish its object. But, al- 280 LEPIDOPTERA. though unprovided with ordinary limbs, it is not left without the means to extricate itself from its present difficulty. The hinder and tapering part of the chrysahs consists of several rings or segments, so joined together as to be capable of moving from side to side upon each other ; and these supply to it the place of hands. By bending together two of these rings near the middle of the body, the chrysalis seizes, in the crevice between them, a portion of the empty caterpillar-skin, and clings to it so as to support itself while it withdraws its tail from the remainder of the skin. It is now wholly out of the skin, to which it hangs sus- pended by nipping together the rings of its body ; but, as the chrysalis is much shorter than the caterpillar, it is yet at some distance from the tuft of silk, to Avhich it must climb before it can fix in it the hooks of its hinder extremity. To do this, it extends the rings of its body as far apart as possible, then, bending together two of them above those by which it is suspended, it catches hold of the skin higher up, at the same time letting go below, and, by repeating this process with different rings in succession, it at length reaches the tuft of silk, entangles its hooks among the threads, and then hangs suspended without further risk of falling. It next contrives to dislodge the cast caterpillar-skin by whirl- ing itself around repeatedly, till the old skin is finally loos- ened from its attachment and falls to the ground. The whole of this operation, difficult as it may seem, is performed in the space of a very few minutes, and rarely does the in- sect fail to accomplish it successfully and safely. We may see the whole process in the caterpillars of the Archippus butterfly (^Danais Archippus of Fabricius), which lives on the common silk-weed or milk-weed (^Asdejnas Syriaca) in June and July. This caterpillar is cylindrical, with a pair of thread-like black horns on the top of the second segment, and a shorter pair on the eleventh segment, and its body is mai'ked with alternate transverse bands of yellow, black, and white. It comes to its growth in about THE ARCHIPPUS BUTTERFLY. 281 fourteen days, during which it changes its skin three times, and finally attains to the length of nearly two inches. The chrysalis is about an inch long, but very thick, nearly cylin- drical in the middle, and rounded at each end, with a very slender black point, by which it is suspended. Its skin is exceedingly thin and delicate, of a light green color, and ornamented with golden spots and a transverse stripe of black and gold. The chrysalis state lasts ten or twelve days, at the expiration of which the butterfly comes forth. The Archippus butterfly is very common on flowers, particularly on low lands, from the middle of July to the first of Sep- tember. The wings on the upper side are tawny orange, on the under side deep nankin-yellow ; they are surrounded by a black border spotted with white ; the veins are black, and there are several yellow and white spots on the black tips of the fore wings. The males are distinguished by an elevated black spot contiguous to one of the veins near the middle of the hind wings. This butterfly measures across the wings from 3^ to 4| inches. The antennce in the genus Danais have a long and curved knob ; the head and thorax are spotted with white ; the males have an elevated .spot near the middle of the hind wings, which in both sexes are rounded, and never tailed or indented. The caterpillars are furnished with projecting thread-like horns in pairs, and the chrysalids are short and thick, somewhat oval, and are ornamented with golden spots. The other characters of the genus are the same as those of the division to which it belongs. We have another four-footed butterfly which closely re- sembles the Archippus in color and markings, but differs from it entirely in the chrysalis and caterpillar state. It is the Disippe butterfly (^Nymphalis Disippe* of Godart). (Fig. 109.) It is of a tawny yellow above, and of a paler yellow beneath, the wings are surrounded by a broad black border spotted with white, the veins are black, there is a triangvilar patch spotted with white near the tips of the fore wings, and * This is the Misippus of Fabricius, but not of Linnajus. 36 282 LEPIDOPTERA. on the hind wings a curved black band. It expands from three to three and a half inches. The caterpillar lives on the poplar and willow ; it is of a pale brown color, more or less variegated with white on the sides, and sometimes with green on the back ; the head is notched on the top ; there is a hump on the second segment, from which proceed two Fig. 109. slender blackish horns, barbed on all sides with little points ; the third, fourth, and fifth segments are also somewhat humped above, and on the tenth and eleventh are short tu- bercles. It suspends itself by the hind feet, before chang- ing to a chrysalis. The latter is angular, and tapers towards the tail ; it is of a pale brown or ashen-gray color, with the sides of the back and the extremity of the body whitish ; and there is a thin almost circidar projection standing verti- cally on its edge on the middle of the back. The butterfly appears in September, and lays its eggs for a second brood of caterpillars, which are transformed to chrysalids in the autumn, and remain without further change till the following spring, when they are changed to butterflies. The genus Nymplialis * is readily distinguished by the following characters. Four-footed butterflies, with a long straio-ht and slender knob to the antenna?, the edges of the * The name Limenitis,' under which I formerly included our species, is now appropriated by Dr. Boisduval to certain butterflies of the eastern continent, such as the Camilla, &c. THE EPHESTION BUTTERFLY. 283 wings, particularly of the hinder ones, scalloped but not tailed, the inner margin grooved so as to receive and conceal the abdomen below, no closed mesh in the middle of the wings, and no elevated spot on them in the males ; cater- pillars and chrysalids in form like those of the Disippe, and suspended only by the hindmost extremity. The caterpillar of the Ephestion butterfly (^Nymphalis Ephestion of Stoll) is of a brownish color, more or less varie- gated with white on the sides, and with green above, and, like that of the Disippe, has two long barbed brown horns on the second segment. I have found it on the scrub-oak (^Qucrcus iUcifolid) in June, but JNIr. Abbot says it lives on the whortleberry-bush and the cherry-tree. The chrysalis is not to be distinguished from that of the Disippe in form and color, and the butterfly leaves it eleven days after the insect has changed from a caterpillar. This butterfly is found about the middle of June ; I have seen it again in September, though rarely, and the caterpillars of the last brood remain in the chrysalis state throughout the winter, and are changed to butterflies in the months of April and May following. This butterfly is of a blue-black color, finely glossed with blue on the hinder part of the wings, the scalloped edges of which are white, and the hind margins bordered with three black lines ; near the tips of the fore wings are two or three white spots, and just within the border a row of orange-colored spots ; these spots are moi'e distinct on the under side of the fore wings, which are more or less tinged with brown, and have near the body two large orange-colored spots ; on the under side of the hind wings is a row of seven orange-colored spots inside of the hind border, and three more of the same color near the shoulders of the wings. It expands from 3 to 3f| inches. The Arthemis butterfly (^JSfymphalis Arthemis of Drury) (Plate I. Fig. 7) is very rare in Massachusetts, but more common in the hilly parts of New Hampshire. It is smaller than the precedmg, measuring from 2!^ to 3 inches. 284 LEPIDOPTERA. resembles it a good deal in form and general color, but is readily distinguished from it, and from all the other American butterflies, by the broad white arched band on the wings, which, beginning just beyond the middle of the front edse of the fore wino;s, curves backwards, crossing both wings, and ends on the inner edge of the hind wings. The male differs from the female in having a row of orange-col- ored spots on the itpper side of the hind wings next to the border, as well as on the under side. The caterpillar and chrysalis of this species are unknown to nie. The caterpillars of many of the four-footed butterflies are spiny, or have their backs armed with numerous projecting points ; these, in some, are short and soft, and beset all around with very small stiff" hairs, in others they are long, hard, and sharp prickles, whicli generally are furnished with little stiff" branches. The butterflies have the knobs of the antennjB short and broad ; the feelers are rather long, and placed close together, at the base at least ; the inner margin of the hind wrings is folded downwards, and grooved for the reception of the body ; the central mesh of these wings is not closed behind ; and the nails of the four hind feet arc divided so as to appear double. This group may be called Vanessians (VANESSADiE), and contains the genera Argyn- nts, Melitcea^ Cynthia^ and Vanessa. In Argynnis the wings are never angulated or toothed, and the hind ones are generally ornamented with silvery or pearly spots beneath; the feelers spread apart at their points; the caterpillars have a round head, and are furnished with branched spines on all their segments, two of those on the first segment being usually longer than the rest, and directed forwards ; chrysalids somewhat angular, arched, rather thick at both ends, with the head squared or very slightly notched, without a prominent nose-like projection on the thorax, and on the back are two rows of projecting points, which are usually golden-colored. Most of the caterpillars in this senus are observed to live on various kinds of violets, and THE aRGYNNIS BUTTERFLIES. 285 on tliese plants we may expect to find the caterpillars of our native species, Avliich as yet are mostly unknown, in the months of May, June, and July. Argynnis Idalia, Drury. Idalla Butterfly. (Fig. 110.) Fore wings deep tawny orange, spotted with Llack, and with a broad black hind border, around Avhich, in the fe- males, is a row of white spots ; hind wings blue-black above. Fig. 110. with two rows of spots behind, both of which in the female are cream-colored, but in the males the spots of the outer row are deep tawny orange ; all the wings on the under side have a row of pearly-white crescents within the black border ; and on the hind wings, which are brown, are seven- teen more pearly-Avhite spots ; the fringes of all the wings are spotted with white. Expands from C^ to 3.^ inches or more. This large and fine butterfly is found in meadows in the latter part of July and beginning of August. Argynnis Aphrodite, Fabricius. Aphrodite Butterfly. (Fig. 111.) Wings tawny-yellow in the males, ochre-yellow in the females, in both brownish next to the body, with a black line near the hinder margins, within which is a row of black crescents, and within the latter is a row of round black 286 LEPIDOPTERA. spots ; the rest of the surface is more or less covered with large irregular black spots ; beneath the tips of the fore wings are seven or eight silvery spots, and on the under Fig. 111. side of the hind wings are above twenty large silveiy-white spots, six of which are near the base, and the rest are arranged in three curved rows. Expands from 2f to 3^ inches. Very common on flowers in low grounds in the latter part of July and the beginning of August. Argynnis Myrina, Ci'amer. Myrina Butterfly. (Fig. 112.) Wings tawny, bordered with black above, with a row of black crescents adjoining the border, and another of round black spots at a distance from it ; the remainder of the sur- face from the base to the mid- dle with irregular black spots; under side of the hind wings variegated with brown, with a few ochre-yellow spaces inter- posed, and above twenty silvery-white spots arranged in four rows ; between the two outer rows is a series of black dots, and between the two inner rows a single black dot encir- cled with silvery white. Expands from l^ to l^^jy inch. THE MELIl^EA BUTTERFLIES. 287 Tlie wings and the feelers of this and the following species are pro})ortionalIy more elongated tliun in the Idalia and Aphrodite butterflies. The INIyrina begins to appear about the last of May, and may be found till the end of June ; it reappears again in August and September. Argynnis Bellona, Fabricius. Bellona Butterfly. (Figs. 113, 114.) Wings tawny above, with two rows of black spots around the liind margins, at a distance from which is a row of round spots of the same color ; from the base to beyond the middle Fig. 113. Fig. 114. tlie wings are covered with blackish spots, running together more or less, as in the preceding species ; tips of the fore wings beneath, and under side of the hind wings, brownish, and glossed with purplish white on the posterior half of tlie latter, which are variegated with dark brown lines and spots. Expands from 1| to l/^r inch. Very closely resembles the IVIyrina in form and color of the upper surface of the wings, but is easily distinguished from it by the want of the silvery spots beneath. It is found on flowers in the latter part of July. The butterflies of the genus dlelitcea agree in most re- spects with those of Argynnis, except that the under side of the hind wings is usually checkered with various colors, but not ornamented with silvery or pearly spots. Their cater- pillars are veiy different, being covered with blunt tubercles beset with very short stiff bristles, and most of them live on various kinds of plantain. The chrysalids are of the same 258 LEPIDOPTERA. form as those of Argynnis, and spotted with black or brown, but are not ornamented with golden spots. Meliteea Phaeton, Drurj. Phaeton Butterfly. (Fig. 115.) Wings black, with a row of orange-red crescents around Jig ijg the hind margin, within which are from two to four rows of cream-col- ored spots ; on the fore wings, behind the middle of the front margin, are two orange-red spots, and sometimes another of the same color on the middle of the hind wings. All the wings are black beneath, and spotted in the same way as on the upper side, Avith the addition of several large orange-red and pale yellow spots between the middle and the base ; the abdomen has three rows of cream-colored dots on the top. Expands from 2 to 2i inches or more. This species is rare in Massachusetts ; it appears in Ioav grounds in June. The wings are elongated, as in Argynnis 3Iyrina, but the feelers are short. McUtcBa Ismeria .^ Boisduval. I.>mcria Butterfly. Wings taAvny above, blotched with blackish narrow spots at the base, the fore wings blackish on the hind margins and tips ; the hind wings veined and edged with black, with a row of black crescents near the hind border, next to which is a row of round black dots ; body covered with white down beneath ; under side of the wings ochre-yellow, with a row of pale yellow crescents edged with black near the hind margin ; the rest of the surflice of the fore wings variegated with small black and large yellowish spots ; next to the external row of crescents of the hind wings is a row of yellowish dots encircled with black, across the middle a THE PHAROS BUTTERFLY. 289 broad pale yellow band traversed and edged Avitli wavy black lines, which with the black veins divide it into a series of checkers ; on the shoulders of these wings a long pale yellow spot surrounded with black, behind which are three square ones of the same colors, contiguous by their sides, and behind these two more joining each other by their angles. Expands 1^ inch. I think it possible that this species may be distinct from the Ismeria^ which is known to me only by Dr. Boisduval's fiiiure.* The wincrs are short and broad, and the feelers longer and more slender at their tips than in the Phaeton. In the markings of the under side of its hind wings it ap- proaches to the 3IatHrna, Cyntlda^ and Ossianus of Europe. The only specimen which I have seen was sent to me by Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith of Sutton. MiiUtfEa Pharos, Drurr. Pharos Butterfly. (Fig. IIG, male. Fig. 117, female.) "VVings short and broad, tawny-orange above, with a broad black hind border, on which is a row of narrow tawny cres- cents, and before these a row of round black spots, much Fig. 116. Fig. 117. more distinct on the hind than on the fore wings ; the rest of the wings, from the middle to the base, is marked with narrow black spots, running together like network ; and on the fore wings is a large black spot, extending nearly half across the wing ; the under side of the fore wings is tawny, variegated with black and brown, with a buff-colored * Hist, des Lf'pidopt. de I'Am^rique Septent., pi. 46. 37 290 LEPIDOPTERA. spot at tip, and a crescent-shaped one of tlie same color on the middle of the hind margin ; under side of the hind wino"s pale ochre-yellow or butf, variegated with brown lines and spots, with a very large brown spot on the hinder mar- gin, on the middle of which is a whitish crescent, and be- fore this a row of blackish dots. Expands from li^j to li inch. The chrysalis is about half an inch long, brown and sprin- kled with white dots before, and reddish brown with black dots behind, and three rows of minute points on the back ; the anterior extremity is square and the top of the thorax arched, with three little points disposed in a triangle. The butterfly comes out about the first of June. This little and very common butterfly varies considerably in the depth and quantity of its dark markings. It is found on flowers in June, July, and August. The genus Cynthia was proposed by Fabricius to contain certain butterflies which some entomologists now place in Vanessa. Taken, however, in a more limited sense than was originally intended, it may be retained for some of the species which differ from the others in the form and coloring of the wings, in the habits of the caterpillars, and in the shape of the chrysalids. As thus restricted, the genus Cynthia is distinguished by the wings of the butterflies included in it being more or less scalloped on the edges, but not indented or tailed, and not marked with metallic charac- ters beneath ; their feelers are much longer than the head, are tapering, curve upAvards and are contiguous to their extremity, giving the head of the insect, when viewed side- ways, somewhat the form of the bows of a ship. The caterpillars are armed with branched spines, about equal in length on all the segments except the first and last, on which they are often wanting, and the head is heart-shaped, with little elevated points or short spines on the top. They are solitary, and conceal themselves under a web, or within a THE THISTLE BUTTERFLY. 291 folded leaf, and suspend themselves by the liind feet alone when abovit to transform. The chrysalids are angular on the sides, with two or three rows of sharp tubercles on the back, the anterior extremity is nearly square, or hardly notched, and there is a short and thick prominence on the top of the thorax. The tubercles, and oftentimes the gi'eater part of the surface of the chrysalis, have the color and lustre of burnished gold ; from wliich originated the name chrysa- lis, derived fi'om the Greek name for gold, now, however, applied to other insects in their second stage of transforma- tion, which are not golden-colored. Cynthia Cardui. Thistle Butterfly. (Fig. IIS.) Wings tawny above, with a tinge of rose-red, spotted with black and white ; hind Avings marbled beneath, with a Fig. 118. triangular white spot in the middle, and a row of five eye- like spots near the hind margin. Expands 2i to 2^ inches or more. The caterpillars of this butterfly are found on thistles, particularly the spear-thistle ( Cnicus lanceolatus) and cotton- thistle ( Onopordon acantJdum'), on the loaves of the sun- flower, hollyhock, burdock, and other rough-leaved plants, in June and July. Though there may be several on the same plant, they keep at some distance from each other. Each one spins for itself a thin web on the surface of the leaf, usually near the edge, to which it is also fastened, so as to 292 LEPIDOPTERA. draw over a part of the leaf, and thus form a httle tent beneath whicli the caterpillar lives. It devours the skin and pulpy substance of the leaf, without touching the under skin ; and, when it has exhausted the part under its tent, it removes to another j^lace, and makes a larger habitation as before. Very young caterpillars, which are distinguished by their darker color as Avell as their inferior size from the older ones, cover themselves with a very small portion of the leaf, and are principally protected by means of the silken tent. The full-grown caterpillar is about one inch and a half long. Its head is black, its feet reddish, its body striped with black and yellow interrupted lines, with about seven branched spines, of a white color tipped with black, on each segment except the first, those on the fore part of the body being more obscure than the rest. These caterpillars fre- quently suspend themselves to tlie plants on which they live, and they seldom wander far in search of a place wherein to prepare for transformation. The chrysalis varies in color, being most often brown, with golden or brassy spots on the sides and back, sometimes entirely golden, and sometimes white with a silvery lustre. The chrysalis state lasts from eleven to fourteen days. The butterflies appear from the middle to the end of July, and are found on the flowers of thistles and other plants. I have also found them early in May, and as late as the month of August. Cynthia Huntera, Fab. Hunter's Butterfly. (Fig. 119.) Wings tawny above, variegated and spotted with black and white ; hind wings marbled and streaked- beneath, with two large eye-like spots near the hind margin. Expands from 2.} to* 2J inches. The caterpillars are found on the same plants as those of the thistle butterfly, and particularly on the burdock and cotton-thistle in June and July. Mr. Abbot says that they live on a species of everlasting (^CrnapJialiuni j^olijccpJialum') also. They, as well as the chiysalids, are very much like THE LAVINIA BUTTERFLY. 293 those of the preceding species. The butterflies appear in August and September. Fig. 119. Cynthia Lavinia* Fab. Lavinia Butterfly. "VYings dark brown above, each with a large and a small eye-like spot on both sides ; the fore wings witli two orange- red spots near the middle of the front margin, and a large whitish band enclosing the hinder eye-like spots ; hind Avings with a reddish band near the hind margin. Expands from 2 to 2^ inches. The caterpillar is said to be blackish and dotted with white, with the belly and legs tawny, and two white lines on each side, the uppermost one of which is spotted with tawny orange ; the spines (of which there are two short ones on the head, besides those on the body) are black and branched. According to Mr. Abbot, it lives on the Canada snap-dragon (^Antirrhinum Canadense), and remains in the chrysalis state sixteen days. The chrysalis resembles in form that of the two preceding species, but is said to be destitute of metal- lic spots. I took one of these butterflies in a meadow in Milton, on the 19th of August, 1827, and have never met with it since in this State. It is very common in the South- ern States throughout the whole of the summer. * Dr. Boisduval has described this insect under the specific name of Cania. 294 LEPIDOPTERA. Cynthia Atalanta, L. Atalanta Butterfly. (Fig. 120.) Wings black above, spotted with -wliite near the tips of tlie first pair, on whicli is also an orange-red band across the middle ; hind wings with a marginal orange-red band, Fig 120. on which is a row of black dots, the two nearest to the hind angle having a pale blue centre. Expands from 2^ to 3 inches. The Atalanta butterfly was probably introduced into America from Europe with the common nettle, Avhich it in- habits. It deposits its eggs in May upon the youngest and smallest leaves of this plant, being cautious to drop only one upon a single leaf. The young caterpillar is guarded against injury from the poisonous prickles of the leaf by the numerous branching spines Avith which it is covered, and which, being longer than the prickles, prevent its body from coming in contact with the latter. The head is cov- ered Avith a tovigh shell, which sufficiently protects this part, while its strong and horny jaws are adapted for cutting and chewing the leaves and their prickles with impunity. As soon as the caterpillar is hatched, it spins a little Aveb to cover itself, securing the threads all around to the edges of the leaf, so as to bend upwards the sides and form a kind of trough, in which it remains concealed. One end of the cavity is open, and through this the caterpillar thrusts THE ATALANTA BUTTEKFLY. 295 its head while eating. It begins with the extremity of the folded leaf, and eats downwards, and, as it gradually consumes its habitation, it retreats backwards, till at last, having, as it were, eaten itself out of house and home, it is forced to abandon its imperfect shelter, and con- struct a new one. This is better than the first ; for the insect has become larger and stronger, and withal more -skilfiil from experience. The sides of the larger leaf selected for its new habitation are drawn together by silken threads, so that the edges of the leaf meet closely and form a light and commodious cavity, which securely shelters and com- pletely conceals the included caterpillar. This in time is eaten like the first, and another is formed in like manner. At length the caterpillar, having eaten up and constructed several dwellino-s in succession, and changed its skin three or four times, comes to its full size, leaves off eating, and seeks a suitable place in which to undergo its transformations. The young caterpillars are almost black ; the full-grown ones measure about one inch and a half, are generally of a brown color more or less dotted with white, with a black head, rough Avith elevated white points, with white branching spines on the back, and on each side there is a row of yellow crescents. The chrysalis is gi'ay, with a whitish bloom upon it like that on a plum, and the little pointed tubercles on its back are gold-colored. The chrysalis state continues about ten days, or longer if the weather be cool and wet. The butterflies from the first brood appear in July, and from the second in September. In the butterflies belonging to the genus Vanessa^ the wings are iagiied or tailed on the hind edges. The under side of the hind wings, in many, is marked with a golden or silvery character in the middle ; the feelers are long, curv- ing, and contiguous, and form a kind of projecting beak. The head of the chrysalis is deeply notched . or furnished with two ear-like prominences ; the sides are very angular ; on the middle of the thorax there is a thin projection, in 296 LEPIDOPTERA. profile somewhat like a Roman nose ; and on the back are two rows of very sharp tubercles of a golden color. The caterpillars are cylindrical, and armed with branching spines ; they live in company, at least during the early period of their existence, and do not conceal themselves under a web or within a folded leaf. Vanessa Anfiopa, L. Antiopa Butterfly.^ (Fig. 121.) Wings purplish brown above, with a broad buff-yellow margin, near the inner edge of which there is a row of pale blue spots. Expands from 3 to 31 inches. This butterfly passes the winter in some slieltered place in a partially torpid state. I have found it in mid-winter Fig. 121. sticking to the rafters of a barn, and in the crevices of walls and stone-heaps, huddled together in great numbers, with the wings doubled together above the back, and apparently benumbed and lifeless ; but it soon recovers its activity on being exposed to warmth. It comes oiit of its winter quar- [ 8 This is one of the few butterflies comiTion to this country and Europe, and has probably been uitroduced here. — JIoRius.] THE ANTIOPA BUTTERFLY. 297 ters very early in spring, often before tlie snow has entirely left the ground, but with ragged and faded wings ; and may be seen sporting in warm and sheltered spots in the begin- ning of March, and through the months of April and May. Wilson, in his beautiful lines on the blue-bird, alludes to its early coming in the spring, " When first the lone butterfly flits on the wing." The caterpillars (Fig. 122) of the.Antiopa butterfly live together in great numbers on j,.. ^22 the poplar, Avillow, and elm, on v \. li a \\^ \> which tlie nrst broods may be ^SniS^^^^Sij^HuZ^ found early in June. They are ^rS^SSF^PW'^^nWi^^^ black, mmutely dotted with white, '' '• ' " with a row of eight dark brick-red spots on the top of the back. The head is black and rough with projecting points ; the spines, of which there are six or seven on each segment except the first, are black, stiff, and branched, and the inter- mediate legs are reddish. When fully grown they measure an inch and three quarters in length, and appear very for- midable with their thorny armature, which is doubtless in- tended to defend them from their enemies. It was formerly supposed that they were venomous, and capable of inflicting dangerous wounds ; and within my remembrance many per- sons Avere so much alarmed on this account as to cut down all tlie poplar-trees around their dwellings.. This alarm Avas unfounded ; for, although there are some caterpillars that have the power of inflicting venomous Avounds Avith their spines and hairs, this is not the case Avitli those of the An- tiopa butterfly. The only injury AA'hich can be laid to their charge is that of despoiling of their foliage some of our most ornamental trees, and this is enough to induce us to take all proper measures for exterminating the insects, short of destroying the trees that they infest. I ha\'e sometimes seen them in such profusion on the AvilloAv and elm, that the limbs bent under their Aveight, and the long leafless branches, 38 298 LEPIDOPTERA. which they had stripped and deserted, gave sufficient proof of tlie voracity of these caterpillars. The chrysalis (Fig. 123) is of a dark brown color, with large tawny spots Fig. 123. around the pointed tubercles on the back. The butterflies come forth in eleven or twelve days after the insects have entered upon the chrysalis state, and this occurs in the beginning of July. A second brood of caterpillars is produced in August, and they pass through all their changes before winter. Vanessa J Album. The White J Butterfly. Wings pale tawny red above, each Avith a white spot be- tween two black ones near the outer angle on the front margin ; the fore wings with a larger black spot on the mid- dle of the front edge, and five smaller roundish black spots near the middle of the Avings ; hind Avings Avith a silvery- Avhite character somewhat in the shape of the letter J in the middle of the under side. Expands from 2i to 3 inches. The caterpillar and chrysalis of tliis butterfly are un- knoAvn to me. The butterfly probably survives the Avinter like the Antiopa, for it has been observed late in the autumn, and again early in the ensuing spring, sometimes in great numbers ; but it is very inconstant in its appearance. It is more common in New Hampshire than in Massachusetts. Vanessa Interrogationis, F. Semicolon Butterfly.^ (Fig. 124.) Wings on the upper side taAvny orange, Avith broAvn spots running together on the hinder part, and Avith black spots in the middle ; hind Avings in the male most often black above, except at the base, and sometimes of this color in the other sex also ; the edges and the tails glossed Avith reddish Avhite ; under side of the wings in some rust-red, in others marbled Avith light and dark broAvn, glossed- Avith reddish AA'hite, and [9 Vanessa Interrogationis belongs to the genus Grapta,'K.\x\)y. — Moekis.] THE SEMICOLON BUTTERFLY. 299 ■with a pale gold-colored semicolon on tlic middle of the hinder pair. Expands from 2^ to 2.f inches, or more. The paly-gold character beneath the hind wings has much more nearly the shape of a semicolon than of a note of interrogation ; * for which reason I have called this the semi- colon butterfly, instead of translating the specific name. It first appeal's in May, and again in August and September, and is frequently seen on the wing, in warm and sunny places, till the middle of October. The caterpillars live on the American elm and lime trees, and also on the hop-vine, Fig. 124. and on the latter they sometimes abound to such a degree as totally to destroy the produce of the plant. In the latter part of August the hop-vine caterpillars come to their full growth, and suspend themselves beneath the leaves and stems of the plant, and change to chrysalids. This fact affords a favorable opportunity for destroying the insects in this their stationary and helpless stage, at some loss, however, of the produce of the vines, which, Avhen the insects have become chrysalids, should be cut down, stripped of the fruit that is sufficiently ripened, and then burnt. There is prob- f * This butterfly received its name from the Greek note of interrogation, which is identical with our semicolon. — Eu.l 300 LEPIDOPTERA. ably an early brood of caterpillars in June or July, but I have not seen any on the hop-vine before August ; the former are therefore confined to the elm and other plants, in all probability. The caterpillar is brownish, variegated with pale yellow, or pale yellow variegated with brown, with a yel- lowish line on each side of the body ; the head is rust-red, with two blackish branched spines on the top ; and the spines of the body are pale yellow or brownish and tipped with black. The chrysalis is ashen brown, with the head deeply notched, and surmounted by two conical ears, a long and thin nose-like prominence on the thorax, and eight silvery spots on the back. The chrysalis state usually lasts from eleven to fourteen days ; but the later broods are more tardy in their transformations, the butterfly sometimes not appearing in less than twenty-six days after the change to the chrysalis. Great numbers of the chrysalids are annually destroyed by little mao-o-ots within them, which, in due time, are trans- formed to tiny four-winged flies (^Pteromalus Vanessce'), which make their escape by eating little holes through the sides of the chrysalis. They are ever on the watch to lay their eggs on the caterpillars of this butterfly, and are so small as easily to avoid being wounded by the branching- spines of their victims. Vanessa Comma. Comma Butterfly.!^ (Plate IV. Fig. 1.) Upper siae tawny orange ; fore wings bordered behind and spotted with black ; hind wings shaded behind with dark brown, with two black spots on the middle, and three more in a transverse line from the front edge, and a row of bright orange-colored spots before the hind margin ; hind edges of the wings powdered with reddish white ; under side marbled with light and dark brown, the hinder wings with a silvery comma in the middle. Expands from 2| to 2| inches. This butterfly very closely resembles the white C (C f i*> V. Comma belongs to the genus Grapta Kirby. — JIokris.] THE PROGNE BUTTERFLY. 301 album) of Europe, for whicli it lias probably been mistaken. On a close and careful comparison of several specimens of both together, I am satisfied that the American Comma is a distinct species, and the hinder edges of the wings, which are not so deeply indented, will at once serve to distinguish it. I have therefore now named and described it for the first time. The caterpillar lives upon the hop, and, as nearly as I can recollect, has a general resemblance to that of the semicolon butterfly. The chrysalis (Plate IV. Fig. 2, chrysalis from which the butterfly has escaped) is brownish gray, or white variegated Avith pale brown, and ornamented with golden spots ; there are two conical ear-like projections on the top of the head, and the prominence on the thorax is shorter and thicker than that of the semicolon butterfly, and more like a parrot's beak in shape. The butterflies appear first in the beginning of May ; I have obtained them from the chrysa- lids in the middle of July, and on the first of September. Vanessa Progne* Fab. Progne Butterfly. Upper side tawny orange ; fore wings bordered and spot- ted with black ; hind wrings blackish on the posterior half, with two black spots before the middle, and a row of small orange-colored spots before the hind margin ; tails and pos- terior edges of the wings powdered with reddish white ; under side gray, with fine blackish streaks, and an angular silvery character somewhat in the form of the letter L on the middle of the hind wings. Expands from 1| to 2^ inches. This butterfly appears in August, and probably also at other times. Though very much like the preceding in general appearance, it is readily distinguished from it by the darker color of the hind wings and the angular shape of the silvery character on their under side. This character is very * Jlr. Kirby, whose work on the insects of North America abounds in mistakes, has redescribed this old and well-known species under the name of Vanessa C. aryenteum. 302 LEPIDOPTERA. slender, and is sometimes entirely wanting. I have raised the Progne and Comma butterflies from caterpillars which were so much alike, that I am not certain to which of them the following description belongs. These caterpillars were found on the American elm in August ; they were pale yellow, with a reddish-colored head, white branching spines tipped with black, and a row of four rusty spots on each side of the body. They were suspended on the 21st and 22d of August, changed to chrysalids Avithin twenty-four hovirs, and were transformed to butterflies sixteen days afterwards. At another time, a Progne butterfly was obtained from a caterpillar, which I neglected to describe, on the 18th of August, the chrysalis state having continued only eleven days. The chrysalis is brownish gray, with silvery spots on the back, a short, thick, and rounded nose-like prominence on the thorax, and two conical double-pointed horns or ears on the head, the outer points very short, and the inner ones longer and curving inwai'ds. VaJiessa Milherti* Godart. Milbert's Butterfly. (Fig. 12o.) Black above, with a broad orange-red band near the hinder margin of all the / Fig. 125. wings, behind which on the hind wings is a row of pale blue crescents ; fore wings Avith a small white spot near the tips, and two orange-red spots near the middle of the front edge ; under side deep brown, with a pale band near the extremity of the wings, and no metallic characters on the hinder pair. Expands from 2^ to 2| inches. This showy butterfly is rare in the vicinity of Boston, but * This is the Vantssa furcillata of Mr. Say; but Godart's name lias the priority in point of time. THE HIPPARCHIANS. 303 abundant in the northwestern part of tlie State and in New Hampshire. It appears in May, and again in July and Au- gust. The caterpillars live together on the common nettle. They vary in color, some being much darker than others ; generally, however, they are pale brown, minutely dotted with yellowish white, with a dark brown longitudinal line on the top of the back, a whitish one on each side just above the feet, and above this a row of brown spots ; the head is small, black, and rough, with little black and Avhite tuber- cles ; the spines are blackish, short, and, with A^ery small branches or lateral bristles. It measures when fully grown an inch and a quarter or more in length, the chrysalis is pale brown with golden spots, the top of tlie head Avidely but not deeply notched, and the nose-hke prominence very small. The last of the four-footed butterflies remainino; to be de- scribed may be called Hipparchians (^HipparcJiiadce^ . The wings of the butterflies belonging to this group are entire, with the veins of the flrst pair swelled at their origin, and the central mesh of the second pair closed behind. Their caterpillars are not spiny, and are of a green color, spindle- shaped, or cylindrical, tapering at both ends, with the hinder extremity notched or terminating in two conical points, and the head is either rounded or notched above. They live exclusiA'ely on various kinds of grasses, for the most part concealing themselves during the day among the stubble, and suspend themselves by the liindmost feet alone when about to transform. The chrysalis is either oblono; and somewhat anS'. cinerea) on the lilac ; Hijlceus on the black alder (^Prinos glaher^ &c.) and whortleberry ; and the curiously checkered caterpillar of Spldnx coniferarum on pines. Of the hog-caterpillars, those of Clioerocampa choerilus and versicolor may be found on swamp pinks (^Azalea viscosa and nudiflora). The cater- pillar of the white-lined morning Sphinx (^Dcilejjhila lineatd) feeds upon pui'slane and tui'nip leaves ; and that of Deile- pMla Chamcenerii on the willow-herb (^Epilohium angusti- folium^. The clear- winged Sphinges, Sesia pelasgus^^ (Fig. 156) and diffinis, are distinguished by their transparent wings and their fan-shaped tails. They hover over flowers, [ 15 S. pelasf/us is S. tkisbe Fab. = S. cimbkiformis Stephens = S. rufcaudis Kirby. — Mokkis.] THE ^GERIANS. 329 like liummlng-birds, rig- 156. (luring the daytime, in the months of July and August. Their caterpillars bear a general resemblance to those of the genus 3phinx, and, as far as they are known, seem to possess the same habits. The ^Egerians (^Egeriad^e) constitute a very distinct group among Sphinges. They are easily recognized, in the perfected or winged state, by their resemblance to bees, hornets, or wasps, by their narrow wings, which are mostly transparent, and by the tufts or brush at the end of the body, which they have the power of spreading out like a fan at pleasure. They fly only in the daytime, and frequently alight to bask in the sunshine. Their habits, in the cater- pillar state, are entirely different from those of the other Sphinges ; the latter living exposed upon plants whose leaves they devour, while the caterpillars of the ^gerians are concealed within the stems or roots of plants, and derive their novirishment from the wood and pith. Hence they are commonly called borers, a name, however, which is equally applicable to the larva? or young of many insects of other orders. The caterpillars of the JEgerians are whitish, soft, and slightly downy. Like those of other Sphinges they have sixteen feet, but they are destitute of a thorn or prominence on the last segment of the body. When they have come to their full size, they enclose themselves in j,j ^^. oblong oval cocoons (Fig. lo7), made of fragments of wood or bark cemented by a gummy matter, and within these are trans- formed to chrysalids. The latter are of a shining bay color, 42 330 LEPIDOPTERA. and the ed<2es of the abdominal segments are armed with transverse rows of short teeth. By means of these httle teeth, the chrysahs, just before it is about to be transformed to a winged insect, works its way out of Fi" 158 o ' J the cocoon, and partly through the hole, in the stem or root, which the caterpillar haii;! previously made l and the shell of the chrys- alis (Fig, 158) ^eft half emerging from the* orifice, after the iiioth has escaped from it. The asli-tree suffers very much from the attacks of borers of this kind, which perforate the bark and sap-wood of the tiTink from the roots upwards, and are also found in all the branches of any considerable size. The trees thus infested soon show symptoms of disease, in the death of branches near the summit ; and, when the insects become numerous, the trees no longer increase in size and height, and premature decay and death ensue. These borers as- sume the chrysalis form in the month of June, and the chiysalids may be seen projecting half-way from the round holes in the bark of the tree in this and the following month, during which time their final transformation is ef- fected, and they burst open and escape from the shells of the chrysalis in the winged or moth state. Under this form this insect Avas described, in my paper in Professor Silliman's " Journal of Science," by the name of Trocld- Uuni* denudatum ; as the habits of the larva are now ascertained, we may call it the ash-tree Trochiliiim. Its general color is brown ; the edg * • with Avhich they appear to con- nect the true Arctians. The first of these are little party-colored tufted caterpillars (Fig. 172), which may be found in great plenty on the common milk- weed, Asclepias Syriaca, during the latter part of July and the whole of August. Although the plants on which these insects live are generally looked upon as weeds and cumber- ers of the soil, yet the insects themselves are deserving of notice, on account of their singularity, and the place that they fill in the order to which they belong. They keep to- gether in companies, side by side, beneath the leaves, their heads all turned towards the edge of the leaf while they are eating, and when at rest they arch up the fore part of the body and bend down the head, which is then completely con- cealed by long overhanging tufts of hairs, and if disturbed they jerk their heads and bodies in a very odd way. These harlequin caterpillars have sixteen legs, which, with the head, are black. Their bodies are black also, with a whitish line on each side, and are thickly covered with short tufts of hairs • _ [20 Hyphantria (extor is SpUosoma textor. — Morris.] 360 LEPIDOPTERA. proceeding from little warts. Along the top of the back is a row of short black tufts, and on each side, from the fifth to the tenth ring inclusive, are alternate tufts of orange and of yellow hairs, curving upwards so as nearly to conceal the black tufts between them ; below these, along the sides of the body, is a row of horizontal black tufts ; on the first and second rings are four long pencil-like black tufts extending over the head, on each side of the third ring is a similar black pencil, and two, which are white, placed in the same manner on the sides of the fourth and of the tenth rings. About the last of August, and during the month of September, these caterpillars leave the milk- weed, disperse, conceal themselves, and make their cocoons (Fig. 173), which mostly consist of Fig. 1-3. Fig. 1-4. l^ai^s. The chrysalis (Fig. 174) is short, almost egg-shaped, being quite blunt and rounded at the hind end, and is covered with lit- tle punctures like those on the head of a thimble, only much smaller. The chrysalids are transformed to moths between the middle of June and the beginning of July. These moths, though not so slender as the Callimorphas, are not so thick and robust as the Arctias, their antennae resemble those of the latter, but are rather longer, the feelers are also longer, and spread apart from each other, and the tongue is but little longer than the head, when unrolled. The wings are rather long, thin, and delicate, of a bluish-gray color, paler on the front edge, and without spots ; the head, thorax, under side of the body, and the legs are also gray ; the neck is cream- colored ; the top of the abdomen bright Indian-yellow, with a row of black spots, and two rows on each side. It expands from one inch and three quarters to nearly two inches. This moth was figured and described many years ago by Drury, who named it Egle. Though marked and colored like some of the Arctias (for example, the luctifera of Europe), it cannot with propriety be included in the same genus, and therefore I have proposed to call it Euchcetes Egle; the first THE HICKORY TUSSOCK-MOTH. 361 name, signifying fine-haired, or having a flowing mane, is given to it on account of the long tuft of liairs overhanging the fore part of the caterpillar like a mane. This moth, in some of its characters, approaches to the Lithosians, but seems, in others, too near to the Arctians to be removed from the latter tribe, and it is evidently, in the caterpillar state, nearly allied to the following insects, which are un- doubtedly Arctians, but lead apparently to the Liparians. If our Arctians are grouped in a circle, with the larger kinds, such as the great American tiger and leopard moths in the middle, and the others arranged around them, then will these species, which are here described last, be brought round to the Callimorphas, with which the series began, and thus a natural order of succession will be preserved. During the months of August and September there may be • seen on the hickory, and frequently also on the elm and ash, troops of caterpillars (Plate VI. Fig. 1), covered with short spreading tufts of white hairs, with a row of eight black tufts on the back, and two long, slender, black pencils on the fourth and on the tenth ring. The tufts along the top of the back converge on each side, so as to form a kind of ridge or crest ; and the warts, from which these tufts proceed, are oblong-oval and transverse, wdiile the other warts on the body are round. The hairs on the fore part of the body are much longer than the rest, and hang over the head ; the others are short, as if sheared off, and spreading. The head, feet, and belly are black ; the upper side of the body is Avhite, sprinkled with black dots, and with black transverse lines between the rings. These neat and pretty caterpillars, when young, feed in company on the leaves ; while not engaged in eating, they bend down the head and bring over it the long hairs on the fore part of the body ; and, if disturbed or han- dled, they readily roll up like the other Arctians. When fully grown, they are nearly one inch and a half long. They leave the trees in the latter part of September, secrete them- selves under stones and in the chinks of walls, and make 40 362 LEPIDOPTERA. their cocoons (Plate VI. Fig. 2), which are oval, thin, and .hairy, like those of the other Arctians. The chrysalis is short, thick, and rather blunt, but not rounded at the hinder end, and not downy. The moths, which come out of the cocoons during the month of June, are of a very light ochre- yellow color ; the fore wings are long, rather narrow, and almost pointed, are thickly and finely sprinkled with little brown dots, and have two oblique brownish streaks passing backAvards from the front edge, with three rows of white semi-transparent spots parallel to the outer hind margin ; the hind wings are very thin, semi-transparent, and withovit spots ; and the shoulder-covers are edo;ed within Avith lio;ht brown. They expand from one inch and seven eighths to two inches and a quarter or more. The wings are roofed Avhen at rest ; the antennae are long, with a double, narrow, feathery edging, in the males, and a double row of short, slender teeth on the under side, in the females ; the feelers are loliger than in the other Arctians, and not at all hairy ; and the tongue is short, but spirally curled. This kind of moth does not appear to have been described before, and it cannot be placed in any of the modern genera belonging to the Arcti- ans ; for this reason I pro- pose to call it Lophocayn- pa~^ Caryce (Fig. 175) ; the first name meaning crested caterpillar, and the second being the scientific name of the hickory, on which it lives. In England, the moths that come from caterpillars having long pencils and tufts on their backs are called tus- sock-moths ; we may name the one under consideration the hickory tussock-moth. In August and September I have seen on the black wal- nut, the butternut, the ash, and even on the oak, caterpillars exactly resembling the foregoing in shape, but differing in [21 Lojjhocampa is Jlalesidota Walker. — Monuis.] THE CHECKERED TUSSOCK-MOTH. 363 color, being covered, when young, Avith brownish-yellow tufts, of a darker color on the ridge of the back, and having four long white and two black pencils extending over the head from the second ring, and two black pencils on the eleventh ring ; when they are fully grown they are covered with ash-colored tufts, those on the ridge blackisli ; the head is black, the body black or greenish black above, and whit- ish beneatli, and the legs are rust-yellow. This is evidently a different species or kind from the hickory tussock, being differently colored, and having the two hindmost pencils placed on the eleventh, and not on the tenth ring. I have not yet succeeded in keeping these caterpillars alive until they had finished their transformations. In my collection are specimens of a moth closely resem- bling the hickory tussock in everything except size and color. It may be named Loj^hocampa tnacidata^ the spotted tussock- moth. It is of a light ochre-yellow color, with large irregu- lar light brown spots on the fore wings, arranged almost in transverse bands. It expands nearly one inch and three quarters. The caterpillar, as far as I can judge from a shrivelled specimen, was covered with whitish tufts forming a crest on the back, in which were situated eight black tufts ; there was a black pencil on each side of the fourth and of the tenth ring, and a quantity of long white hairs overhang- ing the head and the hinder extremity ; the head was black ; but the color of the body cannot be ascertained. A fourth kind of Lophocam-pa^ or crested caterpillar, re- mains to be described. It is very common, throughout the United States, on the buttonwood or sycamore, upon which it may be seen in great numbers in Jvily and August. The tufts on those caterpillars are llglit yellow or straw- colored, the crest being very little darker ; on the second and third rings are two orange-colored pencils, which are stretched over the head when the Insect is at rest, and before these are several long tufts of white hairs ; on each side of the third ring is a white pencil, and there are two 364 LEPIDOPTEEA. pencils, of the same color, directed backwards, on tlie elev- enth ring. The body is yellowish Avhite, wath dusky warts, and the head is brownish yellow. These caterpillars leave the trees towards the end of August, and conceal themselves in crevices of fences, and under stones, and make their cocoons, which resemble those of the hickory tussock ; and from the middle of June to the end of July the moths come forth. These moths are faintly tinged with ochre-yellow ; their long, narrow, delicate, and semi-transparent wings lie almost flatly on the top of the back ; the upper pair are checkered with dusky spots, arranged so as to form five irre