Class pBg)^l 
 Book ' ^ 6^ 
 
 Copyright^". 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 
 
 FARMER AND FRUIT-GROWER, AND 
 
 FOR USE AS A TEXT-BOOK IN 
 
 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS 
 
 AND COLLEGES 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN B. SMITH, Sc.D. 
 
 Professor of Entomology in kvtgers College ; Entomologist to the New Jersey Agricultural 
 
 College Experiment Station and the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture ; 
 
 President of the A ssocintinn of Economic Entomologists of the Brooklyn 
 
 Entomological Society, and of the New Jersey State Microscopical 
 
 Society; Fellow of the American Association for the 
 
 Advancement of Science, etc., etc. 
 
 [Second Revised Edition. 'I 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 MAR 8 !906 
 
 pyrlsht Entry 
 
 f/^f<'^ 
 
 CUSS aJ Xkc, No, 
 
 ' ^ COPY B. 
 
 ■^ 
 
 ,^ 
 
 Copyright, 1896, 
 By J. B. LipPiNCOTT Company. 
 
 Copyright, 1906, 
 
 By J. B. LiPPINCOTT COMPAiVY. 
 
 EUECTBOTVPED AND PRINTED BV J. B. LiPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A. 
 
C O N T E N TS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The General Structure of Insects ii 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Ihe Head and its Appendages ...... 14 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Thorax and Abdomen 23 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Muscles, Digestion, and Circulation 27 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Respiratory System 33 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Nervous System and Senses of Insects 39 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Reproductive System . . • 45 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Growth and Metamorphosis 48 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE INSECT WORLD. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 General Classification 52 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Thysanura 55 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Neuroptera and Pseudo-Neuroptera 58 
 
 Order Ephemeroptera 59 
 
 Order Odonata 60 
 
 Order Plecoptera 63 
 
 Order Platyptera 6/^ 
 
 Order Neuroptera 72 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Orthoptera 79 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Hemiptera, or Bugs . . 100 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Coleoptera, or Beetles 164 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Lepidoptera 240 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Diptera, or Flies 327 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Hymenoptera 370 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 PART III. 
 
 INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Predaceous Insects, Parasites, and Fungous Diesases . . 418 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Farm Practice to prevent Insect Attack 423 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Preventives 430 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Insecticides 433 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Machinery 456 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 
 
 The illustrations in this book are derived as follows : Electro- 
 types were loaned for the purposes of the work by the Agricul- 
 tural College Experiment Station of New Jersey, of figures Nos. 
 4, 5, 6, 7, II, 13, 14, 15. 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 
 41, 43, 44, 45, 50, 53, 64, 72, 83, 84, 85, 88, 89, 95, 99, 103, 104, 
 105, 114, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 
 142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 149, 157, 158, 160, 161, 162, 164, 166, 
 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 
 183, 188, 189, 190. 192, 194, 195, 200, 201, 202, 204, 206, 212, 
 214, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 222, 225, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 
 232, 233, 234, 236, 238, 239, 241, 242, 243, 246, 247, 255, 263, 
 264, 265, 274, 278, 279, 281, 283, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291. 
 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 307, 314, 321, 332, 333, 334, 341, 342, 
 343' 349, 350, 351. 352, 357. 362, 366, 368, 369, 375, 377, 380, 
 386, 387, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 401, 409, 410, 
 411, 412, 413, 416, 417, 418, 419, 424, 425, 426, 430, 432, 434, 
 435. 437. 438, 440, 441. 444. 445. 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 454. 
 455. 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 
 
 469. 471, 473, 474- 
 
 By the courtesy of the Secretary of Agriculture and of the 
 
 Division of Illustrations in the United States Department of Ag- 
 riculture, electrotypes were obtained for figures Nos. 22, 23, 48, 
 56, 58, 73, 74, 75. 76, 81, 82, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 93, 100, loi, 
 112, 116, 117, 1x8, 120, 121, 122, 124, 148, 151, 152, 168, 193, 
 198, 209, 223, 224, 226, 244, 245, 292, 293, 294, 295, 315, 316, 
 
 318, 339, 340, 358, 360, 363, 364. 365, 371, 374, 376. 383, 389. 
 390, 391, 402, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 431, 452, 475. 
 
 The J. B. Lippincott Company kindly loaned the following 
 from Saunders's " Insects Injurious to Fruits" : Nos. 55, 59, 60, 
 6ia, 65, 79, 80, 94, 97, 98, 102, 109, 125, 159, 165, 169, 191, 
 197, 199, 203, 211, 213, 220, 240, 254, 259, 270, 271, 275, 276, 
 
viii A CKNO WLED GMENTS. 
 
 277, 284, 302, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 324, 325, 326, 327, 
 328, 329, 330, 331, 337, 338, 347, 353, 354, 367, 372, 373, 400, 
 403, 422, 428, 429, 443 ; and from French's "Butterflies of the 
 Eastern United States," Nos. 253, 260, 261, 262, 268, 269, 273. 
 
 From Prof. Lawrence Bruner, of the University of Nebraska, 
 were purchased electrotypes of figures Nos. i, 26, 31, 33, 42, 46, 
 47. 51, 52, 6i<^, 62, 68, 70, 71, 96, 107. no, 115, 139, 140, 141, 
 156, 163, 186, 256, 319, 320, 335, 336, 355, 421, 433. 
 
 From Houghton, Mifflin & Co., pubHshers of the " Riverside 
 Natural History," were purchased Nos. 12, 17, 77, 78, 106, 177, 
 378, 414, 423, 451, 472. 
 
 From the Entomological Society of Ontario electrotypes were 
 obtained for figures Nos. 207, 208, 258, 420, 456. 
 
 From the Cornell Experiment Station, through the kindness 
 of Mr. M. V. Slingerland, electrotypes were secured of figures 
 Nos. 40, 119, 145. 
 
 Mr. G. C. Davis, of the Agricultural Experiment Station of 
 Michigan, furnished stereotypes of figures Nos. 196, 235, 301, 
 370, 388, 439. 
 
 Prof. Herbert Osborn, of the Iowa Agricultural College, kindly 
 loaned for reproduction figures Nos. 108, 356, 382. 
 
 Dr. Otto Lugger, State Entomologist of Minnesota, supplied 
 electrotypes of figures Nos. 280, 427, 442. 
 
 Dr. F. H. Snow, of Lawrence, Kansas, loaned for reproduc- 
 tion figures Nos. 123, 210. 
 
 Mr. F. M. Webster, of the Ohio Experiment Station, per- 
 mitted the reproduction of figures Nos. 205, 237. 
 
 Mr. A. D. Hopkins, of the West Virginia Experiment Station, 
 granted the same favor for figures Nos. 384 and 385. 
 
 Dr. A. S. Packard kindly supplied electrotypes of figures Nos. 
 16 and 470. 
 
 To Dr. G. Brown Goode, Director of the United States Na- 
 tional Museum, I owe electrotypes of figures Nos. 27 and 381. 
 
 From Mrs. C. V. Riley were purchased electrotypes of figures 
 Nos. Ill and 361. 
 
 Dr. J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, kindly 
 supplied an electrotype of figure No. 282. 
 
 Prof S. A. Forbes was equally courteous concerning figure 
 No. 187. 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. ix 
 
 Prof. C. P. Gillette loaned for reproduction figure No. 150. 
 Mr. Frank Sempers, of Philadelphia, kindly gave figure No. 
 
 49- 
 
 Mr. H. G. Hubbard, of Washington, obligingly loaned figure 
 
 No. 359. 
 
 The following are originals, and were especially prepared for 
 this work: Nos. 2, 3, 8, 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 54, 57, 63, 
 66, 67, 69, 113, 126, 135, 153, 154, 155, 184, 185, 215, 248, 249, 
 250, 251, 252, 257, 266, 267, 272, 285, 304, 305, 306, 322, 323, 
 344. 345. 346, 348. 379, 415, 436, 453. Of these original 
 figures, some are photographs, others are from drawings by the 
 author, some are redrawn, and a few are duplications of pub- 
 lished figures where no plates were known to be in existence. 
 
 To all who have in any way aided in the preparation of this 
 work, and especially to Dr. L. O. Howard, of Washington, who 
 kindly read my chapter on Hymenoptera, and Prof. Lawrence 
 Bruner, who kindly read my chapter on Orthoptera, I tender 
 my sincere thanks. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Insect injury to agricultural products amounts each year to 
 millions of dollars, and, as a whole, shows a tendency to increase 
 rather than otherwise. It is not only the actual devouring of 
 plant tissue that causes loss ; the effect upon the product may 
 be to reduce its grade, or make it more or less unsalable and 
 unprofitable. In the competition for markets, the grower of 
 the best will always have an advantage ; first-class fruits and 
 vegetables rarely fail to bring some profit, where low-grade 
 products cannot be sold at any price ; and no fruit that is 
 wormy, defaced, or otherwise injured by insects ever ranks as 
 first-class. 
 
 Progressive farmers have long been aware of this, and the 
 science of economic entomology has grown up in response to 
 their demands for information concerning insect depredation and 
 for means of protection against it. It is a science far from sys- 
 tematized as yet ; made up of fragments published here, there, 
 and everywhere, rarely complete in themselves and often con- 
 tradictory as to the remedial measures suggested. There have 
 been efforts, more or less successful, to compile books of infor- 
 mation concerning the insects attacking certain crops or kinds 
 of crops ; but there is not now in existence any work which 
 gives the agriculturist and student of economic entomology that 
 basic knowledge that enables him to recognize the nature of the 
 insect he finds causing injury, or makes it possible to decide 
 what sort of remedies should be applied. In other words, the 
 underlying facts upon which the scientific application of remedial 
 or preventive measures is based are not accessible to the very 
 class that most needs them. 
 
 In this book an attempt is made to present these matters com- 
 pletely enough to give a foundation upon which further informa- 
 tion may be added ; for whatever changes may occur in our 
 
xii INTR on UCTOR V. 
 
 battery of insecticides, the philosophy of their application will 
 remain the same. To do this it is necessary to give an outline 
 of the characteristics of insects generally ; of those features that 
 distinguish them from all other animals, and of those peculiarities 
 upon which we must base our hope of conquering them. Enough 
 of the structure is described to show how they are built up, and 
 all the different orders are referred to, so that the intelligent 
 reader may recognize at least the group to which a specimen 
 belongs and may be able to determine whether or not an injurious 
 species is in hand. The direct needs of the agriculturist have 
 been kept constantly in mind ; but the effort has been to give 
 also a general information on the subject of insect life, and the 
 work should be useful to students in all save advanced college 
 courses, where technical or systematic studies outrank all others. 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 PART I. 
 STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE GENERAL STRUCTURE OF INSECTS. 
 
 Insects are animals made up of a series of rings or segments 
 stiffened by a hard substance called chitine, and connected by a 
 membrane which allows of more or less freedom of motion be- 
 tween them in one or more directions. In this they agree with 
 the worms, differing from them, however, in the adult stage, in 
 that the segments are grouped into three regions ; the head, 
 thorax, and abdomen, as shown in the diagrammatic sketch of 
 the grasshopper. In the larval stage of many insects these re- 
 gions are not well marked, and they resemble worms decidedly, 
 but nearly always have a distinct head and more or less distinct 
 legs. If neither head nor legs are visible, the larvae are chunky 
 and maggot-like or grub-like, rarely long and cylindrical. In 
 fact, we have very few terrestrial worms in our country, and 
 most of the so-called " worms" are really insect larvae. 
 
 As a rule, an insect is made up of thirteen rings, counting the 
 head, and in the larval stage they are usually easy to make out, 
 especially in caterpillars, which may be abundantly secured at any 
 time during the summer. In the adult they are often more or 
 less obscure. Following the head we have three segments which 
 form the thorax or trunk, and these bear all the organs of loco- 
 motion in the adult. In the larva, when organs of locomotion 
 are present, one pair of legs is found on each of these segments. 
 
12 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Nine rings are assigned to the abdomen, though some of them 
 may be modified into structures faciHtating egg-laying or other 
 special purposes. In the adult no appendages of any kind, ex- 
 cept ovipositors, anal filaments, or cerci, are found ; but in the 
 larva, where there is often no real separation between thorax and 
 abdomen, the latter may bear organs of locomotion which differ 
 in their general appearance and structure from the true legs, and 
 are therefore called "false feet," or pro-legs. The number of 
 these pro-legs sometimes enables us to recognize the order to 
 which a larva belongs, where it otherwise closely resembles 
 another. For instance, all the true caterpillars are larvae of 
 Lepidoptera, or butterflies and moths, and these never have 
 more than four pairs of pro-legs at the middle of the body and 
 one pair on the last segment, making, with the true legs, eight 
 pairs in all. In the larvae of the sawflies, a family of the Hymen- 
 optera in which the resemblance to caterpillars is very close, there 
 are at least five pairs of pro-legs at the middle and one pair at 
 the end of the body, or no less than nine pairs of legs instead 
 of eight as before. 
 
 No insect has more than two pairs of wings, and these are 
 attached to the second and third thoracic segment. Some have 
 only a single pair, as in the true flies, and then they are on the 
 second or intermediate segment. The prothorax, or first seg- 
 ment, never bears wings. Each thoracic segment bears a pair of 
 legs, which are themselves divided into joints or segments, and 
 their structure will be described more in detail later on. 
 
 This division into three distinct regions and the limitation to 
 six legs in the adult separate the insects from crustaceans, like 
 lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and the like, and from the spiders ; none 
 of which have the head separate from the thorax, while all have 
 eight legs instead of six. An insect in the adult stage is there- 
 fore a jointed animal, the rings, thirteen in number, separated 
 into a head of one, a thorax of three, and an abdomen of nine 
 segments ; moving by means of three pairs of jointed legs. Some 
 differences between "larva" and "adult" have been spoken of, 
 and it has been indicated thereby that at different periods of 
 their lives insects are unlike in appearance. This branch of the 
 subject is exceedingly interesting, and will be treated more fully 
 in Chapter VIII. It is only necessary to say here that, in speak- 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
14 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 ing of the difference between larva and adult, reference is particu- 
 larly made to those forms in which the two stages are totally 
 unlike each other in appearance. Some of them resemble each 
 other throughout their entire life, and here the term ' ' nymph ' ' 
 is often employed instead of larva. 
 
 It remains to say a few words concerning the chitine, which 
 forms so large a part of the outer skeleton or crust. This sub- 
 stance is found in insects and in certain of 
 
 ^^' ^' the crustaceans, and is a flaky, horny, or 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ shell-like material which may become very 
 
 , ^^^^^^^^xinyiMs hard, and is impenetrable to most* liquids 
 
 ^■: -^^^^^'*'^'^''^^^^ not absolutely corrosive in character. The 
 
 Section through insect importance of this fact it is necessary to 
 
 crust, showing layers of . . , ,. r • . • • i 
 
 chitine at ^, the ceDuiar recoguize m our selcctiou of msccticides, 
 layer or hypodermis at bccause nothing that wc Can apply with any 
 
 A. and basal membrane ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ pj^^^ j^ sufficiently activC tO eat 
 
 through or penetrate the outer skin into the 
 insect body except under peculiarly favorable circumstances. 
 None of the oils penetrate it readily, even gasoline, benzine, or 
 kerosene being resisted. Alcohol, chloroform, and ether are also 
 unable to make their way through any but a very thin coating. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE HEAD AND ITS APPENDAGES. 
 
 The head of an insect bears structures of great interest from 
 the economic stand-point, and of these the mouth parts are the 
 most important. In most cases a glance at the structure of the 
 mouth gives a clue to the food habits of the species, and may 
 convict a culprit whose work has been discovered, or determine 
 the character of the remedy to be applied. 
 
 Roughly speaking, two types of mouth structure are found in 
 insects, — the biting or mandibulate, and the sucking or haustel- 
 late ; though there are modifications of both which are somewhat 
 intermediate in character. 
 
 In the typical "mandibulate" or biting mouth, the mandibles 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 15 
 
 or upper jaws are distinct and prominent. They work horizon- 
 tally, from side to side, instead of vertically, or up and down, as is 
 the case in the higher animals, and their form and general shape 
 often furnish an indication to the character of the species, — that is, 
 whether it is predace- 
 
 ous, living upon ani- Fig. 3. 
 
 mal food, or whether 
 it is phytophagous, 
 feeding upon plant 
 tissue. This alone, in 
 some orders, sufifices 
 to tell us whether we 
 have to deal with a 
 friend or an enemy. 
 If the jaws are rather 
 long, sharp-pointed, 
 with slender, sharp 
 teeth on the inner side 
 (Fig- 3, c, d), it may 
 be safely classed as 
 predaceous ; if they 
 are broad, stout, con- 
 cave within, the edges 
 meeting broadly, even 
 if toothed, or if they 
 are gouge-shaped 
 (Fig. 3, a, e), we can 
 say with great confi- 
 dence that the species feed upon vegetable tissue. Of course 
 some uncertainty may result in intermediate types (Fig. 3, b) ; 
 but the rule holds good generally, and where it leaves a doubt, 
 some other character will readily determine the question. 
 
 Forming the front of the mouth and covering the base of the 
 mandibles is the upper lip, or labrum ; on the inner side of which 
 there is usually a sensitive structure, the epipharynx, which con- 
 tains the organs of taste, and corresponds as nearly as may be to 
 the palate in higher animals. It has no special function in feed- 
 ing, and often seems to form part of the front of the head itself 
 
 Below the mandibles we have a second pair of jaws or 7naxill<z, 
 
 Mouth parts of a mandibulate insect : different types 
 of mandibles at a, b, c, d, e ; /, the labrum-epipharynx ; 
 g, h, types of maxillae ; the cardo at c ; stipes, st ; sub- 
 galea.j-^/ galea as marked ; palpus bearer, /yr; palpus 
 atnixp; lacinia at /ac,- and digitus at rf/]?-; «, the labium 
 with sub-mentum, sm, mentum, tn, ligula, lig, para- 
 glossa,/a»-, and palpi. 
 
t6 an economic entomology. 
 
 much more complicated in structure, and made up of a number 
 of more or less well-marked smaller pieces, which vary consider- 
 ably in form and shape according to the food habits of the insect. 
 Attached to each maxilla is a palpus, or feeler, which often bears 
 organs of special sense, and is probably used by the insect to 
 recognize the character of its food. In function this maxilla is 
 auxiliary to the mandibles, which cut and tear the food, and de- 
 liver it in coarse shape to the maxillae. These assort and break 
 it up yet more to better its mechanical condition, and deliver it 
 to the labium, or lower lip, which also takes part in mixing the 
 food. There are great differences in this maxillary structure, 
 corresponding to the food habits ; and there may be teeth, 
 brushes, or other appendages suited to the requirements of the 
 insect. It is rarely necessary to study these in detail, and Fig. 3 
 illustrates sufficiently a typical form, with all the parts named. 
 
 The labium, or lower lip, closes the mouth opening beneath, 
 forming its floor, on which is another sensitive surface, the hypo- 
 pharyyix, which may be compared in function to the tongue of 
 the higher animals. As a rule, this labium is much less complex 
 than the maxilla, and it may be only a single piece or plate, 
 though, like the maxilla, furnished with a pair of palpi or feelers. 
 A typical labium is shown at Fig. 3, and the names of the parts 
 are given. Close study shows that originally the labium was 
 made up of just as many parts as the maxilla, but they have 
 grown together, in the course of time, for the more complete 
 closure of the mouth opening. 
 
 Insects with the mouth as above described, no matter what 
 their feeding habits, are always susceptible of being poisoned 
 through their food ; that is, they may be reached by means 
 of stomach poisons. Sometimes, of course, they feed in such 
 positions that we cannot apply the poison satisfactorily, — e.g., 
 inside of plant tissue ; but this does not alter their susceptibility ; 
 it simply means that we cannot take advantage of it. 
 
 Of the haustellate or sucking mouth there are several varieties, 
 functionally quite diverse and indicating difference in habit. 
 
 Butterflies and moths differ from all other insects in having the 
 mouth formed into a flexible tube, coiled like a watch-spring 
 under the head and between the labial palpi, which are the only 
 visible mouth appendages present. The mandibles have disap- 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 17 
 
 peared entirely, and all the other structures have been so modi- 
 fied that nothing remains except this flexible sucking tube. I 
 use the term "tube," although it is not such in reality, being 
 made up of two hollow crescents, more or less firmly held to- 
 gether, so that, practically, it serves all the purposes of a complete 
 tube. When the insect feeds the tongue is extended, the muscu- 
 lar structure being accommodated in the walls of each half of the 
 tube. Fig. 4 illustrates a section through a butterfly tongue, 
 showing the way in 
 
 which the two parts ^^^* 4- 
 
 are united. At its 
 tip there are often 
 more or less devel- 
 oped processes which 
 serve as taste cups, 
 and also to assist in 
 gathering up the 
 minute globules of 
 
 nectar. section through a butterfly tongue. 
 
 A tongue of this 
 description indicates a type which can never be harmful to vege- 
 tation, because it is not fitted for either piercing or eating plant 
 tissue ; but it is, on the contrary, of direct use in pollenizing 
 flowers. Butterflies and moths are never injurious in the adult 
 stage, however much their larvae may oflend ; but many are 
 especially adapted for pollenizing certain flowers. Thus the 
 " Hawk-moths," with tongues five and six inches in length, are 
 able to reach to the very base of flowers like the petunias, even- 
 ing primrose, " Jimpson weed," and many orchids. 
 
 A widely different type of sucking mouth is found among the 
 "bugs," or Hemiptera. Here, instead of a flexible tube, there 
 is a jointed, rigid beak or rostrum, made up of either three or 
 lour segments, inside of which run four pointed lancets. This 
 beak is not a complete tube, but narrowly open in front and at 
 the tip, to permit the protrusion of the lancets. Insects with this 
 structure gain their food by piercing the plant tissue and sucking 
 the juices, and such a structure always leaves its possessor open 
 to the suspicion of being injurious. As a matter of fact, many of 
 the Hetniptera are really predaceous upon other insects ; but, as 
 
i8 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 5- 
 
 a rule, they will bear close watching. One thing is certain, how- 
 ever : no insect with this type of mouth structure can be reached 
 by means of a stomach poison. Destruction through its food is, 
 
 therefore, absolutely impossi- 
 ble, because we cannot poison 
 the plant juices by any method 
 thus far at our command. An 
 insect of this kind is incapable 
 of eating any solid food what- 
 ever, and no matter how thor- 
 oughly covered with a corro- 
 sive poison the outside of our 
 plants may be, it would get 
 none, since it only punctures 
 the tissue without absorbing 
 any portion of the outer sur- 
 face. Thus the determination 
 of the type of mouth structure 
 often limits or decides the char- 
 acter of the remedy to be used 
 in destroying the insect. 
 
 Among the Diptera, or flies, 
 we have a number of interest- 
 Mouth parts of a plant-louse.— a, the ing modifications of the suck- 
 jointed beak; *, the lancets, much enlarged; Jj^g mOUth. One ScrieS is fur 
 c and d illustrate the feeler and foot. ■ t i • i i • -i 
 
 nished with lancets similar to 
 those in the bugs, but more numerous, representing different 
 mouth structures, and not always carried into the head itself 
 The sucking structure is also quite different, and never forms a 
 rigid, jointed beak. Mosquitoes and horse-flies are examples of 
 this kind ; but gradually the lancets disappear, and in most of the 
 flies only the sucking lip, often gready and interestingly developed, 
 remains. The common house-flies and blow-flies are types of this 
 modified form, and are capable of taking liquid food only, though 
 often seen attacking solids. If the moiith of a fly be examined 
 under the microscope, there will be seen at the tip of the lip a 
 series of deep grooves, stiffened with chitinous loops, and armed 
 with sharp projecting edges. When the fly wishes to feed on a 
 solid, it scrapes the surface by means of these rasp-like projec- 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 19 
 
 Fig 
 
 tions, securing a small amount of fine shreds and scraps. These it 
 moistens with a drop of saliva, which has great solvent properties, 
 and then draws up the mixture by means of a sucking or pump- 
 ing stomach. Liquids are taken in the same way, and the insects 
 may be said to lap as well as suck their food. Flies as adults are 
 not injurious to vegeta- 
 tion, whatever may be 
 said of their larvae ; but 
 some of those fitted for 
 piercing, like the mos- 
 quitoes, horse-flies, and 
 gnats, are often trouble- 
 some or injurious to 
 stock, and occasionally 
 render regions infested 
 by them scarcely habit- 
 able for man. 
 
 The bees seem to 
 combine the features of „. . , , ..^ „ ,, ^ 
 
 Piercing mouth structures of a horse-fly : the 
 a biting and sucking sucking lip is omitted. Much enlarged. 
 
 mouth ; the mandibles 
 
 being fully developed and the labium greatly elongated, that they 
 may gather the nectar upon which they feed and which they 
 store, even from the deepest flowers. This modification will be 
 more fully described in speaking of the bees themselves. 
 
 All the types of mouth structures above described and figured 
 are derived from one original form by gradual modifications of 
 the different pieces ; but this can be traced only in a long series 
 of preparations from many different families and species. 
 
 Next to the mouth parts, the most important appendages of 
 the head are the antennae or feelers. These are variable in form, 
 and in certain orders their structure indicates, unfailingly, the 
 food habits of the insect. They are made up of a variable num- 
 ber of joints, differing greatly in their proportion to each other, 
 in their shape, and in their functions. Ordinarily the antennae 
 are intended as tactile organs, — that is, for touching, as the com- 
 mon name "feeler" indicates; but it is very certain that other 
 sensory structures are also located there. The perception of 
 odors, or the sense of smell, is a very important function, and 
 
20 
 
 AN ECO AW MIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 more than likely there is also a sense of hearing connected with 
 them. In' some of the nocturnal moths they are broadly feath- 
 ered or pectinated, much more prominently in the male than in 
 the female. It is believed that the reason for this is that the 
 insects are compelled to find their mates entirely by the sense of 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 Tip of the mouth of a lapping fly, showing the pseudo-trachea on the inner face of the 
 lips. Much enlarged. 
 
 smell. That it is not food they seek is proved by the fact that 
 where these feelers are most developed the mouth parts are often 
 entirely aborted and the insect takes no food at all. Certain 
 "carrion beetles," also nocturnal in habit, are attracted for long 
 distances to their food, and, even where purposely hidden, they 
 find it without difficulty ; proving that the sense of smell alone is 
 used. It may be convenient to consider here a few of the com- 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 21 
 
 mon types of antennal structure, which occur in all insects, that 
 they may be referred to hereafter without especial description. 
 
 The antennae are said to h^ filiform, or thread-like, when the 
 joints are nearly even throughout, cylindrical, tolerably equal in 
 length, and similar in general appearance. A serrate or saw- 
 toothed antenna has the joints more or less triangular in shape 
 and so fitted that one margin resembles the toothed edge of a 
 saw. Quite frequently antennae of this type are distinctly flat- 
 tened. From such a serrated form we pass gradually into the 
 
 Fig. 8. 
 
 Antennal types. — a, filiform and pubescent; b, serrate; c, singly pectinate; rf, bipecti- 
 nate; e, clavate; /, capitate; g, geniculate; h, lamellate. 
 
 pectinated or comb-toothed type, where the joints are furnished 
 laterally with processes of variable length. When both sides of 
 the joints have these processes the antenna is said to be bipec- 
 tinated or feathered ; when the processes become very slender, 
 almost hair-like, and exceedingly numerous, it is said to be 
 plumose. A feeler is clubbed, or clavate, when the joints toward 
 or at the tip suddenly or gradually enlarge to form a more or 
 less evident club or bulb, and this type is widely distributed in 
 all the orders, a variety of terms being in use to indicate the 
 particular form of the club. A la^nellate feeler has at its tip a 
 series of elongate, flattened or leaf-like joints, usually applied 
 close together to form a solid mass that conceals and protects 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the delicate sensory structure on the inner surface. An antenna 
 is moniliform, or bead-like, when the joints are more or less 
 spherical and set together in such a way as to resemble a series 
 of beads on a string. 
 
 As a rule, the antennae are straight, without break from base 
 to tip ; but occasionally they are geniculate, or elbowed ; that is to 
 
 say, there is one very long 
 basal joint, the "scape," fol- 
 lowed by a series of smaller 
 
 Fig. io. 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 ,- i^ I / Head of wasp, to show regions: a, 
 
 '''*^' y'' .^cC^ 'C^'' compound eyes ; b, clypeus ; c, la- 
 
 Antennal types: a, moniliform ; ^Joints ciliated; brum; rf, mandibles; ^, ocelli ; y, place 
 
 c, bristle-tufted ; </, plumose; ^, setaceous. where antennae are inserted. 
 
 segments set in at right angles to it. Usually an elbowed an- 
 tenna is also clubbed at the tip, and so we divide the structure 
 into "a scape" at the base, the "club" at the tip, and the 
 " funicle" embracing the intervening portion. 
 
 The feelers may be clothed with fine, soft, more or less dense 
 hair, and are then ptibescent ; or furnished with lateral hairs of 
 moderate length set in regularly, and are then ciliated or fringed ; 
 or they may have single or bunches of stiff bristly hair, and are 
 then said to be bristled, or bristle tufted. 
 
 These are all the movable appendages of the head, and there 
 remain only the organs of sight, which are perhaps better con- 
 sidered under the heading of sense organs. It is only necessary 
 to say here that the compound eyes are often very prominently 
 developed, and that they are usually set at the sides, often form- 
 ing the greater portion of the head itself The ocelli, on the 
 other hand, are always very small structures ; in the adults, never 
 more than three in number, and quite variably arranged. 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THORAX AND ABDOMEN. 
 
 The thorax, or middle region of the body, is, as has been 
 already stated, composed of three rings, termed in their order 
 the pro-, meso-, and metathorax ; meaning fore, middle, and 
 hind thorax. These rings vary greatly in their proportion to 
 each other : it is rare that they are equally well developed, and 
 whenever this is the case it indicates a low type of insect, — that 
 is to say, one very little specialized. Usually they are grown 
 together to some extent, and this tendency continues until we 
 find in the flies and bees the entire thoracic region apparently 
 composed of one solid mass, — the rings being not at all movable 
 upon each other. Insects of this type are highest in the scale 
 and the most specialized. In other orders, notably the Coleop- 
 tera, or beetles, the prothorax only is free and well developed, 
 the two other rings being united together and not movable one 
 upon the other. This forms a sort of intermediate type, and the 
 rank of insects is determined, to some extent, by the development 
 of this region of the body. 
 
 If the thorax of a grasshopper, a beetle, or a wasp be rather 
 closely examined, it will be found that it is made up of a large 
 number of little pieces, divided by impressed lines, and sometimes 
 these pieces are movable one upon the other. They are called 
 sclerites, and a sclerite, whenever that term is used, always 
 means a solid piece bounded by impressed lines, or sutures, as 
 they are termed. Perhaps ' ' seams ' ' better represents the actual 
 case than "lines," because they mark the places where pieces 
 have been joined together, even if the joint be now a solid one. 
 Though these pieces seem confused at first sight, yet there is a 
 distinct plan in their arrangement, and, while it is not necessary 
 to go much into detail, it is well to know at least the regions 
 of the segments and the terms applied to them. In Fig. 11 
 will be found an illustration of the under side of a beetle, in 
 which all the sclerites of that part of the body are named. Those 
 who wish a more accurate knowledge can compare a series of 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 Fig. II, 
 
 A beetle, Harpalus caliginosus , from the under side, with all the pieces named. 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 25 
 
 insects with this figure, and by identifying the different pieces 
 observe for themelves what modifications have taken place. The 
 upper side is ahvays called the dorsum, or dorsal surface, while 
 the under side, between the legs, is the sternum, or breast. 
 Laterally, between the sternum and the dorsum we find the 
 pleurum, which is a region rarely referred to in general descrip- 
 tion. The "dorsum," " dorsal surface, " and "sternum," on the - 
 other hand, are terms of frequent occurrence in the literature of 
 economic entomology, and it is well to know exactly what is 
 meant by them. 
 
 As has been previously said, all the organs of locomotion in 
 the adult insect are attached to the thoracic segments ; never 
 more than three pairs of legs, one pair to each segment, and 
 usually two pairs of wings, borne on the meso- and metathorax. 
 The prothorax never bears wings, and, when only a single pair 
 is present, as occurs normally in the flies, or Diptera, this is on 
 the meso- or middle thoracic segment. 
 
 Of the wings, or organs of flight, all that need be said here 
 is, that they are more or less membranous, flattened, and stiff"- 
 ened by " veins" or chitinous rods. They vary greatly in char- 
 acter, and must be especially described for each order, their 
 general structure being all that it is necessary to give here. In 
 their origin wings are merely collapsed sacs, — that is, each is a 
 bladder-like outgrowth from the body wall, that assumes definite 
 form, but remains filled with liquid until ready to assume its final 
 shape. Then it is gradually distended to full size, the liquid is 
 absorbed, and the walls of the bladder unite and become so 
 closely welded together that it is impossible afterward to separate 
 them. The wing seems like a single thin membrane, or horny 
 shell, as the case may be, and the veins appear like hollow rods 
 or cylinders, though originally they were mere thickened grooves 
 on opposite sides of the distended bladder. The arrangement of 
 the veins, or "venation," is of very great importance in classifi- 
 cation, but needs no particular exposition here. 
 
 The legs, always six in number in the adult, are jointed, or 
 made up of a definite number of parts or pieces. They are fixed 
 into the thorax at the sides of the sternum, or between the breast 
 and the sides, and are fitted into a body cavity by means of a 
 ball-ana-socket joint, giving a great range of motion. The ball 
 
26 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 portion belongs to the leg and is called a " coxa," and the socket 
 is the " coxal cavity." Attached to the coxa is the "femur," 
 or thigh, usually the stoutest part of the leg, and corresponding 
 to the same portion of the leg in the higher animals, most of the 
 muscular system being found in it. It is often strengthened at 
 the base by a small supplementary piece called the ' ' trochan- 
 ter, " which sometimes forms an intermediate segment between 
 coxa and femur, and may be even two-jointed, as in the parasitic 
 Hymenoptera. At the end of the femur is attached the " tibia," 
 or shank, which varies greatly in structure according to the 
 habits of the insect, being modified for digging, tearing, swim- 
 ming, clasping, or other special functions. It is armed in many 
 ways, and becomes an index to the life history of the insect, 
 furnishing, also, many good characters of use in classification. 
 Economically, it is useful in that it is a guide from which we can 
 often get an idea of the kind of existence that the insect leads, — 
 whether it is a digger, a swimmer, or a carnivorous type. The 
 terminal part of the leg is the ' ' tarsus, ' ' or foot, and this is also 
 jointed, —five joints being usual, though variations frequently 
 occur. The last joint is armed with a pair of claws, and between 
 them we may have "pulviUi," or small pad-like structures, by 
 means of which flies and other insects cling to smooth surfaces 
 and are able to walk back downward on ceilings. The differ- 
 ences in the leg structure are easily seen with a little experience, 
 and in some orders, notably the Coleoptera, they serve to divide 
 the insects into large groups or series. 
 
 The abdomen normally contains nine segments, but these are 
 rarely all distinct. As a rule, one or more are modified to form 
 sexual organs or appendages, or shields, or other accessory 
 structures. It sometimes happens that the segments on the 
 dorsal, or upper, and ventral, or under, side do not correspond, 
 one part of the ring being lost or modified. In the adult the ab- 
 domen never bears organs of locomotion, and, as a rule, no appen- 
 dages of any kind, except an ovipositor in the female of certain 
 groups, or a pair of claspers in the male. In some of the lower 
 orders it bears jointed filaments or appendages resembling feelers, 
 and these are called " cerci." Only in the lowest of all types do 
 we find traces of rudimentary legs on the abdominal segments, 
 indicating a relationship between the insects and myriapods. 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MUSCLES, DIGESTION, AND CIRCULATION. 
 
 Insects have no internal skeleton or bony structure, the body- 
 wall serving for the attachment of muscles and to protect the 
 inner organs. 
 
 Cutting transversely through the thorax of an insect at its mid- 
 dle, we find the greatest portion of the body cavity occupied by 
 muscles, which are arranged in bundles attached to the entire 
 inner surface of the body wall, proceeding to all the appendages, 
 and thus providing the power that moves the animal. Centrally, 
 the alimentary canal occupies a part of the body cavity, its size 
 
 Fig. 12. 
 
 Ideal section through an insect. — a, alimentary canal ; h, heart ; n, nerve-cord ; s, stig- 
 mata ; t, tracheal tubes ; /, legs ; w, wings. 
 
 depending considerably upon the kind of insect in hand. Just 
 below the dorsal surface is a small tubular structure, at once the 
 heart and only blood-vessel, while just above the ventral surface 
 is a white, knotted cord, — the nervous system. Laterally, there 
 is an opening on each side, from which a ringed tube leads into 
 the body, dividing and subdividing almost immediately into 
 innumerable branches, and this is the respiratory or breathing 
 system. Frequently we find around the alimentary canal a con- 
 siderable fatty mass, while everywhere through the insect body 
 
28 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 we meet with a whitish or sHghtly greenish Hquid, much more 
 abundant in the larva than in the adult ; and this is the blood. 
 These various systems are of economic importance, for upon 
 our full understanding of some of them depends the success with 
 which we can apply insecticides of a certain character. 
 
 Perhaps the least important in this view is the muscular sys- 
 tem. It has been stated that the muscles are found in the form 
 of bands, which extend from the body walls to the various ap- 
 pendages, and, of course, they are numerous and strong in pro- 
 portion to the power required. Thus, for a leaping insect the 
 muscles moving the legs are very much more developed than 
 they are in an insect which simply walks or runs, and in a run- 
 ning insect they are better developed than in one that simply 
 walks or moves slowly. Where powerful appendages must be 
 moved, as for instance the mandibles or jaws, several bundles 
 of muscles frequently converge to a chitinous point or tendon, 
 which in turn is attached to the appendage, and thus a great 
 amount of force is exerted at one point, the muscular attach- 
 ments on the body wall covering a considerable surface and con- 
 verging all their effectiveness upon one lever only. It is this 
 arrangement that gives some insects the gnawing power to bur- 
 row in the hardest woods, and to cut through foreign substances, 
 like lead, in order to escape from captivity. 
 
 Under the microscope it is found that the ultimate structure of 
 insect muscle does not differ in essentials from that of the higher 
 animals ; that is to say, it is made up of narrow fibres divided 
 into cells, and transversely striated. The voluntary muscles of 
 insects are, therefore, practically like the voluntary muscles of 
 the higher animals or of men. 
 
 The digestive system is of much more importance from the 
 economic stand-point. On a previous page it has been shown 
 that two general types of feeding habits exist, the chewing and 
 the sucking, and the digestive system changes somewhat as the 
 needs of the organism vary. The mandibulate type, in which 
 the insect chews its food and subsists upon more or less solid 
 material, will be first considered. Most insects in the larval stage, 
 and sometimes also as adults, are voracious feeders, seeming 
 determined to devour as much as they can possibly contain, in 
 the shortest possible time ; and the food is in such cases rather 
 
Fin. T-^. 
 
 Mandible of a carpenter-bee, with bundles of muscular fibres attached, each bundle 
 converging to a tendon, and the latter attached to a mandibular process. 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 29 
 
 Fig 14 
 
 Digestive systems ; of a katydid, at a,- of a grasshopper, at b ; and of a roach, at c. All 
 the parts are named save the thread-like Malpighian tubules. 
 
3© 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 coarsely ground up by the mouth parts, and forced through the 
 gullet or oesophagus into the crop. The oesophagus is simply a 
 slender tube, usually straight or only a little bent, at the mouth 
 of which salivary glands open, and the food, mixed with saliva, 
 passes through it into the crop. This crop is a more or less 
 muscular, but always distensible sac, and usually the largest 
 single organ in the body. It is used, primarily, as a place to 
 store food when the insect has the opportunity of obtaining it, 
 and is capable of containing a comparatively enormous amount 
 of material. At its posterior end it opens into a gizzard, or 
 grinding stomach, and this receives the food in small quantities, 
 to be further reduced and put into better mechanical condition 
 for assimilation. For this purpose it is armed with a complicated 
 set of plates and teeth, not alike in any two species, while its 
 muscular coatings are dense and powerful, giving great twisting 
 and grinding force. Sometimes the gizzard is well developed 
 and prominent ; but often it is greatly reduced, appearing as 
 little more than a slight specialization of the end of the crop. 
 Its development depends very largely upon the character of the 
 food and the feeding habits. Insects that eat indiscriminately all 
 sorts of material, like roaches and crickets, have it best developed. 
 From this gizzard the food, now in excellent mechanical con- 
 dition, passes into the true stomach, ox chylific ventricle, receiving 
 at its mouth the secretions of the ccecal tubes or pouches. This 
 secretion is digestive in character, like a similar Hquid in higher 
 animals, and assimilation begins in this part of the system. The 
 stomach varies greatly in length in the different kinds of insects, 
 and as much in relative size and the strength of its muscular 
 coating. At its posterior end we find the long and slender Mal- 
 pighiayi tubules, which often envelop the whole system in a ver- 
 itable net-work of fine, thread-like masses. These structures are 
 supposed to represent kidneys and to have a similar excretory 
 function. They open at the junction of the stomach with the 
 iletivi,ox small intestine, and in this the assimilation or absorption 
 of food products is completed, the remnant being forced into the 
 large intestine, or colon, where it is prepared for excretion through 
 the rectum. ' A pair of glands near the end of the rectum secretes 
 a mucus, probably intended as a lubricant only. 
 
 The salivary glands vary in number, and one or more may be 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 31 
 
 Fig. 
 
 modified for special purposes ; as in some of the piercing insects 
 like bugs or the mosquitoes, where an irritant poison is secreted, 
 or in certain beetles, where the saliva has 
 both a staining and a burning effect upon 
 the skin, or in many larvae, where the se- 
 cretion forms a silk when hardened by ex- 
 posure to the air. The anal glands may 
 be similarly modified, but much more 
 rarely than those at the anterior end of the 
 body. In the "Bombardier beetle" their 
 secretion volatilizes suddenly when expelled 
 into the air, and forms a blue smoke, like 
 the discharge from a small cannon. In 
 Hymenoptera, including bees and wasps, 
 the secretion is poisonous, and accessory 
 to the functions of the sting. More rarely 
 a silk is produced from these glands. Taken 
 altogether, the digestive system varies 
 greatly in length, being sometimes a 
 straight tube only, the various portions 
 very incompletely divided off. In other 
 cases it is quite complex, coiled upon 
 itself, the parts well defined, and the sys- 
 tem as a whole two or three times the 
 length of the entire insect, different kinds 
 of structure being found in the various 
 parts. The figures given herewith illustrate 
 some of these differences. 
 
 In the sucking or haustellate type the 
 essential structure of the alimentary canal 
 and the differentiation of the parts are much 
 the same. There is, however, a great reduction in the size of the 
 gizzard, which is very often entirely wanting. If present, the 
 armature is reduced to a mere ridging, or a slight, irregular 
 thickening of the walls of the posterior end of the crop. In the 
 Lepidoptera there is often a peculiar accessory pouch, which 
 seems to serve the purpose of a storage reservoir, or secondary 
 crop, and this is attached by a narrow neck to the opening of the 
 true crop. In the bees the crop is unusually elastic, and capable 
 
 Salivary gland of the cat- 
 erpillar of Melittia ceto, 
 modified for silk spinning : 
 mandible of the same, 
 above. 
 
32 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 of enormous distention compared with the size of the insect, and 
 this is to accommodate the honey collected by the insects to be 
 carried into the hive. 
 
 In the use of poisons acting through the stomach, the arsenic, 
 which is usually employed, is taken in with the food and gener- 
 ally carried into the chylific ventricle before it becomes effective. 
 In the crop the food is generally too dry to cause the necessary 
 solution of the caustic properties of the arsenic, which is neces- 
 sarily applied in its least soluble form ; but by the time it has 
 passed through the gizzard and has reached the stomach, becom- 
 ing moistened and mixed with the secretions that have been 
 already mentioned, it becomes active. Some insects are able to 
 take a very large quantity of poisonous material without injury ; 
 succumbing only after two or three days to the effects of a poi- 
 sonous meal. It is probable that in such cases the digestive 
 liquids exercise a less solvent effect upon the toxic mixture. 
 
 Ordinarily, digestion in insects is exceedingly rapid. Among 
 caterpillars, for instance, feeding is often almost continuous, and 
 twenty-four hours are sufficient to pass through the entire diges- 
 tive system food two or three times the weight of the larvae 
 
 themselves. 
 
 Fig. i6. 
 
 Heart of a stag-beetle, showing the wings and chambers : at the side, the interior of a 
 chamber, to show the valves. 
 
 Insects have no system of arteries and veins, and only one real 
 blood-vessel, which serves also as the heart. This, as has been 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 II 
 
 indicated, lies just under the back, and in a cavity formed by a 
 series of peculiar triangular muscles known as the ' ' wings of the 
 heart;" and these serve to prevent undue pressure upon it. 
 The organ is simply a long tube, open at both ends, and divided 
 into a variable number of chambers, into which the blood is 
 admitted at the sides, at intervals along its length. The heart- 
 beat consists of a wave of contraction beginning at the posterior 
 end, forcing the blood forward and out into the head. Some- 
 times one wave is completed before another one starts, and 
 sometimes two or even three waves may be on the road at one 
 time. Sometimes the beat is exceedingly sluggish, and some- 
 times, in active insects, it is very rapid. After the blood has 
 been forced out of the heart it first bathes the head parts, and 
 then makes its way between the muscles and other organs through 
 the body cavity and into the appendages. Part of it bathes the 
 alimentary canal, where it receives the products of digestion, and 
 these are carried everywhere and assimilated by the various 
 tissues, the blood eventually finding its way back to the heart, 
 to begin its journey anew. The fact that there is no closed 
 system of blood circulation is peculiar, and in this insects differ 
 from all the higher animals. It necessitates a very decided 
 modification of the respiratory or breathing system, and this 
 forms the subject of the next chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 
 
 The respiratory or breathing system of insects is adapted to 
 the system of blood circulation. It is important from the eco- 
 nomic, as well as interesting from the scientific, stand-point, for 
 upon this rests the basis for the application of contact insecticides. 
 
 Insects have no lungs, and nothing which at all corresponds to 
 them. They have no means of taking in air at the head or 
 through the mouth ; but breathe from the sides, where there is a 
 series of breathing-pores, or spiracles, through which the air is 
 taken into the body cavity. Typically, one pair of spiracles 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 occurs on each body segment ; but as a matter of fact some of 
 the segments, especially in the adult, lose them, the insect de- 
 pending upon a more limited number as the main trunks become 
 enlarged. The insect blood requires oxygen, as in the higher 
 animals, and, as there are no lungs to which the blood can be 
 carried, it is necessary that the air itself should be taken to all 
 parts of the body, and this is accomplished by means of tubes 
 called trachece. Tracheae occur in insects, in spiders, and in 
 myriapods, all of which are, therefore, called ' ' Tracheates. ' ' 
 Spiders have eight legs instead of six as in the true insects, and 
 have the head and thorax combined in one piece or cephalo- 
 thorax. They have also a decided tendency to the formation of 
 lung-sacs. The "myriapods" or "centipedes" are more worm- 
 like in structure, and are furnished with many legs, — one or two 
 pairs on each body segment, — sometimes exceeding one hundred 
 in number. 
 
 One tracheal trunk or tube starts from each spiracle, and be- 
 gins at once to divide and subdivide, sending its ramifications 
 to all parts of the body, even to the tips of all appendages, so 
 that air permeates every part of the insect, and tracheal tissue is 
 present everywhere. The structure of these tubes is interesting : 
 they consist of a membranous cylinder, stiffened by chitinous 
 rings or spirals, in appearance very much like the closely-coiled 
 springs in automatic shade-rollers. This gives rigidity to the 
 tubes, keeping them always open, while at the same time it 
 allows the utmost freedom of motion. A series of longitudinal 
 tubes on each side of the body unite the main trunks from each 
 spiracle, and in some cases there are transverse tubes joining 
 the longitudinal tracheae. The entire system is thus connected 
 in one or two ways, and at a pinch an insect is able to get its air 
 supply from one spiracle only and from almost any part of its 
 body. 
 
 Where so many openings into the insect body exist there 
 must, necessarily, be some arrangement for protecting them and 
 preventing the entrance of foreign material. There is, therefore, 
 a great variety of sifting structures, their character depending 
 largely upon the habits of the insects. There may be a series 
 of teeth or spurs on each side of a narrow, irregular slit ; a series 
 of hairs or bristles crossing in front of the opening ; a covering 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 Fig. 17. 
 
 35 
 
 Tracheal tube, showing the structure and methods of branching. 
 
 Fig. 18. 
 
 Spiracles and their protection. — a, plate-like covering ot white grubs, cross-sec- 
 tioned at b, to show how air enters ; c, a toothed slit ; rf, spiracle set on a teat-like 
 process; <?, conical spiracle set in a pit, protected by crossed hairs as shown at/" in 
 section ; g, lip-like spiracle ; h and i, unprotected round or slit-like openings. 
 
 Fig. 19. 
 
 Fig, 
 
 Tracheal gills. — a, leaf-like anal plate oi 
 Agrion . b, thread-like tuft of Corydalus ; c, 
 plate-like gill of Ephemera. 
 
 Air-bladder at end of 
 tracheal tube in Bom- 
 bus. 
 
36 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 shield, beneath which the air must enter, or some other variety 
 of screen, — all intended to sift out of the air the foreign particles 
 which might injure the insect. Yet it is through these spiracles 
 that most of the contact insecticides must act, as will be more 
 fully detailed hereafter. In many heavy insects there are at- 
 tached to the tracheae numerous air-sacs or bladders, the object 
 of which is to reduce the specific gravity of the insect to enable 
 it to fly more readily. A common example is the well-known 
 " May-beetle" or "June-bug," which has the entire body cavity 
 filled with such little bladders. If one of these beetles be watched 
 when it emerges from its hiding-place early in the evening, it 
 will be noted that it first crawls to the top of some blade of grass 
 or twig, or even upon a stone, and rests there a few minutes. 
 If it be closely observed it will be seen to be pumping in air, — 
 that is to say, the body pulsates rapidly, and the abdomen seems 
 continually to increase in size. This is because the insect is fill- 
 ing the air-bladders, and, as soon as this has been accomplished, 
 it tries its wings, causing the preliminary "whirr" which is so 
 familiar to the observer in the early evening of a June day. After 
 two or three trials the insect becomes confident of its ability to 
 sustain itself, and flies off heavily, with a steady hum. If such 
 a beetle be found at mid-day and thrown into the air it will fall 
 heavily, and will be absolutely unable to sustain itself in flight 
 until it has had an opportunity to inflate its air-sacs. 
 
 While the vast majority of all insects are air-dwellers, yet many 
 live underground, a very large number in water, and a consider- 
 able percentage in decaying or excrementitious matter, where 
 pure air is very difficult or impossible to obtain. All sorts of 
 devices to enable them to breathe under such conditions have 
 been developed, and in all cases without any essential modifica- 
 tion of the system. Underground dwellers usually find air suffi- 
 cient for their needs in the earth in which they live, and the 
 development here is principally in the direction of more perfect 
 coverings for the spiracles to prevent the entrance of dirt. 
 
 Among insects living in or under water, or spending a portion 
 ot their life there, we note a great variety of modifications. 
 Many beetles, and some insects of other orders, have the wing- 
 covers dome-shaped, and so closely fitted that they are able to 
 carry a little supply of air between them and the abdomen. 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 37 
 
 When this supply is exhausted of oxygen, the insect rises to the 
 surface, allows the drop of tainted air to escape, and at the same 
 time takes in another bubble of pure air. It is then supplied for 
 another period, varying in length in the different species. Cer- 
 tain other forms have the body covered with very fine hair, so 
 dense that the water cannot penetrate it, and these carry a thin 
 film of air that surrounds them entirely while they are in the 
 water ; they really do not get wet at all. This air supply must 
 usually be renewed from time to time ; but occasionally oxygen 
 is absorbed from the water itself, and the filmy covering is thus 
 kept constantly purified. Yet other insects have their surface 
 so absolutely smooth and polished that the water cannot touch 
 it, and here also a slight film of air may be carried about. There 
 are other devices to the same end, which it is needless to special- 
 ize, and we pass to those insects that never come to the surface 
 at all, and yet secure a sufficient supply of oxygen. These crea- 
 tures are mostly larvse, and in them we note the development of 
 structures resembling the gills of fishes in function. That is, in 
 certain leaf-like or thread-like appendages there are a great num- 
 ber of very fine tracheal tubes with very thin walls. Through 
 them the insect absorbs the oxygen contained in the water itself, 
 and we have exactly the same process that we find in the fishes, 
 except that here air instead of blood is brought into contact with 
 the oxygen in the water. These gill-like appendages vary greatly 
 in number and shape, but do not differ in function, and will be 
 further described when necessary in connection with the insects 
 themselves. 
 
 Yet another type of structure is found where the absolute con- 
 nection with the air really never ceases, — that is to say, the in- 
 sects have a rigid or an extensile tube attached to the anal end 
 of the body, and this they keep pointing above the surface while 
 they walk about on the bottom of the ponds. Insects so pro- 
 vided are inhabitants of shallow water, and the tubes rarely ex- 
 ceed an inch or an inch and a half in length. The common 
 "rat-tailed larvae, " often found in the filthiest of all excrementi- 
 tious material, are good examples of this method of breathing. 
 They may be entirely imbedded in the pasty mass ; but the 
 tip of the "tail" is kept above the surface to enable them to 
 secure fresh air. Finally, we have those cases where insects live 
 
38 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 in the water, yet get all their air from above it without any power 
 of storing. This is the case with creatures like the mosquito 
 larvae, which are unable to breathe without coming to the surface. 
 They have only a single spiracle at the tip of the body, and are 
 compelled to rise to the surface at intervals to breathe, and, 
 having done so, are able to sustain life beneath it for only a short 
 time afterward. 
 
 This much for the general characteristics of the respiratory 
 system ; it remains to show how it is important from the eco- 
 nomic stand-point. It has been previously said that the insect 
 crust is of chitine, which is impervious to a great variety of 
 ordinarily penetrating substances. It resists alcohol, chloroform, 
 ether, the light mineral oils, benzine, turpentine, kerosene, and 
 other similar substances ; acetic acid penetrates slowly and so 
 does carbolic acid. This accounts for the difficulty which we 
 find in destroying many insect eggs, for there are no openings in 
 them that are sufficient for the penetration of these substances, 
 and they are unable to act through the egg-wall itself To get a 
 liquid insecticide to kill an insect by contact, it must be forced 
 into the body through the spiracles, or they must be so gummed 
 or clogged as to close them completely, thus preventing the in- 
 sect from breathing at all. Kerosene is the most reliable of the 
 penetrating liquids, and even where the spiracles are well pro- 
 tected this material penetrates into the smallest openings. It 
 has the advantage ol actually wetting everything ; that is to say, 
 it is not repelled by small hairs, as globules of water would be, 
 and therefore, as it really comes into direct contact with them, is 
 enabled to work its way through the spiracles. That is what 
 makes the kerosene so much better than any watery mixtures 
 alone ; for whatever the material extracted by or dissolved in 
 water, it may perhaps be repelled by the insect body, and never 
 have the opportunity of exercising an effect. The various soaps 
 act in another way ; as the moisture evaporates, a film of sticky 
 or gummy material remains which clogs the spiracles, and thus 
 chokes the insect by depriving it of air. Soapy mixtures also 
 wet and stick well to insects through the caustics they contain, 
 and which have the power of cutting the repellent material of 
 their bodies. 
 
 In some kinds of insects the spiracles are so feebly protected 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 39 
 
 that dry insecticides penetrate them readily, if finely ground ; 
 and all such are effective in proportion to their fine mechanical 
 condition, enabling them to enter the tracheae through the sieve 
 of the spiracles. Thus, sawfly larvae or " slugs," like the " cur- 
 rant-worm" and " pear-slug," succumb readily to dry hellebore, 
 pyrethrum, or even fine road dust. Many parasites may be 
 reached in this way, and some animals and all fowls keep them- 
 selves tolerably free from vermin by frequent dustings. This is 
 not the place to go into the effectiveness of insecticides ; but it 
 may be repeated that contact poisons usually act through the 
 spiracles only. Dry powders are effective in proportion to their 
 fineness and to their peculiar poisonous properties ; liquids are 
 effective in proportion to the thoroughness with which they are 
 applied, and to their penetrating or clogging characters. 
 
 Caustics and chlorides act differently, and may actually corrode 
 a thin insect crust. But this matter also comes more appro- 
 priately under another heading, and will not be further discussed 
 here. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SENSES OF INSECTS. 
 
 The nervous system in insects consists of a series of white 
 disks or ganglia lying on the bottom of the body cavity, con- 
 nected by a double cord extending the full length of the insect. 
 Insects have no true brain, as do the higher animals, and the 
 ganglion situated in the head, which is usually called " brain," is 
 larger than the others simply because of the great number 
 of special organs — eyes, antennae, and mouth parts — that must 
 be innervated from it. In its structure it is precisely like the 
 other ganglia, though in some of the social types there is an 
 appearance of specialization. Nerve-fibres start from all ganglia 
 in every direction, and all parts of the body are reached ; the 
 nervous system in one direction being exceedingly well devel- 
 oped. In the larval forms and in the lower types, a ganglion is 
 present in every segment of the body, including the head ; and 
 thus each segment contains its own nerve-centre, the cords from 
 
40 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 which are primarily sent out to the organs and appendages lying 
 within that particular segment. In adults there is a tendency 
 to a union of the thoracic ganglia, and in the abdomen two are 
 usually confluent toward the anal end of the body. The digestive 
 
 system is usually in- 
 FiG. 21. nervated by a spe- 
 
 cial ganglion, and 
 has its own, partly 
 distinct system. In 
 the higher insects the 
 thoracic ganglion is 
 the most important 
 in the body for the 
 life of the insect, and 
 if this be cut or 
 destroyed the insect 
 dies at once. Any 
 other ganglion may 
 be cut without pro- 
 ^ ducing immediate 
 
 , , death, and the brain, 
 
 Nervous system of the honey bee at a, and of its . 
 
 larva at b. usmg that term for 
 
 the ganglion con- 
 tained in the head, may be entirely removed without necessarily 
 killing the insect itself 
 
 While, as stated, the nervous system is well developed and all 
 the organs are well furnished with nerve endings, yet it is prob- 
 able that insects are not particularly sensitive. The oft- cited 
 case of the butterfly that was captured and pinned while aUve, 
 then escaped from the collector, and returned at once to its 
 feeding among the flowers without apparent inconvenience, is 
 known to most readers. If a dragon-fly be captured and held 
 by the wings loosely, so as to prevent its escape but not to 
 injure it, and the tip of its abdomen is then presented to its 
 mouth, it proceeds at once to eat it as far as it can reach, with- 
 out any apparent knowledge of. what it is doing. It will thus 
 devour, with the greatest portion of the abdomen, half its diges- 
 tive system, nearly half its entire nervous system, and a large 
 part of its heart ; yet, if it be then released, it will fly off", little 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 41 
 
 the worse, except that it is unable to balance itself. Insects may 
 lose a considerable number of their members without apparent 
 inconvenience : a fly may lose a leg or two without seeming 
 in the least worried, or one or both of its wings may be torn off 
 without causing death or even a manifestation of pain. 
 
 I once made a series of experiments to test, not so much the 
 sensibility of flies, as the effect that cutting the various organs 
 would exercise upon it. I found that if I cut off the abdomen 
 completely, the fly would live for twenty-four hours thereafter ; 
 with practically no digestive system, with very little nervous 
 system, and with most of its heart gone. Turning the matter, I cut 
 off the head, and found that it would live without a head for just 
 about as long a time as it would without an abdomen. Of course 
 death was bound to result from this mutilation in time, but the 
 interesting feature is that no apparent symptom of pain was 
 developed. I found, however, that just as soon as I cut the large 
 ganglion in the middle of the thorax I terminated life. What- 
 ever sentimental feeling there may be in the matter of causing 
 unnecessary pain, there is no reason to believe that insects have 
 any well-developed sensitiveness, as we understand that term. 
 The character of the insect nervous system is so entirely different 
 from our own that we are left without real guides in our interpre- 
 tation of the various sensory structures. Man judges most things 
 by himself, and where this guide fails he is at a loss, and cannot 
 be certain that he interprets what he sees correctly. 
 
 The eyes are perhaps the most prominent and best understood 
 of the organs of special sense. They are of two kinds, simple 
 and compound, and both may be present in the same species. 
 The simple eyes are termed ocelli, and consist of a more or less 
 convex, often bead-like lens or facet, by means of which an image 
 is thrown on a retina, and thus transferred to the perceptive 
 centres. In larvae simple eyes, or ocelli, are the rule, except in 
 types with incomplete metamorphosis, where the eyes resemble 
 those of the adults. In larvae the simple eyes may be situated at 
 almost any point on the head ; but usually they are grouped at 
 the sides : sometimes only a single ocellus at each side, sometimes 
 a group of a dozen or more, forming the rudiments of a com- 
 pound eye. In adults there are rarely more than three ocelli, 
 usually situated in a triangle either close together or widely sep- 
 
42 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 arated ; or there may be only two, one on each side, near the 
 base of the antenna, as is usual in butterflies and moths. 
 
 Fig. 22. 
 
 Sensory organs of insects. — A, one element in eye of a roach ; B, section of compound 
 eye ; C, organs of smell in May-beetles ; D, sense organs in abdominal appendages ; E, 
 sensory ear ; F, ear on foreleg of locust ; G, ear found on the basal segment of grass- 
 hopper abdomen. All greatly enlarged. 
 
 Compound eyes are so termed because they are made up of a 
 great number of simple eyes, or ocelli, set very close together. 
 If the head of a bee or house-fly is examined, it will be noted 
 that the brown eyes occupy a very large portion of its surface, 
 and if one of those eyes be viewed under the microscope it 
 will be found to be faceted, or to consist of thousands of little 
 hexagonal disks, resembling in appearance the top of a honey- 
 comb. Each one of these facets represents a complete eye, 
 capable of forming an image upon its own little retina, and the 
 combination of all the little retinal pictures is what a fly or other 
 insect sees. In some cases the eyes are so enormous that the 
 insect can see everything going on in front, at each side, above 
 and beneath, and even back, except directly behind it. It is 
 difficult for us, who are able to see in one direction only, to 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 43 
 
 imagine the sort of picture an insect perceives, and we are by no 
 means certain how well or how poorly it really does see. We know 
 only that larval forms and low types, provided with ocelli only, 
 see very feebly and indefinitely, and can do little more than dis- 
 criminate between light and darkness. Many insects have no eyes 
 at all, living under such circumstances as to make them useless. 
 
 That insects hear follows almost inevitably from the fact that 
 many of them "sing," — that is, produce some sort of noise. 
 What those organs of hearing are is not so certain in all cases, 
 nor where they are situated, since we cannot confine our search 
 for ears to the head alone. In the Orthoptera they have been 
 located with a reasonable degree of certainty : in the grasshopper 
 the ears are on each side of the basal segment of the abdomen, 
 while in the locusts and crickets they are on the anterior tibiae. 
 Essentially, these ears consist of a tense membrane stretched over 
 a cavity, and connected by means of little processes, correspond- 
 ing somewhat to the bones of the human ear, with a bulb-like 
 vesicle and a large auditory nerve. In most other orders no 
 similar structures are found, and the sense of hearing is located 
 in the antennae, or feelers, of which more will be said later on. 
 
 Insects are able to discriminate as between foods, and the sense 
 of taste is undoubtedly developed to some extent ; but the taste 
 which seems agreeable to their sense would be to us, in many 
 instances, the vilest conceivable. No true tongue, as this organ 
 exists in the vertebrates, is found among insects ; but on the up- 
 per side of the lower lip there is often a finely papillate surface, set 
 with little fleshy pegs and processes communicating with nerve 
 fibres, and this represents the nearest approach to the tongue 
 of the higher animals. It is called the hypopharynx , and is 
 not always present. Beneath the labrum, or upper lip, we often 
 find a separate, flat, similar piece, and this is the epipharynx, 
 corresponding in function to the palate of the higher animals. 
 
 Nothing resembling a nose is found among insects, and yet 
 the sense of smell seems very highly developed. Insects often 
 discover their food with unerring certainty, even when concealed 
 from sight. Among the nocturnal species, where sight can play 
 but a small part at best, the sense of smell seems most highly 
 developed, and usually more in the male than in the female. 
 This is due to the fact that the males, as a rule, seek their mates, 
 
44 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and so keen is this sense that they discover the presence of the 
 female, even when confined in a breeding-cage, if a window be left 
 open. Sometimes male wood-borers will sit around a spot on the 
 bark for a considerable time awaiting the emergence of a female, 
 which their keen sense tells them is fully developed and ready to 
 make her way out. Carrion feeders discover their food when con- 
 cealed from sight, and almost before decay has set in. So far as 
 we have been able to ascertain, the olfactory organs are situated 
 in the antennae, and form small pits or depressions, from which 
 usually arise specialized hairs, bristles, or pegs, as the case may be. 
 
 Fig. 23. 
 
 Sensory organs of insects.—^, sensory pittings in plant-louse antennie ; B, organ of 
 smell in May-beetle; C, same in wasp; Z), sensory organs in Tennei flavipes ; E, F, 
 organs of taste in a wasp ; G, organ of smell in grasshopper ; H, sensory depressions 
 on the tibia of Termes ; /, terminal joint of antenna of an ant ; K, section through the 
 antenna of a honey-bee, showing supposed olfactory organs. All greatly enlarged. 
 
 The sense of touch is located popularly, and I think correctly, in 
 the antennae ; but it is quite certain that tactile hairs exist all over 
 the body of the insect, more developed in some than in others, 
 and most, perhaps, in larval forms. These structures always 
 consist of specialized hairs or bristles, and end in a nerve cell. 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 45 
 
 It is probable that in the antennae we have a sense of percep- 
 tion which is able to discriminate between atmospheric vibrations, 
 and in this way the same or similar structures may serve as organs 
 of hearing, smell, and touch. That is to say, it is probable that 
 there is no such sense in insects as the power to discriminate 
 between smells, but that each is able to recognize certain definite 
 kinds of odors which do produce an effect upon it. So it is also 
 likely that only sounds of certain descriptions are recognized, 
 and these sounds may even be such as the human ear is not 
 capable of perceiving. We are far from understanding the senses 
 of insects, but the above outline is all that is necessary for our 
 present purpose. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. 
 
 The rate of increase among insects is often very great. It is 
 nothing unusual to hear a farmer say that on one day his plants 
 were free from insects, or nearly so, while a week thereafter 
 everything seemed to be swarming. As a matter of fact, this is 
 frequently due to a failure to observe the insects in the first place, 
 either in the stage in which they then existed or on account of 
 their small numbers ; but it remains true, nevertheless, that in- 
 sects are often exceedingly prolific. The number of eggs laid 
 by a female often runs up to one thousand, or even more, while 
 the number of eggs within the power of a Termite queen is be- 
 yond all calculation. If it were not for their natural checks, in- 
 sects would soon overrun the world. In one year not one green 
 thing would be left on the face of the earth, and not one living 
 being other than insects would exist. These natural checks con- 
 sist largely in sudden changes or abnormally high or low tem- 
 perature, in unusual moisture or drought, or in a combination 
 of two or more of these factors. Diseases often attack insects, 
 and genuine epidemics occur, sweeping off millions in one stage 
 or the other. The natural enemies are legion ; many vertebrates 
 are largely dependent for their food upon insects, and this is 
 especially true of birds and reptiles, some of which subsist upon 
 insects exclusively. A large proportion of the insects themselves 
 
46 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig 
 
 are predaceous, and live upon others of their kind ; great num- 
 bers are parasites, their prey being other insects of all orders, 
 and in this way forms that depend upon plant life for their sub- 
 sistence are kept within definite bounds. These bounds, though 
 they may vary from year to year, never change much except 
 where man interferes. This subject will be touched upon in an- 
 other place more fully. 
 
 Except in rare instances insects are of two sexes, male and 
 female, and we nowhere find among them true hermaphrodites. 
 In the plant-lice and gall-wasps we have apparent exceptions ; 
 but these are only apparent. 
 
 In the female the most prominent sexual organs are the ovaries. 
 These consist of two sets of tubes, one in each side of the abdo- 
 men, usually below the digestive system, united 
 at their base into one larger tube called the 
 oviduct ; the two oviducts unite, just before 
 opening outwardly, into a single chamber 
 called the vagina. The vagina opens out- 
 wardly at the end of the body, sometimes with- 
 out special modification, sometimes by means 
 of a flexible or extensile tube, sometimes as a 
 long, rigid cylinder, and occasionally in the 
 form of a sting. These structures, be they 
 rigid or otherwise, are always called ovipositors, 
 and their function is to place the o^g^ into the 
 position necessary for its best development. 
 Associated with this system are a number of 
 glands, the use of which is either to give a 
 sticky coating to the &%'g, enabling it to adhere 
 Ovarian tubes of one to the leaf or Other point at which it is laid, or 
 side, in Pohstes, show- j-q supply a poisonous sccrctiou, where such is 
 
 ing eggs in all stages r i r r r • 
 
 of development, with ncccssary lor defence or tor stupetymg prey, 
 nutritive cells, m w,be- There is also a little sac, attached by a slender 
 
 tween ; r j, seminal re- 1^1 • 1 1 • 1 
 
 ceptacie ; ov, oviduct ■ ^^^^ to the vagma, at about the point where 
 vag, vagina. the two oviducts uuitc. This is the seminal 
 
 receptacle, and in this is received the seminal 
 fluid of the male : from it the eggs are fertilized as they pass from 
 the oviduct into the vagina on their way through the ovipositor. 
 In some insects these receptacles are very large, especially where 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 47 
 
 copulation takes place in the fall, and the female, living through 
 the winter, does not begin to lay eggs until some time in spring. 
 The eggs have at one end small openings termed micropyles, and 
 through these the spermatozoa find their way into the o.^^ to 
 fertilize it. In the ovarian tubes a variable number of cells are 
 developed, and these grow rapidly, each cell eventually forming 
 an &^%. The number of tubes and the number of cells in the 
 tubes vary within wide limits in the different species. In some 
 they are rigidly limited, and the insects are able to lay only a 
 definite number of eggs ; in others the cells are so numerous that 
 a definite number seems unlikely. Before the female has been 
 impregnated the ovarian tubes are very slender and occupy only a 
 little space in the abdomen. When the eggs develop, however, 
 the ovaries increase in size until, finally, the abdomen is almost 
 entirely occupied by them, and is often enormously distended. 
 
 In the male the ovaries are replaced by the testes, which also 
 are more or less coiled tubular structures, and these tubes, like 
 the ovaries, unite to- 
 gether on each side into ^^^- ^5- 
 a larger tube, which in 
 turn are combined into 
 a single organ, usually 
 more or less horny in 
 structure, — the penis. 
 
 Reproduction among 
 insects is, therefore, in 
 its essentials, like that 
 of the higher animals. 
 The only difference is 
 that as the life period is 
 shorter, the eggs must 
 all be laid within a defi- 
 nite time, and they are 
 very much greater in 
 number. It further 
 proves that we have a 
 definite development in 
 
 insects as in higher animals, and that with them also, like pro- 
 duces like, — that is to say, the product of the q%,% when fully de- 
 
 Male organs of May-beetle. — One side only beyond 
 the ductus ejaculatorius, duct, ejac; gim., mucus 
 glands; ves. sent., se.mma.\ vesicles; vas. def., vasa 
 deferentia. 
 
48 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 veloped will be like the parent that laid it, and never anything 
 else. Insects are as a rule unable to reproduce until they have 
 reached the adult stage; and the few apparent exceptions may 
 not be real when all the factors are understood. An insect, when 
 once adult, never changes into one of a different kind ; so a 
 beetle can never change into a cricket, nor a small fly into a 
 larger one. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GROWTH AND METAMORPHOSIS. 
 
 Insects grow only in the larval stage, and moult, or change 
 their skin, every time there is an increase in size. As has been 
 stated, the insect crust is rigid and inelastic, and extension is 
 possible only by the expansion of the membrane between the 
 rings. When a growing insect reaches the extent of the elasticity 
 in its covering, a new skin forms beneath the old one, and the 
 latter splits, allowing the newly-clad and much larger specimen 
 to crawl out of it. In this respect insects resemble crabs, lobsters, 
 and other crustaceans. 
 
 The terms larva, pupa, and adult have been several times used 
 in the previous chapters, and need more explanation. Most 
 insects undergo, in the course of their life, a series of changes or 
 transformations, in which their form, appearance, and habits are 
 often so diverse that the different stages could not be recognized 
 as belonging to one species without definite, continued observa- 
 tion. These changes are termed metamorphoses, and they 
 include the egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages. With few 
 apparent exceptions, all insects begin in an Qg% stage, and the 
 method in which this &<g^ is developed has been already described. 
 In this stage, whether it be long or short, the creature is unde- 
 veloped and quiescent, except for the changes going on within, 
 and which do not result in outward movement. In rare cases 
 the eggs are not extruded from the body of the insect, but fertili- 
 zation takes place in the ovary, the larvae hatching within the 
 abdomen of the mother. 
 
 From this ^^^ comes in due time a larva, a minute creature 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 49 
 
 which may or may not resemble the parent that laid it. Assum- 
 ing that it does, it is without trace of wings. It grows apace, 
 moults as often as necessary, and at last attains very distinct wing 
 pads. It is now in the pupal stage, and with the next moult the 
 wings become fully developed. It is then adult and fitted to 
 reproduce its kind. This sort of metamorphosis is said to be 
 incomplete, because there is no inactive stage, and because there 
 is always a close resemblance in all stages. The larvae are quite 
 usually termed nymphs, and differ from the adults only in size, in 
 the absence of wings, and in the undeveloped sexual characters. 
 A peculiarity of this method of growth or moulting is worthy of 
 incidental mention. When the insect moults, it is not the outer 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 Moulting of a grasshopper.— a, nymph ready to change; i5, the skin split along the 
 back and the adult emerging ; c, continues the process, and at d, the adult insect 
 drying out. 
 
 skin alone that is affected : all the most delicate mouth parts with 
 their hairs and processes are cast and replaced by a new cover- 
 ing ; the lining of a large proportion of the digestive system 
 is shed, and the inner coat or surface of the tracheal tubes is 
 renewed, so that practically the insect gets, in part, a new diges- 
 tive system and a new breathing apparatus, every time it increases 
 in size. The number of these moults varies in the different orders, 
 and even in species of the same order. There may be as few as 
 three or four, and there may be twenty or more. We can some- 
 times modify the normal number by changing the circumstances 
 under which the insects live. Thus, the larva of the common 
 Dermestid found in museum cases normally moults four times 
 
 4 
 
so 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 before it is ready to change to a pupa. I have confined several 
 larvae in vials, closed them tightly with rubber stoppers, and sup- 
 plied a small amount of food. In these dry vials larvae have 
 lived for months, in one case more than a year, and apparently 
 as a mere pastime they moulted at intervals, so that in one vial 
 there were eight or ten cast skins, more than doubling the ordi- 
 nary number of changes. Withal the insects did not increase in 
 size, simply because no more food was suppUed. 
 
 Where the metamorphosis is complete, there hatches from 
 the Qg^ a grub, caterpillar, slug, maggot, or other crawling or 
 wormlike creature, quite unlike the parent. Growth continues, 
 as before, by moulting, until the full size has been attained, and 
 then feeding ceases. The larva now seeks some retired spot, 
 sometimes spinning a silken covering termed a cocoon^ and then 
 changes to a chrysalis or pupa. The term chrysalis is used in 
 the butterflies, where it is free and often prettily ornamented, and 
 the term pupa in most other cases. In this stage it is inactive 
 and rests quietly for some time. The character of the future in- 
 sect is usually more or less clearly defined, but occasionally it 
 resembles neither the larva that formed it nor the adult insect 
 which is to come from it. In due time the adult emerges as a 
 butterfly, moth, beetle, fly, or bee, and no trace remains of the 
 previous larval condition. Insects never grow after they reach 
 the adult stage, but remain of exacdy the same size as when 
 first they emerged from the pupa. Thus, as has been indicated 
 in the previous chapter, large flies are never the parents of small 
 flies, nor do small flies ever grow to become larger flies. 
 
 This cycle of change in an insect is termed its life history, which 
 it is sometimes very difficult to work out. Scarcely two species 
 are alike in habit during all their lives, and a complete knowledge 
 of the full life cycle and the habits in all stages is essential to an 
 intelligent application of remedial or preventive measures. 
 
 It is often possible to reach an insect easily in one stage, or at 
 one period, where it is naturally protected during all others. So 
 we may, sometimes, by a little change in farm practice, or by 
 taking advantage of some preference on the part of the insect, 
 avoid injury. To ascertain all these facts and to suggest the 
 treatment indicated, is the work of the economic entomologist. 
 Watching the transformations of an insect is a delightful task, 
 
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 51 
 
 and one that can be easily accomplished in most cases by any 
 one possessing a little patience. In leaf- feeding insects all that 
 is necessary is to bring in a supply of food with the larva upon 
 it, and keep it in a box t cage, renewing from time to time, so 
 that fresh food may be always available. In the bottom of the 
 
 Fig. 27. 
 
 A breeding-cage of the Riley pattern. 
 
 box there should be three or four inches of clean sand for the 
 benefit of those forms that go underground to change to a pupa, 
 and in due time the caterpillar or slug will, under the observer's 
 very eyes, change to a butterfly, beetle, or other insect, accord- 
 ing to the character of the larva. 
 
PART II. 
 THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 Those structures which are of economic importance and, in- 
 cidentally, those that are used in classification have been described 
 in the first part. 
 
 Classification is the arrangement of the insects into series 
 which are so related to each other that a species never before 
 seen may be recognized, and its place ascertained from certain, 
 easily discernible, structural characters. 
 
 Insects that agree in structure usually have similar habits, and 
 by placing an example into its systematic position, the probable 
 life cycle becomes also known, and its exact life cycle can be 
 more easily and intelligently traced out. 
 
 The divisions used are orders, families, genera, and species. 
 The term sub- may be prefixed to either, to indicate a division 
 not marked enough to claim full rank. 
 
 A species consists of individuals which agree with each other 
 in appearance, structure, and life history, mating freely, produc- 
 ing progency, which resemble the parents, and. which are them- 
 selves fertile. An assemblage of such species agreeing in general 
 characters forms a genus, and this is a more or less uncertain 
 division, depending somewhat upon the opinion of the systematic 
 student. A series of genera agreeing in form, structure, and 
 life history makes a family, and families are united into orders. 
 
 For the division into orders, use is made of wings and mouth 
 structures and of the transformations. 
 
 For convenience in ready classification the Linnaean orders are 
 here adopted, though some of them have been properly sub- 
 52 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 53 
 
 divided. The new orders are referred to, however, in the proper 
 place. 
 
 Lowest of all are the Thysamira, including "bristle-tails," 
 ' ' spring- tails, " " fish-moths, ' ' and the like. They never become 
 winged or develop even a trace of wings. The mouth parts are 
 small, retracted, usually formed for biting, but sometimes so 
 undeveloped as to be almost without type. The metamorphosis 
 is incomplete ; indeed there is only a simple increase in size, and 
 nothing really worthy of the term development. In most cases 
 the abdomen bears a pair or more appendages at the tip, from 
 which some of the common names are derived. 
 
 Next come the Netiroptera, or nerve-winged insects. These 
 have four well-developed wings, membranous, more or less 
 transparent, and so crossed by numerous veins that they seem 
 reticulated or netted : from which character they derive their 
 name, which means nerve-winged. The mouth parts are man- 
 dibulate, usually well developed, but sometimes almost obsolete. 
 In its broadest sense the order includes "May-flies," "dragon- 
 flies," " caddice-flies," "white ants," " stone-flies," " lace-wing 
 flies," and the like. There are, however, two types of meta- 
 morphosis, — one complete, the Neuroptera proper, and the other 
 incomplete, the Pseudo-neuroptera. It is here that most of the 
 new ordinal divisions have been made. 
 
 A step in advance are the Orthoptera, or straight- winged 
 insects, such as roaches, crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers. 
 They have two pairs of well-developed wings, — the first or ante- 
 rior usually narrow and a little thickened or parchment-like; the 
 second or posterior broader, plaited or folded like a fan beneath 
 the anterior pair. The mouth parts are formed for biting, and the 
 metamorphosis is incomplete. 
 
 The order Hemiptera, or "half-winged" insects, includes all 
 the true "bugs ;" and to members of this series only the term 
 "bug" is properly applied, according to entomological opinion. 
 The order is always distinguishable by the mouth structure, which 
 is haustellate, and consists of a jointed beak, concealing two pairs 
 of slender, pointed lancets. The metamorphosis is incomplete. 
 The term Hemiptera, or " half-winged," is derived from the fact 
 that in the typical series the primaries are thickened at base and 
 thin or membranous at tip. In it we have such creatures as the 
 
54 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 "chinch-bug," "squash-bug," and others of equal note. The 
 term Homoptera, or "similar-winged," is used for that series in 
 which the fore-wings are uniform in texture, as in the plant-lice 
 and Cicadas. 
 
 The order Coleoptera contains the beetles, and the name, mean- 
 ing " sheath- winged," is due to the fact that the anterior wings 
 are hard and horny, unfitted for flight, and used only as a sheath 
 or covering for the posterior pair. The mouth parts are man- 
 dibulate, and the metamorphosis is complete. 
 
 An easily recognized order is the Lepidoptera, or "scaly- 
 winged," including the butterflies and moths. Here wings and 
 body are covered with minute scales, easily rubbed off^ and 
 resembling colored dust. The mouth parts are haustellate, and 
 form a coiled tongue, which is usually concealed beneath the 
 head, but can be readily extended at the will of the insect. The 
 metamorphosis is complete. 
 
 Equally recognizable are the Diptera, or "two-winged" flies. 
 The single pair of wings is characteristic, and with it are asso- 
 ciated mouth parts varying much in type, but never mandibulate 
 nor forming either a coiled tongue or jointed beak. The meta- 
 morphosis is complete. 
 
 The Hymenoptera, or "transparent winged" insects, include 
 bees, wasps, ants, and the like, and stand at the head of the 
 Class Insecta. They have two pairs of transparent wings, with 
 only a few veins ; the posterior smaller than the anterior. The 
 mouth parts are mandibulate, but the tongue is often developed 
 as a lapping organ, and sometimes greatly enlongated. The 
 metamorphosis is complete. 
 
 To show the differences succinctly the following table may be 
 of use : 
 
 Insects which never become winged, have the mouth feebly developed 
 
 and the metamorphosis incomplete Thvsanura. 
 
 All others are winged : 
 With four transparent wings, which are net-veined and flat ; mouth 
 parts mandibulate and well developed ; the metamorphosis, either 
 
 incomplete Pseudo-neuroptera. 
 
 or complete Neuroptera. 
 
 With the fore-wings narrow and somewhat thickened ; the posterior 
 folded fan-like, or plaited ; mouth mandibulate ; transformations 
 incomplete Orthoptera. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 55 
 
 With fore-wings thickened at base, thin at the tip ; mouth parts form- 
 ing a jointed beak ; transformations incomplete ... Hemiptera. 
 
 With the fore-wings uniform in texture ; mouth parts and transforma- 
 tions as before Homoptera. 
 
 The fore-wings are horny, and useless for flight, serving only as a cov- 
 ering for the posterior pair ; mouth mandibulate ; metamorphosis 
 complete .......... Coleoptera. 
 
 All the wings and the body covered with scales ; mouth parts developed 
 into a long coiled tongue ; transformations complete Lepidoptera. 
 
 The wings transparent, with only a few longitudinal veins ; mouth 
 mandibulate, the tongue formed for lapping ; transformations com- 
 plete Hymenoptera. 
 
 Two wings only ; mouth parts haustellate ; transformations complete 
 
 Diptera. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE THYSANURA. 
 
 Spring-tails, Bristle-tails., Fish-moths , etc. 
 
 Under this term are grouped a number of lowly insects which 
 never become winged, and can hardly be said to have any real 
 transformations. Most of them are small, soft bodied, with 
 feebly developed mouth parts, and live in damp earth, among 
 decaying vegetable matter. Some live under bark of dead or 
 decaying trees, or in decaying wood, while in rare instances spe- 
 cies are found preferring dry and warm localities. Among those 
 that live in damp places are forms without eyes, and with no de- 
 veloped tracheal system, the necessary oxygen being absorbed 
 through the skin itself Compound eyes are developed in a few 
 instances only, though ocelli are usually present. 
 
 Peculiar to the order are certain abdominal appendages. In 
 some cases these are in the form of rudimentary abdominal legs, 
 indicating a relationship to the Myriapods or Centipedes ; but 
 more often they consist of bristles or filaments attached to the 
 anal segment. In the simplest form they consist of long, many- 
 jointed appendages, whose function may be tactile, similar to 
 that of the antennae. 
 
 A good example of this type is the little creature known to 
 
56 
 
 AN ECONOMIC 12.NTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 28. 
 
 house-keepers as the "fish-moth," or "silver fish." It is one 
 of the few species that prefers a dry, warm locality, and is found 
 
 in cupboards and closets, hiding in 
 crevices, and running rapidly when 
 disturbed. It is about one-quarter 
 of an inch in length, oblong, a little 
 pointed towards both ends, and has 
 the body covered with minute, sil- 
 very-white, glistening scales. It is 
 one of the largest species belonging 
 to the order, feeding upon starchy 
 substances and food remnants. It 
 sometimes becomes troublesome in 
 libraries, gnawing the calendered 
 surface of leaves and bindings and 
 defacing them. The insect can 
 scarcely be said to be injurious, but 
 it is often annoying, and may be 
 driven out by a free use of pyre- 
 thrum dusted in corners and crev- 
 ices. 
 
 A much more common type is the 
 "spring-tail," so named from the 
 fact that the anal appendages consist 
 of two short, bristle-like processes, 
 arranged to enable the insect to leap 
 or spring. They are normally bent 
 under the body, held in place by a 
 catch-like organ until the insect de- 
 sires to move suddenly, when the 
 catch or spring is released, sending 
 the insect forward a surprisingly long 
 distance. When excited it progresses by a series of rapid leaps 
 of this kind, its course being decidedly erratic because no two of 
 the springs are made in the same direction. 
 
 "Spring-tails," or Podurids, are found in moist localities, 
 wherever decaying vegetable matter occurs. In manure beds 
 they often occur in millions, and on warm days may come to the 
 surface in astounding numbers. I have seen a forcing bed cov- 
 
 Bristle-tail or fish-moth ; Lepisma sp. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 57 
 
 ered nearly half an inch in depth by a solid mass of these little 
 creatures not one-sixteenth of an inch in length. Frequently a 
 
 Fig. 29. 
 
 Fig. 30. 
 
 Papyrus species : showing spring curved under the body. 
 
 sudden rise of water on meadow or bog land drives them out of 
 their hiding-places, and they leap about on its surface for a time 
 as readily as they do on land. I have seen, on cranberry bogs 
 reflowed late in May, square rods of the surface so densely cov- 
 ered that nothing of the water was visible. 
 
 They are often found in damp cellars, on any vegetable matter 
 stored there, and are sometimes ac- 
 cused of promoting decay. In the 
 fields a cut potato placed underground 
 may attract dozens of specimens that 
 feed upon the juices of the raw sur- 
 face, and they have been therefore ac- 
 cused of producing scabby potatoes. 
 They are of all colors, but usually 
 slate-gray or yellowish, the markings 
 sometimes quite pretty and distinct. 
 
 As a matter of fact, these insects 
 are never injurious. Healthy vege- 
 table tissue is not attacked by them, 
 and their mouth parts are adapted for 
 feeding on soft or moist tissues only : 
 hence a decayed or bleeding spot at- 
 tracts them. They are sure to occur in manure and on manured 
 land, and can be kept out to a large extent by using only mineral 
 
 A Podurid, or spring-tail, found on 
 manure beds. 
 
58 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 or " commercial" fertilizers. In the manure itself they are bene- 
 ficial rather than otherwise, hastening its decay by changing the 
 form of the more resisting portions. 
 
 It sometimes happens that, when found associated with decay 
 or rot of stored produce, the insects are accused of causing it ; 
 but they always follow and never precede or cause the diseased 
 appearance. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE NEUROPTERA AND PSEUDO-NEUROPTERA. 
 
 May-fiies, Dragon-flies, Stone-flies, Caddice-flies, etc. 
 
 The old term Neuroptera comprised all insects with four more 
 or less transparent wings, reticulated or netted with numerous 
 longitudinal and transverse veins, and the mouth parts formed 
 for biting. As thus defined the order was easy of recognition, 
 and, practically, the division is convenient here, for nowhere in 
 this series are any species injurious to field crops. We find 
 troublesome species among the parasites, and the Termites, or 
 " white ants," are injurious under some circumstances ; but, as a 
 broad statement, subject to a few exceptions, it is correct to say 
 that no Neuroptera are injurious to field crops, and no appre- 
 hension need be felt whatever the numbers in which they may 
 appear. 
 
 It was early found that under this term insects quite different 
 in life habits were included, some having complete and some in- 
 complete metamorphoses. The order was then divided, the term 
 Fseudo-neuroptera being applied to those forms in which the 
 transformations are incomplete. The division is a good one ; 
 but, as there is nothing in the adult to indicate to the tyro the 
 nature of the changes it undergoes, it was not always easy to de- 
 cide to which order a given insect belonged. More recently the 
 series has been yet further divided, and we have now somewhat 
 compact groups of net-veined insects which may be recognized 
 without much trouble. These will be referred to in order under 
 their modern names. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 59 
 
 Order EPHEMEROPTERA, 
 
 This order includes what are known as "May-" or "day- 
 flies," the names indicating either the 
 time at which they first appear or ^^^- ^^■ 
 
 the brief period of their adult life. 
 ' ' May-flies' ' occur most abundantly 
 during spring or early summer, in the 
 vicinity of lakes, ponds, and rivers. 
 They are readily recognized by their 
 fragile body, terminated by two or 
 three long, thread-like appendages, and 
 by their large, frail wings, the posterior 
 much smaller than the anterior. They 
 fly at night, and are readily attracted 
 to light, dozens being often seen hov- 
 ering around a single street lamp. I 
 have seen bushels of them at the base 
 of electric lights on the banks of the 
 Ohio, and the shores of the Great 
 Lakes are sometimes covered with 
 heaps six inches or more in depth, so 
 that the stench from the decaying 
 bodies becomes nearly insupportable. 
 The head is large, the eyes are round 
 and prominent, and the forelegs are 
 conspicuously long and stout ; but the 
 feelers are reduced to mere rudiments, and the mouth parts are 
 atrophied and utterly useless for feeding purposes. 
 
 In the May-flies we have the survival of an ancient type, their 
 generalized structure indicating a low place in the scale of devel- 
 opment. The eggs are laid on the surface of the water and sink 
 gradually to the bottom. From them hatch narrow, elongate- 
 oval, more or less flattened larvae, furnished laterally and some- 
 times at the end of the body with gill-tufts, living in the mud 
 ooze of river and lake bottoms, under stones, or among aquatic 
 plants. They feed on all sorts of minute animal life, and prob- 
 ably also upon the low forms of vegetation on submerged stones 
 or sticks. They grow slowly, moult frequently, and live from 
 
 May-fly and its larva. 
 
5o AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 one to three years in this condition. Wing-pads gradually 
 appear, and eventually the adults emerge and fly away, only to 
 shed their skins once more in the very act of flight. I have seen 
 their delicate, pure- white exuviae float about over the Ohio River 
 in such numbers as to resemble a fall of snow. This moulting of 
 the adult is peculiar to the Ephemerids, who mate soon after it 
 occurs, deposit their eggs, and before morning perish, — their 
 life-work accomplished. 
 
 Not all forms are so short-lived, however, some requiring sev- 
 eral days to complete oviposition ; but their inability to feed 
 indicates a brief existence at best. The number of species is large, 
 and the number of specimens immense, indicating an active, 
 aquatic insect life at least as great as that found in the air or on 
 the dry land. While the larvae feed on smaller creatures, they 
 are in turn devoured by fishes, who find in them an important 
 article of food, and in this view only are they of any economic 
 importance. 
 
 Order ODONATA. 
 
 Under this head come the dragon-flies, or, as they are often 
 termed, "devil's darning-needles," "spindles," or "snake- 
 doctors." Many superstitious beliefs are connected with these 
 insects, and there is a general indisposition to handle them, be- 
 cause of their supposed ability to sting. The insects are common 
 about ponds and streams, flying rapidly over the surface of the 
 water, occasionally darting down to touch its surface, and delight- 
 ing always in the bright sunshine. 
 
 The body is long and slender, fitted with an enormous head 
 principally occupied by the eyes, and with two pairs of long nar- 
 row wings, which are similar in size and appearance. In some 
 species there are leaf-like appendages at the end of the abdomen, 
 and these are erroneously supposed to be weapons of offence. 
 The legs are stout, clothed with spines and spurs, as well as with 
 long claws at the tip. The mouth is formed for biting, the man- 
 dibles and maxillae being greatly developed and sharp-toothed, 
 for tearing their prey. 
 
 They are, as has been indicated, predaceous, and capture their 
 food during flight, their powerful wings and legs enabling them to 
 overtake and grasp any creature that comes within the range of 
 their huge eyes. Flies and mosquitoes are the usual victims, and 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 6i 
 
 hence the term "mosquito hawk" has also been applied to 
 them. 
 
 It has been suggested that dragon-flies might be artificially- 
 propagated to lessen the mosquito pest ; but this is not feasible, 
 because they fly only during the day, while the mosquito is 
 decidedly more a creature of the night. No dragon-fly volun- 
 tarily remains in woods, except along streams and in open glades, 
 yet here mosquitoes lurk by the million. The proposition looks 
 well at first sight, but is not practical. 
 
 Fig. 32. 
 
 feiaiff»^=r^. 
 
 Dragon-fly and its development. — Lar\a and pupa feeding at 1 and 3; 2, nymph ready 
 to change ; 4, a pupa skin from which 5, the adult, has emerged. 
 
 The early stages are passed under water, and the larvae are 
 ugly creatures, somewhat resembling the adults, but without 
 wings. They move sluggishly among the aquatic vegetation, or 
 on the mud of the bottom, strongly resembling the latter in 
 color. They do not swim readily, but some are able to propel 
 themselves by drawing into the posterior part of the digestive 
 tract a quantity of water and then expelling it forcibly. This 
 process really answers a double purpose, for this same tract is 
 supplied with numerous fine tracheal tubes through which oxygen 
 is drawn from the water : two functions, respiration and locomo- 
 tion, being thus curiously combined. Respiration is also carried 
 on by means of leaf-like anal appendages, in which trachea ramify- 
 in all directions, forming gill-like structures. As the larvae grow, 
 wing-pads appear, and when these are fully developed the pupal 
 stage has been reached ; the insects continuing active, however, 
 
62 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 until ready for the change to the adult. Then they crawl up the 
 stem of some water plant, or upon a projecting stone, and soon 
 the skin splits and the images emerge. A few minutes suffice to 
 harden and dry the newly-developed adults, then with spread 
 wings they sail away on a new career, in a new medium. 
 
 In habit the larvae are as predaceous and voracious as the adults, 
 and their prey consists of any aquatic forms which they can cap- 
 ture, — mosquito larvae forming quite a staple article of diet. It 
 has been already indicated that they are not very active creatures, 
 and prey is captured by simply waiting in the mud or on a mossy 
 stone until it comes within reach. Their color renders them 
 almost invisible under such conditions, and nature has furnished 
 a remarkably extensile mouth structure, by means of which they 
 are able to reach out some distance and seize whatever creature 
 may be passing near. It is the labium, or lower lip, that is 
 modified for this purpose, and is supplied with a double hinge 
 which can be straightened out rapidly to bring into play a pair of 
 large, slender, and pointed jaws at its tip. When this structure is 
 retracted it is invisible, covering the other mouth parts entirely and 
 hiding them. The term "mask" has therefore been applied to it. 
 Oviposition varies with the species, and is interesting. The 
 sexes pair during flight. The male has the organs of copula- 
 tion at the base of the ab- 
 ^^" •^■^' domen, while the opening 
 
 of the testes is at the tip. 
 Before pairing he fills the 
 seminal pouch at the base 
 of the abdomen, then grasps 
 the female by the neck with 
 a pair of anal claspers, and 
 she curves up the tip of 
 her abdomen into contact 
 with the opening to the 
 seminal duct of the male. 
 As the eggs are fertilized 
 the pair descend to the 
 surface of the water, the 
 female drops a little mass upon the surface, and copulation is 
 resumed, the process being repeated until all the eggs are laid. 
 
 A species of ^^>-/on and its larva ; the latter with 
 anal gill-tufts. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 63 
 
 In some species the female when impregnated crawls under 
 water, down the stem of some aquatic plant, and lays her eggs 
 on stones, plants, or even in the mud. By folding the wings 
 backward, close to the body, a film of air is gathered which keeps 
 the insect dry and supplies it with a sufficient amount of oxygen 
 for a temporary return to its old medium. 
 
 The order contains no injurious species, because all are pre- 
 daceous ; but, on the other hand, none are markedly beneficial, 
 because, though they devour an enormous number of other 
 insects, these are not usually species destructive to farm crops. 
 
 Order PLECOPTERA. 
 
 The ordinal term signifies " plaited wing," and is used because 
 the hind wings are longitudinally folded or plaited beneath the 
 
 Fig. 34. 
 
 Stone-fly, Perla bicaudata, and its larva. 
 
 anterior pair, which rest flat upon the back. The insects them- 
 selves are called " stoae-flies," and are loosely jointed, flattened, 
 
64 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the thoracic parts large and not closely united, the wings exceed- 
 ing the abdomen in length. In texture they are rather soft, and 
 the antennae are long and many-jointed. They frequent the 
 margins of streams and running ditches, preferring damp, shady 
 localities. The mouth parts are mandibulate, but their food 
 habits are not well known. They are not injurious, and are 
 economically important only as food for fishes. The eggs are 
 laid in masses upon the surface of the water, through which they 
 sink to the bottom. The larvae are flattened, live among and 
 under stones, feeding upon vegetation, and probably also upoa 
 such small, soft-bodied creatures as come in their way. The legs 
 are well developed and of nearly equal size. The antennae are 
 long and slender. There are usually slender, hairy appendages 
 at the end of the abdomen, and on the under side are tufts of gill- 
 like structures serving for respiration. In some species these 
 gills persist even in the adult, forming a remarkable exception to 
 the general rule that adult respiration is through spiracles only. 
 One natural family the Perlidcz, comprises the entire order. 
 
 Order PLATYPTERA. 
 
 The ordinal term signifies "flat winged," or " broad winged, " 
 and in those forms in which wings are present the secondaries 
 are not folded or plaited, but lie flat over the body, covered by 
 the primaries. The mouth parts are mandibulate, the thoracic 
 rings are loosely jointed, and as a rule the insects have a flattened 
 appearance. In most cases the head is large and prominent, 
 wider than the thoracic rings. 
 
 Three distinct families, using that term loosely, are grouped in 
 this order, differing greatly from each other, all of some economic 
 importance, and requiring more detailed consideration. 
 
 Family termitid^. 
 Termites, or "white ants," as they are called, from their 
 appearance and habits, occur all over the United States, but are 
 more common southward. They are separated as a distinct 
 order under the term Isoptera, meaning similar-winged, and are 
 interesting from their social organization, which is complicated, 
 several forms or castes existing in each colony. All our species 
 live in and feed upon woody or fibrous material, though extend- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 65 
 
 ing their galleries through the soil, often for great distances, and 
 also inhabiting underground chambers. 
 
 In woodland almost any log or decaying tree will be found 
 swarming with these dirty yellowish-white insects, about one- 
 fourth of an inch long, readily recognizable by their large heads 
 and oval, obtusely- 
 terminated abdomen. Fi<^- 35- 
 They are wingless, and 
 when exposed to light 
 seek at once to make 
 their way back into 
 darkness. These are 
 workers, and blind ; 
 they never voluntarily 
 come out of their gal- 
 leries, all their wander- 
 ing being in tunnels of 
 enormous length run 
 over or under ground 
 in every direction from 
 the main nest. If they 
 must reach a point 
 to which they cannot 
 
 burrow, they build a covered way of earth mixed with saliva, 
 woody and excrementitious matter. These workers are the most 
 familiar to the casual observer, and form much the greater pro- 
 portion of the inhabitants of a nest or colony. They have distinct, 
 hard, brown mandibles, not excessive in size, and can be thus 
 readily distinguished from the soldiers, which are larger, with 
 proportionately larger heads and very largely developed mandi- 
 bles. The soldiers form a standing army whose duty it is to 
 protect the community ; therefore, if we disturb a colony the 
 workers at once run away, leaving the field to the soldiers, who 
 are impotent enough in the daylight, blindly gnashing their jaws ; 
 but are no doubt useful in the ordinary routine of Termite life. 
 Early in spring we find, in addition, larger, winged individuals, 
 chestnut-brown in color, and these are the true sexed forms, 
 male and female. On a bright, warm day, when spring is well 
 advanced, these individuals, which by the bye are furnished 
 
 5 
 
 Termes flavipes. — a, larva; b, winged male; 
 d, soldier; e, female;/', pupa. 
 
 worker ; 
 
66 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 with eyes, leave the parent-nest in great numbers and fly about, 
 enjoying for a few brief hours the sun and air. They are then 
 said to be "swarming," and select their mates, returning to the 
 surface before the setting of the sun. Out of the vast numbers 
 leaving the nest few survive the day of flight. They have numer- 
 ous enemies, and, even if they escape these, must depend upon 
 being found and adopted by some vagrant workers before they 
 are able to form a colony. The sexed individuals — king and 
 queen — are helpless, can do nothing for themselves, and are not 
 permitted to return to their old home. This serves to keep the 
 insects in check, for the chances of starting a new colony are 
 very small. Let us assume, however, that a pair is adopted and 
 housed, the workers at once building a proper habitation for the 
 royal pair. Reproduction begins immediately, and the female, 
 now stripped of wings by her own act, gradually enlarges, the 
 abdomen ultimately becoming a mere egg-sac. Such a queen 
 becomes the mother of the colony, and she is tolerably prolific : 
 sixty eggs a minute have been counted, making a possible output 
 of over eighty thousand in a single day ! The workers take entire 
 charge of the eggs and resulting young, feeding and tending 
 them until they are able to take part in the ordinary work of the 
 colony. Both males and females are represented among the 
 larval forms, but it seems to depend entirely upon the nurses as 
 to what caste is to result. They are able at will to arrest devel- 
 opment and to produce whatever forms are needed in the com- 
 munity. Thus workers and soldiers are each of both sexes, but 
 the sexual organs never become developed or functional. A 
 certain proportion are allowed to develop fully, and these furnish 
 the annual swarms. If the queen becomes old or unable to sup- 
 ply the colony with a sufficient number of young, the workers 
 provide for a number of " complemental" males and females. 
 These never become winged, reaching only the pupal stage in 
 which the wing-pads appear, and they never leave the nest, but 
 pair within it, the female laying fertile eggs, though never in such 
 numbers as a perfect queen. Therefore, several of these comple- 
 mental pairs may inhabit a colony, and there may be no real 
 queen at all. Curiously enough, no queen of our common species 
 has ever been found, and we are yet in ignorance of just where 
 the royal chamber is situated. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 67 
 
 Termites become injurious in one of two ways : they either eat 
 into wood-work of furniture and buildings, or they attack grow- 
 ing plants. In the Northern and Eastern United States they 
 confine themselves to dead wood, and we have only a single spe- 
 cies, — Termes flavipes ; but in the South and Southwest they 
 attack living plants, among them orange-trees and sugar-cane. 
 In buildings they sometimes live in beams, weakening them to 
 such an extent as to threaten or actually cause collapse. Not 
 many years ago some of the heavy wooden supports of the Bos- 
 ton State House were found infested, and more recently a build- 
 ing in Cleveland, Ohio, was invaded, requiring prompt measures 
 to prevent accident. They also attack stored products in gen- 
 eral, skilfully concealing their presence by leaving the outer sur- 
 face untouched. Thus, in a pile of old records stored in a vault of 
 the United States Department of Agriculture, a large proportion 
 was found badly injured, though no external trace appeared. In 
 the United States National Museum is a mass of black linen 
 thread from a South American store-house in which the outer 
 form of a pile of skeins is accurately preserved, while all below 
 is a mass of hard, black galleries. These are made of the partly 
 digested and excreted thread itself; and so we find that in the 
 galleries in logs or trees the walls are composed of partly digested 
 wood-fibre. 
 
 Termites are often found in decaying stumps, and sometimes 
 in the roots and stems of weak and dying plants ; in the latter 
 case often hastening or inducing death. In the Southern States 
 they are more abundant and troublesome, attacking sugar-cane 
 and also eating the bark of orange-trees at the crown. 
 
 REMEDIAL MEASURES. 
 
 Where the insects are found in buildings, injecting bisulphide 
 of carbon into their galleries will destroy them. They should be 
 traced to their outside nest, if possible, and, when found, this 
 should be destroyed. Frequently an old stump of some large 
 tree may be a centre from which a district becomes infested, and 
 the bisulphide should be liberally employed wherever the insects 
 are observed in numbers. 
 
 On growing plants the bisulphide is also useful in many in- 
 stances ; but here, too, the effort should be made to discover the 
 
68 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 central colony, rather than to protect individual trees or plants. 
 Hot water has been recommended, but is not so effective as 
 the bisulphide. Dead stumps and partly dead, infested plants 
 should be removed and burnt, to deprive the insects of congenial 
 quarters. 
 
 The true home of the Termites is in the tropics, where they 
 are pests of the first magnitude. In Africa some of the species 
 are mound-builders, erecting turreted structures from ten to fif- 
 teen feet in height, made up of earth and partly digested wood 
 and other fibre. 
 
 Family psocid^. 
 
 To this family belong the minute "book-lice" often found in 
 dusty corners, under loose paper, in collections, and in other dry 
 localities. They are always small, resembling somewhat a 
 "Termite" in miniature, very active, running backward or for- 
 ward with equal facility, and furnished with very long, slender 
 
 antennae or feelers. The head 
 '^' ^ ■ is very large, with small, 
 
 coarsely granulated com- 
 pound eyes. The mouth or- 
 gans are mandibulate, but 
 not at all prominent, and 
 fitted for gnawing rather than 
 biting, — whence the insects 
 have been called Corrodentia 
 or ' ' gnawers. ' ' They are 
 white or dirty-yellow in color, 
 and look just enough like 
 true lice to be mistaken for 
 them under some circum- 
 stances. Occasionally con- 
 ditions favor their increase in 
 houses, and almost in a day 
 it will be overrun, beds and 
 bedding being especially favored, to the horror of the housewife, 
 who almost invariably mistakes their true character. Several 
 times within my experience I have received these creatures with 
 anxious entreaties for a remedy, and equally anxious requests for 
 secrecy. The Psocids may be always distinguished from para- 
 
 A book-louse, X 25 diameters. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 69 
 
 sites by their very rapid motions and their long antennae or 
 feelers. Their food is starch, where they can get it, or dry ani- 
 mal or vegetable matters, and they can be driven out by a free 
 use of naphthaline crystals. Their injury in libraries is done by 
 eating the starched surface of bindings, plates, and pages, and 
 so disfiguring them. 
 
 The forms just described are all wingless throughout their en- 
 tire life, Atropos {Clothilla) divinatoria and A. pulsatoria being 
 common species. In some mysterious way the term "death- 
 watch' ' has been applied to these creatures, and they have been 
 credited with making the ticking sound often heard at night in 
 old houses, and which is supposed to give warning of a death to 
 come. 
 
 But there are some winged forms, and these somewhat resem- 
 
 FiG. 37. 
 
 Psociis lineatus, much enlarged. 
 
 ble overgrown plant lice, differing, of course, by the mandibulate 
 mouth. These winged Psocids sometimes occur in great num- 
 bers on the bark of trees, in my experience most often on cherry 
 and orange, where they feed upon lichens and other dry vege- 
 table matter. They sometimes create alarm when great numbers 
 are noticed by the farmer ; but none of them are in the least in- 
 jurious. They are more cylindrical in appearance than the wing- 
 less forms, and the thoracic parte are better developed and larger 
 than the head, which bears the same coarsely granulated eyes 
 and long antennae. When a group of specimens is disturbed 
 they run in every direction, and often drop to the ground 
 rather than use their wings in flight. Altogether, this family 
 
70 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 contains insects that simulate injurious forms, while doing little 
 or no actual damage themselves. 
 
 Family MALLOPHAGIDyE. 
 
 The literal meaning of this term is "wool eater," and it ap- 
 propriately expresses the habits of some of the species. All 
 members of this family are parasitic, and are known as biting 
 lice ; never sucking blood, but feeding upon young hair, feathers, 
 skin-scales, clots of blood, and scabby or other scurfy material 
 found on the skin or among hair and feathers. They infest 
 warm-blooded animals only, and principally birds, whence the 
 term ' ' bird-lice' ' has been erroneously applied to the entire 
 group. All the common farm animals except the pig are infested 
 
 Fig. 38. 
 
 Biting-lice. — a, dog-louse, Trichodectiis latus ; b, sheep-louse, Trichodectus sphtsro- 
 cephaliis ; c, turkey-louse, Goniodes stylifer. 
 
 by some species of this family, and all the poultry or fowls are 
 troubled to a greater or less extent. 
 
 The insects are all small, flattened, with large, prominent head, 
 often bulging eyes, and short antennae or feelers. The legs are 
 short and stout, fitted for holding to and moving among hair or 
 feathers, and the abdomen is oval. No trace of wings is ever 
 developed. 
 
 The eggs are fastened to the hair or feathers of the host, and 
 in a few days the young emerge, not differing from their parents 
 except in size and sexual immaturity. The entire life is thus 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 71 
 
 passed on the host, and the insects usually spread from one 
 animal to the other on occasions of contact, or through litter 
 into which some specimens may crawl or be thrown. They also 
 crawl upon the wood-work of coops and stables, and thence upon 
 such animals as may rest against it. 
 
 The only way to reach these insects is by means of poisons 
 acting through the respiratory system, and this is not difficult, 
 because the spicacles are not well protected. Barn-yard fowls 
 will keep themselves tolerably free if furnished with plenty of fine 
 dust. The finer it is the more effective, and the birds will so 
 thoroughly powder themselves that few of the parasites can 
 escape. Cleanliness on the roosts and in hen-houses is impera- 
 tive, and a liberal use of whitewash and occasionally of kerosene 
 on all the wood-work is useful. A badly infected house may be 
 cleaned by shutting it up tight for twenty-four hours, and evap- 
 orating in a shallow dish a few ounces of bisulphide of carbon. 
 This kills all, save eggs, and the treatment should, therefore, be 
 renewed a week later to reach such as may have hatched since 
 that previously made. It has also been recommended to hang 
 small open vials of bisulphide below the perches, and this, it is 
 asserted, kills the parasites without discommoding the fowls. 
 
 On farm animals greasy mixtures may be successfully employed, 
 or carbolic or tobaeco washes or dips. For larger animals — 
 horses, cows, or mules — a thorough grooming with comb and 
 brush, dipping the brush into a kerosene emulsion diluted five 
 times so as to moisten all parts of the body, is decidedly the best 
 method. This must be duplicated a week later to reach any that 
 may have hatched from eggs since the previous treatment. On 
 large herds, badly infested, the kerosene emulsion, diluted nine 
 times, is simply sprayed on the animals as they pass through a 
 narrow opening, the application renewed at intervals of a week, 
 until no more lice appear. 
 
 With so considerable a range of remedial and preventive 
 measures no serious trouble from these parasites need be appre- 
 hended, and it remains only to urge again the utmost cleanliness 
 everywhere as the best of all preventive measures. 
 
 All the neuropterous orders heretofore treated have had the 
 metamorphosis incomplete, and are therefore classed as pseudo- 
 
72 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 or false-neuroptera. While they are not directly followed in the 
 classification by the true neuropterous series, yet for convenience 
 they may be so arranged here, and not entirely without reason, 
 because they are descendants of the same stock. 
 
 Order NEUROPTERA. 
 
 As this term is now limited it includes only those nerve- 
 or net-winged forms with complete metamorphosis in which 
 the biting mouth parts are well developed and not prolonged. 
 The thoracic parts are large, frequently the prothorax is dis- 
 tinctly separated and square, and the entire insect is somewhat 
 flattened. 
 
 Of this type are the large forms like Corydaliis and Chauliodes, 
 and the peculia:* Raphidia found on the western coast, members 
 of the family Sialidce. The head is large and broad, the mandi- 
 bles well or, as in the male Corydahis, even enormously developed, 
 the antennae long and many jointed ; in ChaiiHodes pectinated. 
 The prothorax is always distinct, square or oblong, in Raphidia 
 very long and narrow, the other thoracic segments well developed 
 and loosely he d together. The abdomen is soft in texture, and 
 as a whole the forms appear loosely jointed. The broad wings 
 lie nearly flat on the back and much exceed the tip of the ab- 
 domen, the hind pair being partially folded at rest. The eggs 
 of Corydahis are laid in masses on leaves or sticks, coated with a 
 water-proof secretion, and from them hatch flattened six-footed 
 larvae, which live under stones or other shelter on the bottom of 
 running streams. They are furnished with gill tufts, through 
 which they obtain oxygen, and prey on whatever insects or larvae 
 may come within their reach. In turn they are preyed upon by 
 fishes, and the larvre of the Corydaliis cor nidus, or "dobson," 
 make excellent bait, being locally known as " hellgrammites." 
 When full-grown they come to the edge of the stream and, under 
 stones or other shelter, change to quiescent pupae, in which all 
 of the limbs are free and the form of the future adult is fully 
 shown. 
 
 The species of this family are interesting, but of no sort of 
 economic importance. 
 
 Not so the next family, the Hemerobiidce ,\\\\\c\i contains numer- 
 ous species of interest, all of them predaceous and beneficial to 
 
l^HE INSECT WORLD. 
 Fig. 39. 
 
 73 
 
 The " hellgrammite" or " dobson" in all its stages.— Upper series : a, the larva ; b, the 
 pupa ; c, the male adult ; d, the head of the female : in the lower series the leaf bears 
 egg masses at aa, enlarged at be ; d, the larva just hatched, with details from e toj. 
 
74 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the farmer. There are several sub-famiUes, which together are 
 termed "lace-winged flies," from their delicate, finely-reticulated 
 or netted wings, which he flat and are not folded. The insects 
 are slight, and in the species allied to Heinerobius the colors are 
 brownish or smoky. They are less common than the forms 
 allied to Chtysopa, which are green, with long antennae and 
 prominent, bright, yellowish-brown eyes, which have given them 
 the name "golden-eyed flies" in some localities. They are 
 commonly found in fields or along the edges of woods, and emit, 
 when handled, a peculiarly sickening odor which is quite unmis- 
 takable when once known. In the adult stage the insects feed 
 little or not at all ; but the larvae, known as " aphis lions," feed 
 almost constantly, their prey being small, soft-bodied insects of 
 all kinds, aphids or plant-lice ranking as special favorites. 
 
 Fig. 40. 
 
 A lace-winged fly, Chrysopa octdata.—a, the eggs ; b, the larva ; d, same, feeding on a 
 pear-psylla ; e, cocoon, from which /, the adult, has escaped ; g, head of adult in front, 
 enlarged. 
 
 The entire life history of the insects is interesting. The female 
 in ovipositing touches the end of the abdomen to the surface, — 
 usually a leaf, — upon which the eggs are to be laid, and then 
 elevates her body about a quarter of an inch, emitting at the 
 same time a viscid thread which hardens on exposure to the air. 
 At the tip of this the Qg% is fastened, and we get thus a little 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 75 
 
 grove ol eggs on stilts. This is supposed to insure their safety 
 from wandering predaceous forms that might otherwise feed upon 
 them. When the larva hatches it climbs down the slender 
 thread, and attacks and feeds upon the first suitable specimen it 
 can find, — usually a young plant-louse. Now, here is another 
 peculiarity : it does not chew or tear its prey, but holds it firmly, 
 sucking the juices by means of grooves on the inner side of the 
 large mandibles, which are closed by the slender maxillae. The 
 larva grows rapidly, becoming rather more than a quarter of an 
 inch in length, narrow, spindle-shaped, pointed at the anal ex- 
 tremity, the head distinct and with prominent sickle-shaped 
 mandibles. When full-grown it spins, by means of anal glands, 
 a perfectly spherical, white, silken cocoon of very dense texture, 
 and small in proportion to the larva. It resembles a moderate 
 sized pearl in form and appearance, and when the adult is ready 
 to emerge, a circular lid is lifted off to give the matured pupa 
 exit. Comparing the fully developed insect with the cocoon 
 from which it issued, the marvel is great that it was ever packed 
 away in so small a space. 
 
 These insects are really of much practical value, frequenting, 
 as many of them do, tilled fields and orchards, feeding upon 
 larvae, plant-lice, and similar creatures. They become injurious, 
 however, in some parts of California, where they attack and 
 destroy coccinelHd or lady-bird larvae. 
 
 Somewhat closely allied in all stages to the Hemerobiidce are 
 the Myrmeleo7iidce , or "ant-lions," but they are larger, with 
 longer and narrower wings, and clubbed antennae. As before, 
 the adults are graceful, harmless creatures, which fly mostly at 
 night, while the larvae are predatory, resembling the "aphis- 
 lions" in structure, save that they are broader and chunkier in 
 appearance. They are also peculiar in that many of them 
 capture their prey in pits or traps. 
 
 In constructing its trap, the larva usually selects a spot of mod- 
 erately compact, fine sand, and excavates a funnel-shaped pit 
 with the sides as steep as the sand will lie. It remains buried 
 and invisible in a little gallery at one side of the bottom, in wait 
 for any unlucky creature that may come within reach. Ants are 
 the most frequent victims, from their wandering habits and their 
 tendency to investigate, a pause at the brink resulting in a slip of 
 
76 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig 
 
 sand and a tumble into the jaws of the enemy. Should the ant 
 recover a footing before reaching the bottom, a shower of sand, 
 
 sent by the vigilant 
 larva below, over- 
 whelms and brings 
 it down to its death. 
 When the juices 
 are exhausted, the 
 empty shell is 
 thrown out and the 
 pit is repaired for 
 other victims. 
 Sometimes pits are 
 made in saw-dust 
 or friable leaf mold 
 and some make no 
 pits at all. 
 
 The adults are 
 of two rather dis- 
 tinct series : the 
 first with short 
 antennae which 
 thicken rather gradually toward the tip, including Myrnieleo ; the 
 second with long, slender antennae, enlarging suddenly into a 
 flattened club. The head is larger and the body more robust, 
 covered with stiff bristly hair, giving the insects a fierce appear- 
 ance. The most common genus is Ascalaphus, and the larval 
 habits are not known, though it is probable, from what we learn 
 of foreign species, that they do not build pits or traps. Though 
 interesting, the family is of no economic importance. 
 
 An odd family is the Mantispidce, so named from the peculiar 
 resemblance which they bear to the Orthopterous genus Mantis. 
 The species are not common, and are easily recognized by the 
 enormously developed forelegs, which are fitted for grasping, and 
 are inserted into a long and slender prothorax. They are pre- 
 daceous, while their larvae are parasitic in the egg-sacs of spiders. 
 The eggs are laid on stalks, as with the "lace-wings," and the 
 slender larvcC that hatch from them live through the winter with- 
 out food, becoming active again in spring, when they seek the 
 
 Myrnieleo species. — The adult above; the larva in its pit, 
 which is shown in section. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 77 
 
 egg-sacs ot Lycosid or running spiders. The larva, that succeeds, 
 enters the sac and begins feeding upon the eggs, gradually losing 
 its active form and becoming clumsy and grub-like. The pupa 
 forms within the larval skin, and after midsummer the adult 
 appears. 
 
 Very curious creatures are the Panorpidce, or "scorpion- 
 flies," usually ranked as an order under the term Mecoptera. 
 They have netted wings similar to but more robust than the 
 "lace-wings," but have the mouth prolonged into a beak, at the 
 end of which the biting parts are situated. In the genus Pa7i- 
 orpa the males have a pair of huge anal forceps, curved up some- 
 
 FiG. 42. 
 
 Fig. 43. 
 
 Mantisl>a species. — Showing the 
 legs and body from the side. 
 
 A Panorpa, or scorpion-fly, and its larva. 
 
 what like the sting of a scorpion, and from this the common name 
 is derived. As a matter of fact, the insects are entirely harmless 
 save to others of their kind, for they are predaceous. The genus 
 Bittacus is narrower winged, with unusually long legs, looking 
 somewhat like a crane-fly at first sight. Species belonging to the 
 genus Boreus occur on the snow in very early spring. The larvae, 
 so far as we know them, are predaceous and resemble caterpillars 
 in appearance ; they have eight pairs of fleshy prolegs, however, 
 while no true caterpillar ever has more than five. None of the 
 species are common and none are of practical importance to the 
 farmer. 
 
 The " caddice-flies" have also been elevated to ordinal rank 
 under the name Trichopto'a, or "hairy-winged." The adults 
 have moderately developed bodies, with large wings, which are 
 more or less densely clothed with hair, the first pair often thicker 
 
78 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 than the second, which are folded beneath them. Both wings 
 have numerous longitudinal veins connected by only a few cross- 
 veins, losing the reticulated appearance of the more typical Neu- 
 roptera, and resembling more closely some of the lower moths, 
 for which, indeed, some of the smaller forms may be easily mis- 
 taken. The mouth parts, however, though rudimentary, are 
 mandibulate in type, and there is no approach to the coiled 
 tongue of the Lepidoptera. The antennae are very long and 
 slender, resembling hairs rather than jointed organs. 
 
 The species are found frequently in great numbers along the 
 banks of streams, ponds, or ditches, in which the larval life is 
 passed. The larvae are caterpillar-like, with three pairs of unusu- 
 ally well-developed legs, and live in cases which they make of 
 bits of sticks, moss, leaves, stones, shells, or other material, held 
 together by silken threads with which the entire inside of the 
 habitation is lined. Frequently the cases are roughly and irreg- 
 ularly constructed ; but as often they are marvels of skilled work- 
 manship. Small 
 Fig. 44. stones are fitted so 
 
 carefully that no 
 break as large as 
 a needle-point oc- 
 curs, and some- 
 times they mimic 
 shells so closely 
 that conchologists 
 have been deceived 
 into believing them 
 such. In these 
 cases the larvae live, 
 and from them they 
 obtain their com- 
 mon name " caddice " or case-flies. Whatever the form of the 
 case, the insect lives in and carries it about everywhere through- 
 out the larval life, crawling about under water by means of the 
 large legs and keeping the soft, white, hind body constantly pro- 
 tected. Some live in ponds or sluggish streams, others in rapid 
 brooks and torrents ; some are vegetarians, some are predatory, 
 feeding' on other larvae or even on small fish. Some forms con- 
 
 A caddice-fly, Limnophilus rkombicus , its larva, and at a 
 the larval case. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 79^ 
 
 Struct effective nets in which very young fish become entangled 
 and fall easy victims to the insect fishermen. Streams in which 
 these kinds of caddice-flies are abundant are not easily stocked 
 with fish unless the fry is so well grown as to be out of danger 
 from this source. Practically, the insects are of no importance 
 to the agriculturist. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ORTHOPTERA. 
 
 Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids, etc. 
 
 The order Orthoptera, or ' ' straight- winged' ' insects, includes 
 those forms with biting mouth parts and an incomplete meta- 
 morphosis, commonly known as "earwigs," "grasshoppers," 
 "locusts," "crickets," and "roaches." 
 
 The distinctive characters, aside from those just mentioned, 
 are that the fore-wings are firmer in texture than the secondaries, 
 and that the latter are folded fan-like, or plaited, when at rest. 
 They are then covered by the primaries, which are usually nar- 
 row and of little use in flight, resembling in this respect the wing- 
 covers of the beetles, and here termed "tegmina." With few 
 unimportant exceptions the insects belonging to this order are 
 herbivorous, and among them are some of the most destructive 
 pests to agriculture, such as the migratory locusts or grasshop- 
 pers, which have been known and dreaded since the dawn of 
 history, and the "Rocky Mountain locust," of evil repute in 
 our own country. 
 
 First come the Forjiculidce , or ear-wigs, generally accepted 
 as forming a separate order under the name Dermaptera (skin- 
 wing) or Euplexoptera (well-folded wing). They differ from all 
 the other Orthoptera by having a pair of anal forceps and by 
 their resemblance to the Staphylinidce, a family of half-winged 
 beetles. The wing-covers are short and thick, not extending to 
 the middle of the flattened abdomen, and the large hind wings 
 are first plaited fan-like around a point near the middle of the 
 anterior margin, and are then transversely folded into a neat little 
 
8o 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 packet, which is tucked away under the fore-wings by means of 
 the anal forceps. Some of the species, however, lack the wings 
 entirely, in which case the peculiar anal forceps and the beetle- 
 like form distinguish them quite readily. 
 
 Fig. 45- 
 
 Cases or caddices, made by the larvae of Trichoptera, illustrating difl'erences of shape 
 as well as varieties of material used. 
 
 Except in the South, ear-wigs are rare in the United States, 
 and not injurious. In parts of Europe and in sub-tropical and 
 tropical countries they are sometimes abundant and frequently 
 annoying, eating at night into flowers in which they hide during 
 the day. In vine- and flower-covered houses or arbors they are 
 sometimes a nuisance, and their long, slender form and nocturnal 
 habits have given rise to the unfounded belief that they crawl 
 into the ears of sleepers and kill them. The female lays a small 
 number of eggs only, and broods over or watches them until 
 some little time after they are hatched. 
 
 The more typical Orthoptera may be conveniently divided 
 into series by their leg structure and method of locomotion, as 
 follows : 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 8i 
 
 1. The Cursoria, or "runners," with stout, long legs fitted 
 for rapid motion, — like the roaches. 
 
 2. The Raptoria, or "graspers," in which the forelegs are 
 developed into grasping organs and the insects are predaceous, 
 —in strong contrast to all the others of the order. 
 
 3. The Ambulatoria, or "walkers," in which the legs are 
 long and slender, useful for deliberate progress only. 
 
 4. The Sa/tatoria, or "jumpers," which have the hind legs 
 unusually long and well developed, fitted for leaping, — like grass- 
 hoppers and crickets. 
 
 Fig. 46. 
 
 Ear-wig.— I, mature male ; 2, nymph ; 3, the wing, showing the radiate type of pleating. 
 
 The Cursoria, or "runners," belong to the family BlattidcB, 
 or roaches. They are flattened, rather soft, repulsive creatures, 
 with long, powerful, spiny legs ; long, slender, filiform antennae, 
 and the head bent under the body so as to locate the mouth 
 parts between the front legs. They are brown or yellow in color, 
 are nocturnal in habit, and live under bark or in crevices, for 
 which their flattened form suits them peculiarly well. 
 
 Roaches eat almost anything, or are practically omnivorous. 
 They are among the most ancient type of insects, and are yet 
 disgustingly common in the tropics, their numbers decreasing 
 northwardly until only a few cosmopolitan forms are found do- 
 mesticated in houses. 
 
 A peculiar feature in the life history is the method of oviposi- 
 cion. The eggs mature at about the same time, and are closely 
 packed into a somewhat bean-shaped case, which the female car- 
 ries about with her, partially protruding from the end of the ab- 
 domen, for several days. It is then deposited intact in some 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 47. 
 
 convenient crevice, and very soon thereafter the young issue. 
 Modifications of this habit occur, and in some cases the eggs act- 
 ually hatch within the body of the mother, 
 who thus becomes viviparous. 
 
 I am not aware that roaches ever become 
 injurious to growing crops in our country ; 
 but two species are certainly great nuisances 
 in houses, — the " Croton bug," Phyllo- 
 dromia germanica^ and the " black beetle," 
 Periplaneta orientalis. Both are introduced 
 and almost cosmopolitan forms. The former 
 is small, averaging about half an inch in 
 length, and is winged in both sexes. The 
 latter is larger, varying between three- 
 fourths and one and one-fourth inches, with 
 short wings in the male and mere rudiments 
 in the female. 
 
 The most satisfactory way of dealing with these insects is by 
 means of a phosphorus paste, spread upon bits of soft bread 
 and placed near their haunts, all other food particles being care- 
 fully put out of reach. A short period of such treatment will 
 usually prove effective. Almost as good is a mixture of equal 
 
 Forficttla tteniata, male 
 and female. 
 
 The Croton bug, Phvllodromia gennanica. — a, first stage ; b, second stage ; c, third 
 stage ; rf, fourth stage ; c, adult ; /, adult female with egg-case ; g, egg-case, enlarged ; 
 h, adult with wings spread. All natural size except g. 
 
 parts of finely powdered chocolate and borax, dusted into the 
 crevices where the insects hide. The mixture should be inti- 
 mate, and is best made in a mortar, so that with each part of 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 83 
 
 chocolate, of which the roaches are very fond, they will get also 
 a particle of borax, which is poisonous to them. This mixture 
 has proved successful in many instances within my own experi- 
 ence, and has the advantage of being cheap as well as non-poi- 
 sonous to man. 
 
 The Raptoria, or "graspers," form one family, the Mantidcz, 
 as odd in appearance as their habits are unusual. They are 
 clumsy, heavy-bodied insects, with short, broad wings, the 
 middle and hind-legs rather weak, but with an unusually long 
 and slender prothorax, to which is attached a pair of huge 
 forelegs, armed with sharp spurs and spines. The head is usu- 
 ally much broader than the prothorax, with prominent, often 
 globular eyes, short antennae, and so set as to be capable of lat- 
 eral motion. It is, in fact, the only type capable of turning its 
 head ! 
 
 The insects are, as a rule, sluggish, those occurring with us 
 incapable of rapid motion, depending entirely upon such prey as 
 
 Fig. 49. 
 
 The Oriental roach, Periplaneta orientalis. — a, the male; b, the female; c, egg-case. 
 
 comes within easy reach, and securing this through their often 
 remarkable resemblance to the vegetation among which they 
 lurk. In other countries there are some more active species, 
 capable of pursuing and capturing their prey. Their colors are 
 green or yellowish, like leaves, or brownish, like bark ; the wing- 
 covers sometimes mottled and roughened to mimic an irregu- 
 larity or overgrown injury on a trunk or branch. Thus con- 
 
84 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 cealed, they rest, body close to the surface, prothorax elevated, 
 and forelegs held in the attitude of prayer, whence the term 
 "praying mantes," Mantis religiosa, which is applied to a for- 
 
 FlG 
 
 Stagmomantis Carolina. — a, the female ; b, the male. 
 
 eign species. But prayer is far from the object in view, as any 
 small insect that happens within reach learns to its cost. A sud- 
 den clasp wounds and crushes it into helplessness, and the Mantis 
 then leisurely devours its victim, the forelegs serving admirably 
 as hands in the operation. 
 
 The eggs are laid in a mass on twigs or branches, held to- 
 gether by a peculiar silken fibre which encases and protects each 
 Q.^<^ as well as the entire cluster. 
 
 The predaceous habit excludes these insects from the category 
 of injurious forms ; but they are not sufficiently common in our 
 country to be of any practical advantage. They are southern in 
 geographical range, and only one species, Stagmomantis Caro- 
 lina, is rarely found north of New Jersey on the Atlantic coast. 
 
 The Ambulatoria, or "walkers," include a series of very 
 curious species, popularly known as "walking-sticks" and 
 "walking-leaves," represented in our fauna by a few species 
 belonging to the family Phasmidcc. The true home of these 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 85 
 
 Fig. 
 
 forms is in the tropics, where we had excellent examples of pro- 
 tective mimicry in the development of wings so colored and 
 veined that the insects cannot be easily distinguished from the 
 foliage upon which they feed. Our own species have mere rudi- 
 ments of wings only ; but have very long, slender bodies, an- 
 tennae, and legs. When at rest, with long legs fully stretched 
 out, the resemblance to a bare twig or a torn leaf is perfect. 
 
 The insects move slowly and awkwardly, feeding on the foliage 
 of a variety of forest trees, and are occasionally quite destructive. 
 They do not extend north of the Middle States 
 on the Atlantic Coast, but occur everywhere in 
 the Central and Southern States, reaching 
 northwardly in the Mississippi Valley much 
 further than in the East. So far as I am aware, 
 they never attack field or orchard crops, and 
 are not strictly injurious to agriculture, though 
 they may be to forestry. Unlike the families 
 previously mentioned, they take no care of their 
 eggs, but the females drop them at random upon 
 the ground. It has been said that in a badly- 
 infested piece of woodland the pattering of the 
 eggs as they fall from the trees sounds like rain. 
 
 Thoroughly and carefully burning over in- 
 fested woodland during some favorable period 
 in winter will prove effective in case remedial 
 measures become necessary ; spraying with 
 arsenites can be resorted to for the protection 
 of single or small groups of trees. 
 
 In the Saltatoria, or "jumpers," we find the 
 most destructive species, and they separate 
 readily into three families : the Acridiida, or 
 "short-horned grasshoppers ;" the Loaistidce, 
 or "long- horned grasshoppers" and "katy- 
 dids ;" and the GryllidcB, or " crickets," which 
 have long horns or antennae like the Locustidtz, 
 but cylindrical instead of flat, sword-like ovipositors. 
 
 The Acridiidce , or short-horned grasshoppers, are among the 
 most common and best known of our insects, flying up or jump- 
 ing out of the way, however one turns, among grass or low herb- 
 
 Egg masses of 
 Stagmomatitis Car- 
 olina, from above 
 and from side. 
 
86 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 52. 
 
 Walking-sticks, Diat>heyomerafemorata.—a and b, the eggs, enlarged, from the edge 
 and side; c, young just hatching ; d, the male, and e the female adult. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 87 
 
 age in roads, fields, or meadows, but not favoring dark woods. 
 They have no external ovipositor, but the female is furnished 
 with four horny valves, between which the eggs pass, and which 
 are also useful in making the hole, in soil or wood, into which the 
 eggs are laid. The term ' ' short-horned, ' ' as applied to these 
 insects, is relative, and means that the antennae are moderately 
 stout, the joints well marked, and the whole member not as long 
 as the entire insect, — in fact, rarely even half as long. A curious 
 
 Fig 
 
 Rocky Mountain locust ovipositing. — a, a, females with abdomen inserted in the soil ; 
 b, an egg-pod broken open and lying on the surface ; c, a few scattered eggs ; d, section 
 of soil removed to show eggs being put in place ; e, an egg-pod completed ; f, an egg- 
 pod sealed over. 
 
 character is a pair of ears situated one on each side of the basal 
 segment of the abdomen, and we therefore expect and do find 
 that most of the species are capable of making some kind of 
 song or noise, though this ability is confined to the male. 
 
 A series of species characterized by a very receding front, 
 meeting the vertex of the head in an acute angle, is referred to 
 the sub-family Tryxalince, of which there are many species 
 throughout our country, none of them abundant enough to be 
 injurious. They are partial to low, sedgy land or meadows, es- 
 pecially on sandy soil, and I have met with the species most 
 abundantly near the sea, or on the sandy plains not far inland. 
 Some species are common on or near cranberry bogs, but are not 
 injurious. 
 
 Quite a series of species is referred to the sub-family CEdipodince, 
 
88 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and these differ from the preceding in that the front meets the 
 top of the head in an even, obtuse curve. The species are 
 usually long-winged, and the thorax is either crested or rough 
 and tuberculate, with somewhat prominent and sharp angles. 
 Quite usually the hind wings are brilliandy red or yellow and 
 black, sometimes blue, and frequently contrasting in color. To 
 this sub-family belong those species that fly early in spring and 
 
 have wintered in 
 Fig. 55. an immature stage, 
 
 ready for the trans- 
 formation to the 
 adult form as soon 
 as the weather per- 
 mits. Good ex- 
 
 Chortophagaviridifascia.—a,\z.x\2.\b,?i.A\x\\.. amplcs OI SUCh 
 
 species are the 
 green-striped locust {Chortophaga viridifascid), which occurs 
 over a large part of the United States, and has the hind wings 
 without strong contrasts ; and the large, red- winged Hippisais 
 discoideus, which is more southern in its range, not extending 
 north of New Jersey. Species of this kind are most frequent in 
 barren, sandy, or partly desert regions, and few ever become 
 injurious., 
 
 Among the troublesome forms are the " Carolina locust," Dis- 
 sosteria Carolina, and the long-winged locust, Dissosteria longi- 
 pennis ; the first found throughout the United States, and easily 
 recognized by its large size and the ample, black, yellow-bordered 
 hind wings ; the latter a similar but somewhat longer-winged 
 western species, usually confined to the Rocky Mountain region, 
 but sometimes migrating for considerable distances from their 
 normal breeding-places. These species deposit their eggs in the 
 ground in the fall and the young hatch in the spring. 
 
 The "Carolina locust" is often met with in late fall, clinging 
 fast to the tops of plants, killed by a fungous disease which 
 ordinarily keeps the species within bounds. It is further con- 
 spicuous by its habit of poising a few feet from the surface, and 
 making a continuous " whirring" or rasping sound. 
 
 The sub-family Acridiin^ is one of great extent, containing 
 those grasshoppers that have become famous by their evil deeds, 
 
Fig. 58. 
 
 Fig. 57. 
 
 Fig. 60. 
 
 Fig. 54, Syrbtiia admirabilis. Fig. 56, Hippiscus discoideus. Fig. 57, Dissosteira 
 Carolina. Fig. 5S, Schistocerca americana. Fig. 59, Melanoplus spretus. Fig. 60, Mela- 
 noplus atlanis. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 89 
 
 and it differs from the preceding in having the breast between the 
 anterior legs produced into an obvious tubercle or pointed pro- 
 cess. The prothorax is usually smooth and quite even, rarely 
 ridged or crested or even angulated, and the hind wings are not 
 often contrastingly colored. 
 
 The typical genus Acridium of older authors contained the 
 long-winged forms, which, hatching in great numbers in their 
 natural haunts, sometimes find food insufficient, and are seized 
 with a migratory mania that impels them to rise, by what seems 
 common consent, and fly to fresh fields and pastures new. Such 
 swarms may number uncounted millions of specimens, and they 
 leave a wake of devastation which only those who have seen can 
 appreciate. 
 
 The species described in biblical history is the Schistocerca 
 peregriniu7i, or true migratory locust, and is strongly resembled, 
 except in size, by the Schistocerca americana of the Eastern 
 United States, which is common and sometimes destructive in the 
 South, but becomes more rare northwardly, until in Central New 
 Jersey it is but occasionally seen. In all the species oi Acridium 
 the wings are longer than the abdomen, and in the males the tip 
 of the abdomen is not swollen. The sexes in these insects are 
 easily distinguished, because the female abdomen terminates in 
 four pointed, horny valves, or pieces, no trace of which is found 
 in the males. 
 
 Perhaps this is a convenient place to describe the life history 
 of grasshoppers, or AcridiidcE, in general. The eggs are most 
 frequently laid in the ground, though sometimes in partly de- 
 cayed wood, the horny valves already mentioned serving to 
 make the holes. The species that oviposit in the ground select 
 a moderately hard or compact soil where obtainable, not too 
 densely covered with vegetation, and then force the abdomen 
 into it as deeply as possible. When this is accomplished the 
 eggs are laid, each coated with a gummy secretion which causes 
 it to adhere to its neighbor and to form a pod, extending almost 
 to the surface. The hole is then closed, and becomes indis- 
 tinguishable except on close examination. In this state they 
 remain through the winter, the young hatching during the fol- 
 lowing spring or early summer. The term nymph rather than 
 larva is employed for these young, unfledged grasshoppers, and 
 
90 
 
 A A' ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 in this stage their travelling" powers are limited, though their 
 appetite is not. Yet even now they are able to cover consider- 
 able distances if a short food supply makes it necessary. The 
 wing-pads, which become visible early in the nymphal life, increase 
 in size until the insect is ready for its final change, and when this 
 occurs its powers for destruction are multiplied by the new facility 
 in travelling. In some species the wings never become devel- 
 oped even in the adult ; but these are easily distinguished from 
 the immature stages of winged forms, because in the latter the 
 rudiments of the hind wings always cover those of the fore- 
 wings, while in adults, even when the wings are mere stumps, 
 the secondaries are always overlaid or covered by the others. 
 
 Our best-known migrating forms belong to the genus Melan- 
 ophis, in which the anal extremity of the males is enlarged and 
 swollen. Here we find the Melanophis spretus, or ' ' Rocky 
 Mountain locust, ' ' which in years past has caused ruin in many 
 States west of the Mississippi, and even yet does much injury 
 and periodically threatens disaster. The home of this species, 
 about which volumes have been written, is on the high, dry, 
 eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and in some regions 
 west of these mountains in Idaho and Utah. There it breeds 
 abundantly each year, frequently extending into the adjacent 
 regions to obtain food and maintaining itself lor some time. As 
 a result of any unusual increase in numbers with a corresponding 
 failure of food-supply, emigration may become necessary, and the 
 long, broad wings of the species suffice to carry it even to the 
 Mississippi River, ranging north and south from Minnesota to 
 Texas. But in these moist eastern regions the insect cannot 
 thrive, and from millions of eggs laid only a small proportion of 
 weakly larvae appear, which usually die before they mature. 
 
 An allied but shorter-winged form is the Melanophis atla^iis, 
 or "lesser locust," which occurs commonly over all the more 
 northern United States, while the M. femur-rubrum, or ' ' red- 
 legged locust," is much the most common eastern species, some- 
 times doing considerable injury to crops. 
 
 Among the more common short- winged forms we have in the 
 East species of Paroxya, in which the males are smaller and 
 ready fliers, the females much larger, with wings covering half 
 the abdomen, and used rather as aids in leaping than as organs 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 91 
 
 of actual flight. The species of Pezotettix and aUied genera are 
 short-winged in both sexes, are of medium or small size, and 
 prefer cool or shady spots on mountain sides, among rocks, at 
 the edges of woods, or in similar localities, hence never become 
 economically important. The species are most numerous in the 
 West and South. 
 
 Fig. 61. 
 
 Lubber grasshoppers. — a, Dictyopkorus reticulars ; b, Bracliystola magna. 
 
 Two very large and clumsy species occur, both known as 
 "lubbers;" one in Florida, short-winged, yellow and black, is 
 Didy op horns reticulatis, — the other, a Western plains species, 
 dirty-brown in color, and with mere rudiments of wings, also 
 known as the " Buffalo grasshopper," is Brachysto/a magna. 
 
 Last to be mentioned in this series are the "grouse locusts," 
 or Tettigintz. These remarkable little creatures have the pro- 
 
92 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 thorax very much developed and extended backward so as to 
 cover a large part or even all of the abdomen. They frequent 
 banks of streams and moist places, resembling in color 
 Fig. 62. jj^g dead leaves or muddy flats where they often occur, 
 and they are powerful leapers. Many of the species 
 are found as adults early in spring, while I have found 
 others in September. None of them are known to be 
 injurious. 
 
 REMEDIES. 
 
 The question of remedies against the "locust," or 
 
 Tettix. short-horned grasshopper, is an important one, not 
 always easy of- solution. As the country is brought 
 into more complete cultivation the ' ' grasshopper' ' pest will natu- 
 rally decrease, injury from the migrating forms only remaining to 
 be dreaded. 
 
 In the general life history it was said that a large proportion 
 of the eggs are laid in fall, remaining unhatched during the 
 winter. The young nymph, or larva, is a feeble insect, able to 
 dig to the surface through the way opened by the pod, or through 
 loose soil, but scarcely otherwise. Fall-plowing the infested land 
 is therefore a most efifective remedy. If the pods are deeply cov- 
 ered, the young die attempting to get to the surface ; if lightly 
 covered or exposed, their natural enemies find them easily ; and 
 when the pods are broken, rain and sunshine induce decay or 
 disease, and the eggs never hatch. Where grasshoppers other 
 than the migratory forms are troublesome, systematic fall-plowing 
 will effect a prompt reduction in their numbers. Special or lim- 
 ited localities, like cranberry bogs, are sometimes infested, and in 
 such cases turkeys are effective. They prefer grasshoppers to 
 almost any other food, and, if allowed to run where suoh abound, 
 will eat nothing else. In some cases the arsenites may be used 
 to protect crops which are easily sprayed, and occasionally 
 ' ' driving' ' will answer for the fledged insects. 
 
 Larval forms in grass or short vegetation can be collected in 
 large pans or "hopper-dozers," drawn by men or horses, and 
 coated with coal-tar, crude petroleum, or other sticky substance, 
 and of all these the crude petroleum is to be preferred. 
 
 As against the migratory forms in their permanent breeding 
 grounds, I have no suggestion to make here. The subject has 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 93 
 
 been treated at great length in the reports of the U. S. Entomo- 
 logical Commission and of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
 and these must be consulted : the methods discussed and recom- 
 mended are too numerous for reference here. In the invaded 
 regions fall plowing to destroy the eggs and the use of the 
 " hopper-dozers" on the young are indicated. 
 
 Under some circumstances, when the number of grasshoppers 
 is not too great, they may be destroyed, or a large measure of 
 protection may be secured, by tempting them with poisoned 
 bran, of which they seem to be rather fond. It should be com- 
 posed of bran and Paris green, at the rate of one part of Paris 
 green to fifty by weight of bran, thoroughly moistened with 
 sugar water. Cabbage patches can often be protected in this 
 way against grasshoppers that come from uncultivated land, and 
 there are other cases where such a measure is of value. Indi- 
 vidual judgment must determine those cases. 
 
 The LocustidcB are "long-horned grasshoppers," "meadow 
 grasshoppers," and "katydids," distinguished at once by very 
 long, slender antennae, rarely shorter than, and usually much 
 exceeding, the body. They are green in color as a rule, with 
 slender legs and thin wings, and we find them a vast array of mu- 
 sicians, — always the males only, — the sound-producing structure 
 occupying a triangular area at the base of the fore-wings, where 
 they overlap. Here one or more of the 
 veins is elevated and ridged on each wing, 
 and by rubbing these ridged surfaces to- 
 gether a strident sound is produced, in- 
 tensified by a membrane tightly stretched 
 between them. The pitch and volume of 
 the " song" are regulated by the develop- 
 ment of veins and membrane as well as of 
 the tegmina, no two species being alike in 
 this respect. Special students of the family 
 soon learn to recognize the sounds made 
 by the different species as certainly as or- 
 nithologists know birds by their song. The 
 ears through which the songs appeal to the courted females and 
 competing males are situated on the fore tibiae, and are essentially 
 like the same organs found on the abdomen of the Acridiidce. 
 
 Fig 
 
 Overlapping portion of 
 the base of the wing in Cono- 
 cephahis, showing the ridged 
 veins and sound-producing 
 organ. 
 
94 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Another feature peculiar to this family is the exserted, promi- 
 nent, blade-like ovipositor of the female, which indicates an es- 
 sentially iifferent method of oviposition. This, in fact, exists, 
 for the eggs are mostly laid in plant tissue, — usually in the stems 
 of reeds and grasses, among which some forms abound, — some- 
 times in woody tissue ; rarely in leaves, the edges being split to 
 receive them ; and only occasionally are they laid externally. 
 Certain cricket-like species are exceptions, and oviposit in the 
 ground. 
 
 The most prominent, from their large size, are the species 
 loosely termed "katydids," — insects which are familiar by their 
 song, but are not always personal acquaintances, because they 
 are most active and noisy in the evening, and prefer trees and 
 shrubs to more modest plants. The true "katydid" is Cyr- 
 tophylluni coiicaviim, much the heaviest in build of all our spe- 
 cies, with very broad concave wing-covers and an unusually 
 developed sound-producing structure. In fact, the entire fore- 
 wings are immense sounding-boards, enabling the insect to make 
 itself heard at great distances. It produces its characteristic note 
 three or four times in succession, with slight intervals only, bear- 
 ing thus a semblance to " Ka-ty-did" or " Ka-ty-did-n't :" oc- 
 casionally it merely rasps out " Ka-ty." 
 
 This species lays its ovate, slightly convex eggs into the twigs 
 or trunks of trees late in fall, and the young appear during the 
 early summer following. 
 
 One of the most common of the large species, found over a 
 great part of the Northern United States, is the Microcentru^n 
 retinervis, replaced in the South by the allied M. laurifolium, 
 which lay their large eggs externally in regular rows on the edges 
 of leaves, on twigs, or on any sort of likely or unlikely place, — 
 e.g. , the pulley-strap of a sewing-machine. The Southern spe- 
 cies is the more common, and in Florida becomes injurious to 
 young orange-trees by eating the foliage. They can be kept in 
 check on such trees by collecting and destroying the eggs during 
 winter, by collecting the insects themselves, or by spraying the 
 foliage with one of the arsenites. 
 
 The genus Scudderia contains smaller, narrower-winged spe- 
 cies, in which the tegmina are not expanded in the middle and 
 the ovipositor is curved sharply upward. They frequent shrubs 
 
Fin. 65. 
 
 The Southern katydid, Microcentrum laurifolium. — i, the female adult ; \a, eggs 
 laid on leaves and twigs of orange ; -Lb, the young katydids ; 2 and 2a, female and male 
 Eupeltnus mirabilis ; parasites on the eggs at ib. 
 
 95 
 
g6 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and low vegetation, often near marshy or boggy land in sandy 
 districts. The eggs are sometimes laid in the edges of leaves, 
 singly, between the upper and under surfaces, and are so thin 
 that they can be perceived with difficulty only. They swell, 
 however, very considerably before hatching. 
 
 In New Jersey species of this genus sometimes do great injury 
 on cranberry bogs, eating out the seed-capsule of the berries and 
 rejecting the pulp. A single specimen may eat, at one meal, the 
 seed-capsules of five or six berries, and in a week half a peck may 
 be destroyed or rendered unmarketable. 
 
 Turkeys exercise a good effect here also, the insects recog- 
 nizing the presence of an enemy in a very short time and leaving 
 the bogs. A good method of lessening the injury is to burn 
 over the ground around the infested district to destroy the eggs. 
 Nature itself does much to check increase, the number of speci- 
 mens averaging about the same from year to year ; so any in- 
 telligent interference by man must be to his advantage, and a 
 destruction of the dropped leaves, especially of oak, which may 
 contain eggs, will be a gain. 
 
 Next in size and musical ability are the ' ' cone-nosed grass- 
 hoppers," Conocephalus, with very long antennae, very long hind 
 legs, very long and narrow fore-wings, and a pointed, conically- 
 projecting head. In the female the ovipositor is as long as or 
 longer than the rest of the body. These insects may be quite 
 common, yet rarely seeii, because of their resemblance to the 
 reeds, grasses, and other vegetation among which they live. 
 They do not become active until late in the afternoon, and may 
 be located by their loud, shrill, long-sustained song. Then, 
 quietly waiting until it is resumed, the male may be seen with 
 wings rapidly vibrating and usually near his mate, for whose 
 benefit all this concert is produced. The eggs are laid in the 
 stalks of the reeds and grasses among which the insects live ; 
 hence late mowing of infested meadows, or burning over, during 
 the winter, swampy or marshy spots in which they breed will 
 keep them in check when they become troublesome. 
 
 Close relatives of the above are the smaller, green meadow 
 grasshoppers, largely members of the genera Orchelhman and 
 Xiphidi7an, — the former with curved, the latter with a straight 
 ovipositor in the female. These species all prefer moist lands 
 
Fig. 68. 
 
 Fig. 64. 
 
 Fig. 66. 
 
 Fig. 67. 
 
 «^ 
 
 Fig. 64, the katydid, Cyrtophyllum concavum. Fig. 66, Orchelimum vulgare, male. 
 Fig. 67, Orchelimum vulgare, female, from side. Fig. 68, Mormon cricket, Ancbrus 
 iimplex: a, female ; b, <:, anal parts of the male. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 97 
 
 with rank vegetation abounding in reedy grasses, in which they 
 lay their eggs, and among which they sport and sing, except 
 during midday. They are especially fond of eating the seeds of 
 grasses, and sometimes become troublesome from this habit. 
 The late mowing and burning suggested for Conocephalus will 
 answer in this case as well. 
 
 We find quite a departure from the normal type in a series of 
 wingless or short-winged species erroneously called "crickets," 
 and, more correctly, "shield-backed grasshoppers." In the 
 Eastern United States these are rare, found under stones or rub- 
 bish in woods, sometimes in caves. Some are blind, and others 
 have equally interesting structures, but are of little or no economic 
 importance. From their peculiar humped shape some are known 
 as "camel crickets." In the West these species become more 
 abundant, and, at the base of the Rocky Mountains, extending 
 up into the foot-hills, they find their true home. Here the 
 " Mormon cricket," Anabrus simplex, occasionally multiplies so 
 greatly that it migrates to the plains below, destroying everything 
 in its path. As the insects are wingless they move but slowly, 
 and may be often checked by ditching in their path. They are 
 very pugnacious, with cannibalistic tendencies, falling upon and 
 devouring any injured comrade, and indulging in free fights when 
 driven into a corner. A plowed field in their course forms a 
 barrier difficult for them to pass, and in such an army of the 
 insects can be materially reduced or exterminated by means of 
 heavy rollers. 
 
 Yet more cricket-like are the clumsy, large-headed species of 
 Stejwpalmatus, known on the Pacific Coast, where they occur, 
 as "sand-crickets." They are sometimes quite plentiful, but 
 have not been known as injurious, since they are partly carniv- 
 orous in their food-habit. 
 
 The crickets belong to the family GryllidcE, and differ from the 
 Locustidce in that they have the wings laid flat on the back, 
 the fore-wings abruptly bent down at the sides, and, in the female, 
 have the ovipositor cylindrical or needle-like, instead of flattened 
 or sword-like. This ovipositor usually has a little enlargement, 
 somewhat resembling a spear-head, just before the tip, which 
 facilitates placing the q%^. The males are even greater musicians 
 than the Loaistidtz, the entire wing-covers being modified into a 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 stridulating organ. Here the sound is produced by the ridged 
 edge of one wing-cover scraping over the ridged veins of the 
 other, setting into vibration the membraneous spaces in both 
 wings. The ear is situated on the fore-tibia, as in the LocustidcB. 
 
 Fig. 69. 
 
 A sand-cricket, Stenopalmatus species. 
 
 The mole-crickets are curious, subterranean creatures, with 
 small heads and powerful forelegs, developed somewhat like the 
 corresponding organs in the mole. The larger, more common 
 species belong to the genus Gryllotalpa, and are more frequent 
 
 Fig. 70. 
 
 Mole-crickets, Gryllotalpa species. 
 
 in the South and Southwest, where they occasionally injure field 
 crops. They are strictly nocturnal in habit, and remain during 
 the day in their burrows, in which a chamber is excavated to 
 contain the eggs. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 99 
 
 When they are sufficiently numerous to be troublesome, the 
 insects may be attracted to the sweetened and poisoned bran 
 mixture heretofore mentioned, and this will usually check injury. 
 
 The field-crickets, species of Grylhis, well known to all, are 
 found nearly everywhere, even inTiouses. They are usually dark- 
 brown or blackish in color, with large, broad heads, and rather 
 short though power- 
 ful hind legs. They Fig. 72. 
 are very active, and 
 jump about so errat 
 ically that it is not 
 
 Fig. 71. 
 
 A field-cricket, Gryllm 
 species. 
 
 Thetree-cricket,(2tfnw/A;(5 nivem, female from 
 the side, male from above. — a, blackberry cane 
 showing egg punctures ; b, the same, split, to 
 show the arrangement of the eggs ; c, egg, very 
 much enlarged ; d, its tip, yet more enlarged. 
 
 always an easy task to capture the specimens. There is less 
 trouble in the fall, when the female is ovipositing in warm, sandy 
 spots, and the male is watching her, keeping up a constant sing- 
 ing during the operation. As a rule the species winter in the ^^% 
 state, but occasionally nymphs and adults survive, and a solitary 
 and melancholy chirp in spring now and then tells of such a speci- 
 men. Most of the species are plant-feeders, yet rarely attack 
 
loo AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 green vegetation ; fruits like cranberries are occasionally eaten 
 into, and sometimes roots or tubers are attacked ; but the injury- 
 is rarely of economic importance. 
 
 Crickets are pugnacious as a rule, occasionally eating their 
 companions, or such other soft-bodied specimens as fall in their 
 way, while ' ' cricket-fights' ' are not unknown in the lists of sports. 
 
 The tree-crickets, CEcanth^is, are more slender and graceful 
 than any of the preceding, and more ready fliers. They are 
 green, yellowish, or gray in color, and live on trees or shrubs, 
 feeding chiefly upon plant-lice and other soft-bodied insects of 
 various kinds. They lay their eggs in the stems of pithy plants 
 like blackberry and raspberry, puncturing the wood by means of 
 their powerful, auger-like ovipositor. Quite often these punctured 
 canes die, but practically little damage is done unless the insects 
 are much more abundant than I have ever seen them. In either 
 blackberry or raspberry canes the punctures are so readily seen, 
 especially in spring, that they can be cut out while trimming and 
 the whole brood destroyed. This is indeed the best method of 
 dealing with these graceful creatures, who have little resemblance, 
 except in essential structure, to their lowly and sordid cousins of 
 the field. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE HEMIPTERA, OR BUGS. 
 
 The term Heiniptera means half-winged, and is primarily ap- 
 plied to insects in which the wing-covers are partly thick and 
 leathery and pardy thin and membraneous, the latter texture 
 obtaining towards the apex. The term becomes inapplicable, 
 however, in those insects which, agreeing otherwise in structure 
 with the half-winged species, have the anterior wings of the same 
 texture throughout, whether like that of the hind wings or de- 
 cidedly thicker. To distinguish the two series the terms Heter- 
 optera, meaning " difierent wing," and Homoptera, meaning 
 "equal wing," are applied. Besides these there is another 
 division which has no wings at all, and, owing to the fact that 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. loi 
 
 the species live and feed upon animals, this is called Parasitica. 
 All these agree, however, in the essential character of the order, 
 which is found in the structure of the mouth parts. Throughout 
 all series we find the head prolonged into a jointed beak or ros- 
 trum, obsolete only in the Parasitica, and within, protected by- 
 it, is a series of three or four slender, needle-like lancets. The 
 beak is open in front, and the lancets may be protruded at the 
 tip. In most species, when the insect is feeding, the lancets are 
 so deeply inserted that the beak bends at or about the middle, 
 leaving them entirely free except at the tip. In other cases, 
 among predaceous types, the beak is too rigid to bend thus, and 
 it, as well as the lancets, is forced into the tissues upon which 
 the insect feeds. It is to insects of this order only tl\at the ento- 
 mologist applies the term '' bug,''^ and when he uses that word 
 he always refers to one of the Hemiptera. It has been indicated 
 that the creatures gain their food by piercing and sucking, and 
 this is a radically different method from anything found hereto- 
 fore. We have now insects that are incapable of chewing food, 
 and subsist only upon liquids which must be drawn from living 
 tissue, be it animal or vegetable. A large proportion of the spe.. 
 cies is injurious ; but there are also groups of predaceous habit, 
 feeding upon other insects in whole or in part, that may be con- 
 sidered beneficial. In their development the insects belong to 
 that series in which the metamorphosis is incomplete ; but there 
 is an exception in the males of certain bark- lice, where there is a 
 real, quiescent pupal stage. 
 
 Before going further on this subject it is necessary to refer to 
 the peculiar little species known as Thrips, and belonging to the 
 family ThripidcB. They are now as a rule, and properly, sepa- 
 rated from the true Hemiptera under the ordinal terms Thysan- 
 optera, meaning fringe- winged, or Physopoda, meaning bladder- 
 footed. They are always small in size, slender, active, with the 
 head so narrow that they seem pointed at both ends. The wings 
 are laid longitudinally on the back, and are very narrow, trans- 
 parent, without veins or with mere rudiments, but with lengthy 
 fringes, which give them a characteristic and peculiar appearance. 
 The feet are not terminated by pointed claws as usual, but by 
 small, bladder-like dilations of the terminal joints. They run 
 and fly readily, and some of them jump much as do spring-tails. 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig 
 
 Thrips tritici. — b, antenna ; c, a tarsus. 
 
 The mouth structure is in some respects intermediate between 
 that of the true bugs, as already described, and that of the man- 
 
 dibulate type ; but there are no 
 true mandibles, and the insects can- 
 not chew their food, hence come 
 naturally, for our purpose, into this 
 order. 
 
 The species of Thrips are often 
 seriously injurious to vegetation. 
 They sometimes attack onions in 
 great numbers, puncturing the suc- 
 culent leaves, and everywhere leav- 
 ing a small yellow dot. As these 
 increase in number the leaf loses 
 vitality, the top itself turns yellow, 
 and in serious cases the rich green 
 of a normal onion field is changed 
 to a peculiar, sickly yellow. The 
 insect is yellowish when immature, and blackish-brown when the 
 wings are developed. 
 
 Cabbages sometimes suffer in a similar manner. The insects 
 in this case are yellow, and congregate in large numbers on the 
 lower side of the outer leaves, and as these become dry and 
 wither they move to those nearer the centre- 
 Grass is often attacked by them, and here they cause one 
 form of what is known as "silver top." Wheat, oats, rye, and 
 other grains are often victimized, and, indeed, there are f?w 
 plants not liable to infestation, even tobacco appearing among 
 the sufferers. 
 
 These insects thrive best in hot, dry weather, hence become 
 more dangerous as the plants are less able to resist them, and 
 our effort must be in the direction of aiding the crop as well as 
 destroying the insects. Contact poisons are indicated here, as 
 against the true Hemiptera, and either the kerosene emulsion, 
 diluted ten times, or the whale-oil soap, one pound in four gal- 
 lons of water, is satisfactory. Plenty of cold water, where it is 
 available, acts very well on a small scale ; but no application" is 
 feasible on large fields of cereals or grass. Here stimulation only 
 can be resorted to to give the plants additional vigor, and har- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 103 
 
 vesting should be done as soon as possible to check the increase 
 of the pests. 
 
 Many species of Thrips are found on flowers, many also under 
 the bark of trees, and some forms are said to be predaceous. 
 Their life habits are not well known, but a large number winter 
 in the adult stage under such shelter as they can find, — hence, 
 cleanliness on the farm is indicated. 
 
 For a better understanding of the characters of the more typi- 
 cal Hetniptera, we will take up the families separately ; and first 
 the Parasitica. By taking up this series before the others it is 
 not to be understood that they are higher in the scale, nor, on 
 the other hand, much lower in type ; but it is simply a matter 
 of convenience. Parasites, because of their habits, are often said 
 to be "low ;" but it is a question whether this is true, because 
 parasitism is an acquired character, and the insects are really 
 much specialized for their habit of life and well adapted to it. 
 We have in a previous chapter considered the biting lice, and 
 found that they feed more particularly upon surface structures. 
 The sucking lice, as the term indicates, obtain their food by 
 piercing the skin and sucking the animal juices or blood. The 
 mouth differs from that of the other bugs in that the proboscis 
 is fleshy and unjointed, capable of being, withdrawn into the head 
 or extended, and within it are two protrusible lancets only. At 
 its base is a circlet of hooks, by means of which the insect an- 
 chors itself firmly in the skin of the infested animal. The legs 
 are "scansorial," or fitted for climbing, — that is to say, they are 
 short, heavy, set at the sides of the thorax, and the tarsus is 
 modified into a stout, slightly curved claw, opposed like a thumb 
 to the end of the tibia, which in turn is broadened at the tip and 
 a little excavated. Thus, between the end of the tibia and the 
 tarsus, the insect is able to grasp a hair so tightly that it is some- 
 times easier to pull it from the skin than to dislodge the parasite. 
 Here we have another example of insects that do not change in 
 appearance throughout their life : they simply increase in size 
 and become adult when the sexual organs are fully developed. 
 Warm-blooded animals only are infested by these sucking lice, 
 man being included under this general term. 
 
 Three species are found on the human animal: one, Pediculus 
 capitis, infesting the head, glues its eggs, which are known as 
 
I04 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 74. 
 
 Hog-louse, Hirmalupinus urius : the scansorial claw at c. 
 
 Fig. 75. 
 
 Ox-louse, Hcsmatopinus eurysle}~nus : b, mouth opening ; c, d, anal details ; e, egg, 
 attached to a hair. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 105 
 
 "nits," to the hair; one, Pediciilus vestimenti, found on the 
 body, known as the "body-louse," or to soldiers as "gray- 
 backs," lives in and lays its eggs in the seams of clothing, where 
 they are protected ; the last, Phthirius inguinalis, known as the 
 ' ' crab-louse, ' ' infests the pubic region and armpits. The latter 
 fastens its eggs to the hair among which it lives, and this is per- 
 haps the general rule throughout the series. 
 
 Domestic animals of all kinds are infested by lice ; but it is not 
 necessary to study the species in detail, since their habits are 
 much the same, and the method of treatment is identical. For 
 the head-louse on man nothing is better than a thorough appli- 
 cation of lard, vaseline, or other greasy material. It should be 
 applied at least twice at intervals of a few days, because the treat- 
 ment does not kill eggs, and egg^ unhatched at the first treat- 
 ment would not be affected. 
 
 As against the body-louse, the application of mercurial oint- 
 ment in the seams of the clothing answers every purpose. This 
 has proved effective in camps and hospitals, where the insects 
 sometimes increase with marvellous rapidity. 
 
 As against the "crab-louse," the mercurial ointment may be 
 applied directly to the infested spots, and here also several ap- 
 plications are necessary to reach 
 the insects as they hatch from the Fig. 76. 
 
 eggs. Their vitality is great, and 
 that of the eggs is yet greater. 
 Clothing, no matter how carefully 
 washed, may still remain infested 
 with eggs, protected as they are 
 in the seams, unless actual boiling 
 is continued for a considerable 
 period of time. Where lice infest 
 animals the latter can sometimes 
 be cleared by simply giving them crab-iouse, Phthirms inguinaiis. 
 an opportunity to dust themselves. 
 
 Dogs, donkeys, less frequently horses, and other animals, may 
 be often seen in dusty roads, rolling about in evident enjoyment, 
 and one result of this powdering is a comparative freedom from 
 insect parasites for some time thereafter. Infested animals may 
 be treated as suggested for the head-lice in man, — that is, some 
 
lo6 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 heavy oil or grease should be applied thoroughly. It will add 
 to the effect of the mixture if a little carbolic acid is added, but 
 it is not essential, though desirable to prevent rancidity if animal 
 fat is used. The kerosene emulsion, used with a brush or curry- 
 comb in cleaning animals, is also effective ; in fact, the treatment 
 suggested for the biting lice is also applicable here. 
 
 The section Homoptera contains scale-insects, bark-lice, mealy 
 bugs, plant-lice, tree-hoppers, leaf-hoppers, frog-hoppers, and 
 others whose very names proclaim their character. Nowhere do 
 we find predaceous forms, or such as can be accounted beneficial 
 to the agriculturist. To be sure, we have among the Coccids the 
 cochineal and lac insects, but these are fully as injurious as any 
 other to plant life, and are useful simply because man is able to 
 make better use of them than of the plants upon which they feed. 
 The lamily Coccidce includes scale-insects and mealy bugs, cu- 
 rious in their life history as well as injurious to cultivated plants. 
 The males, unlike other Hemiptera, have a complete metamor- 
 phosis and only a single pair of wings, the secondaries disap- 
 pearing or reduced to mere hooks. They are singular, fur- 
 thermore, in that the mouth parts are replaced in the adult stage 
 by a pair of eyes. The female is always wingless throughout her 
 entire life, generally grub-like and stationary, covered with some 
 sort of waxy scale or by a powdery or cottony secretion. 
 
 Mealy bugs derive their name from the fict that they are cov- 
 ered by a white, powdery substance, which is really a granulated 
 wax and a secretion of the insects themselves. They move about 
 freely, and are furnished with all sorts of odd processes at the 
 sides of the body, or with long filaments at the end. They are 
 not usually common in the North except in greenhouses and on 
 in-door plants, but become more abundant southward, where out- 
 door plants are also infested, orange-trees in Florida being par- 
 ticularly troubled. To this series of mealy bugs the cochineal 
 insect. Coccus cacti, belongs. It is a native of Mexico, but has 
 been cultivated in other countries, feeding upon species of cac- 
 tus. Specimens have been found in Florida, and it is more than 
 likely that it occurs not uncommonly in the semitropical part of 
 the peninsula. It also occurs in California. The dye is simply 
 the immature female insect, which is brushed off the plants, 
 killed, and dried, and has never been equalled for brilliancy and 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 Fig. 77. 
 
 107 
 
 Fig. 78. 
 
 Fig. 79. 
 
 Cochineal and mealy bugs.— Fig. 77, cochineal, Coccus cacti, on cactus. Fig. 78, 
 b, adult male; c, adult female, with cottony masses removed. Fig. 79, mealy bug, 
 Dactylopius destructor. Fig. 80, Dactylopius longifilis : a, the larva ; b, the winged mala 
 
lo8 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 permanence. Aniline dyes and colors are superseding it, how- 
 ever, because of their cheapness and the greater ease with which 
 they may be obtained. 
 
 Mealy bugs are easily destroyed by contact poisons, almost 
 any soapy solution killing them readily. A very dilute kerosene 
 emulsion answers every purpose, and even a weak salty solution 
 is satisfactory. I have used both kainit and muriate of potash 
 dissolved in water at the rate of an ounce in a quart, and it has 
 been perfectly effective where entire plants have been dipped into 
 it. A tobacco decoction, one pound in one gallon of water, is 
 also useful, and not dangerous to the most delicate plants. Where 
 house-plants are troubled the tobacco water is very convenient, 
 or common insect-powder may be used at the rate of an ounce 
 in two quarts of water, and sprayed on with an atomizer. Where 
 applications are to be made on a large scale, the diluted kerosene 
 emulsion is the most satisfactory, one part in fifteen of water be- 
 ing ordinarily sufficient. 
 
 Next comes a series where the excretions are in the form of 
 waxy scales, which sometimes become hard, brittle, and beauti- 
 fully ribbed. The female forms a sort of sac of these waxy scales, 
 and in it the eggs, mixed with a very fine powder, are contained. 
 This type is also rather more common southwardly or in warm 
 countries, the few species that occur in the North being rather 
 scarce and generally confined to weeds. The " cottony cushion 
 scale," leery a purchasi, which has caused such injury in Cali- 
 fornia, belongs here, and we have several allied species in Florida, 
 and yet more in the West Indies. All these insects gain their 
 food by sucking the plant juices, and their power of injury is 
 magnified by their enormous productiveness. 
 
 Perhaps this is a good place to speak somewhat at length on 
 this " cottony cushion scale," and the measures taken against it 
 by introducing foreign predaceous species. The very remarkable 
 success that has attended the introduction of "lady-birds" 
 (Coccinellidae) from Australia has led many persons to the belief 
 that insects of similar character might be introduced from other 
 countries to deal with some of our native species, and much 
 time has been wasted and some money spent by ill-considered 
 schemes of this description. The factors that caused success in 
 the case of the leery a were : ist, an insect introduced from a 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 109 
 
 foreign country where it was on the whole rather scarce and kept 
 in check by natural enemies ; 2d, its introduction into America, 
 where these natural enemies did not exist, and where the insect 
 found favorable opportunity for multiplying ; 3d, the introduction 
 of some of its foreign parasites and of the predaceous insects 
 
 feeding upon the species ; lastly, and most important o! all, the 
 Australian lady-bird recognized no other insect among those 
 found in California as proper food, and naturally confined itself 
 entirely to these scales. The contest was unequal, and the scales 
 lost rapidly, soon becoming nearly or quite exterminated. The 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 chances are now that the lady-birds will follow them and become 
 scarce or extinct, unless they show the power of adapting them- 
 selves to surroundings, and 
 Fi^- ^2. find other food to their liking ; 
 
 but while they have been use- 
 ful as against the Icerya, and 
 may have entirely destroyed 
 it, we cannot hope that they 
 will be equally successful in 
 coping with our native insects, 
 who have long since adapted 
 themselves to their surround- 
 ings in such a way as to make 
 it unlikely that any intro- 
 duced species will be effectual 
 in seriously lessening their 
 numbers. Insects of this char- 
 acter are susceptible of treat- 
 ment with the kerosene emul- 
 sion, although, where they 
 occur in such numbers as did 
 the Icerya in California, this 
 treatment becomes exceedingly expensive and practically useless. 
 A curious series of species is found in the genus Kermes, often 
 found on oaks, and resembling at first sight galls or even small 
 snail-shells, their texture being almost as brittle as if composed 
 of lime. They are never economically important, but curious 
 enough to deserve mention here. 
 
 Next come what are known as "soft scales," usually of con- 
 siderable size and readily visible. Quite commonly they are 
 convex or nearly hemispherical, rarely quite regular in outline, 
 and sometimes ribbed or ridged. In most instances they are 
 brown in color, not very rigid in texture, and easily crushed ; 
 whence the term " soft scales." We have a number of injurious 
 species, and perhaps none more common than the ' ' cottony 
 maple scale, ' ' Pulvinaria in7iumerabilis. Though called the maple 
 scale, and found most frequently on that tree, yet it is by no 
 means rare on grape, and often common on the Virginia creeper. 
 Sometimes it occurs on other plants as well, and is occasionally 
 
 Icerya purchasi, female. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 numerous enough to require treatment. It usually attracts atten- 
 tion in spring, when white cottony masses become numerous on 
 twigs or leaves, increasing in size until they are one-fourth of 
 an inch or more 
 
 in length, and only Fig. 83. 
 
 slightly less in diam- 
 eter, though irregu- 
 lar in outline. The 
 mass seems cottony, 
 but is actually a wax 
 or gum, for, if a bit 
 is taken with a for- 
 ceps it can be drawn 
 out into strings of 
 considerable length. 
 When of this size it 
 forms a bedding for 
 innumerable, rusty- 
 brown, minute eggs, 
 which have been 
 laid by the female 
 insect under the 
 brown scale which 
 seems to form the 
 head of the mass at- 
 tached to the twig. 
 
 From these eggs minute, crawling larvae hatch, much like the 
 eggs in color, and which separate in every direction in what seems 
 to be a moving mass of fine dust particles. In a day or two each 
 larva inserts its beak into a leaf or twig, and commences the for- 
 mation of a little, flattened, oval, somewhat mottled scale. They 
 remain thus, feeding and increasing in size, and as they increase 
 the scales enlarge. The males come to maturity in the latter part 
 of the summer, appearing as minute, two-winged flies, furnished 
 with long anal filaments. They mate with the females which re- 
 main under the scale, and these, before the leaves fall, migrate to 
 the twigs or branches, where they fasten themselves to pass the 
 winter. Feeding is resumed in spring, when the sap begins to 
 circulate, and then the &^^ masses begin to form. Before the 
 
 Cottony maple scale, Pulvinaria inntimerabilis , showing, at 
 a, the female on a leaf and, at b, same on a twig. 
 
TI2 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 cottony secretion becomes visible the female scale is less than 
 one-eighth of an inch in length, very convex, a little irregular, 
 and mahogany-brown in color. As the ii^^ mass increases in 
 size the scale is lifted posteriorly, until finally the insect adheres 
 only by its beak and by the sticky nature of the cottony mass. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Cottony maple scale. — a, leaf covered with scales ; b, male scale ; c, adult male. 
 
 We have other species of similar character in which there is 
 no cottony mass protecting the eggs, but the life history is essen- 
 tially the same. These ' ' soft scales' ' mostly belong to the genus 
 Lecanium, and are much more common southwardly and in con- 
 servatories. Citrus fruits and olives are especially subject to 
 soft-scale attack, and the "black scale," Lecaniuni olece, is in 
 California the most troublesome of all and the most injurious. 
 In the genus Ceropiastes the scale is formed of waxy layers, 
 sometimes quite pretty in pattern. These are found only in the 
 extreme South, and are not especially troublesome. 
 
 The matter of remedies will depend entirely upon circumstances. 
 On garden plants or shrubs the scales may be mechanically 
 removed during the winter. They do not adhere closely, are 
 easily dislodged, and are of a size sufficient to be readily seen. 
 Not all, however, pass the winter in the adult condition. In some 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 113 
 
 cases, instead of a female, an ^^^ mass will be found beneath the 
 scale ; but in either case mechanical dislodging results in the de- 
 struction of the insects. 
 Very often a little judicious 
 pruning or trimming, done 
 during the winter, will give 
 relief, because the insects 
 usually settle on the termi- 
 nal twigs, and it might 
 easily be that none of the 
 larger- branches contained 
 living scales or eggs. In 
 conservatories the mechan- 
 ical method is, all things 
 considered, the best. It 
 may take a little more time, 
 but it is thoroughly effect- 
 ive, and when carefully 
 done there may be almost 
 total exemption until scales 
 are again introduced with 
 new plants. 
 
 This is a good place to 
 say that no plant should be 
 placed in a garden or con- 
 servatory until it has been 
 thoroughly cleaned of all 
 scales found on twig or fo- 
 liage, and a soft tooth- or 
 
 hand-brush, with moderately strong soapsuds, forms a good outfit 
 for doing the work. Where winter treatment is inadvisable or 
 impossible, applications should be made when the larvae emerge 
 from the eggs and before they fasten themselves to leaves or 
 twigs. There is no difficulty in killing the young with either 
 soapsuds or kerosene emulsion, but — and here is the important 
 point — the application must be made before the insect is pro- 
 tected by a scale, or when the scale is yet very thin and newly- 
 formed. Kerosene will penetrate the waxy mass of the maple 
 scale, but it will not certainly kill the eggs contained in it ; yet 
 
 8 
 
 Lecanium hemisphericum, on orange-leaves, nat- 
 ural size ; a, female scale, enlarged. 
 
114 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 if soapsuds be used to dilute the emulsion, instead of water, the 
 cottony mass will be so impregnated with soap, and become so 
 compact, that the young will be unable to make their way out. 
 Therefore, in this case, dilute three quarts of kerosene emulsion 
 with one pound of whale-oil soap dissolved in eight gallons of 
 water. 
 
 The most troublesome of all scale insects belong to the Dia- 
 spince^ or "armored scales," and these are generally small in 
 size. They are, as a rule, only a little convex, occasionally even 
 flattened, and in texture are more like membrane or parchment 
 than wax. All kinds of shapes occur, and there is considerable 
 variation in life history. In one point they all agree, — after the 
 active larvae have once become fixed and covered with a scale, 
 they never leave their position, except when the males emerge 
 as adults and visit the surrounding females. In general the life 
 history of the insects is as follows : the larvae, whether hatched 
 from the eggs or born alive, crawl about for a few hours, or at 
 most a day or two, seeking a convenient place to fix. They are 
 always minute, flattened, oval creatures, with six legs, a pair of 
 distinct feelers, and a curious, long, sucking mouth. This is 
 soon inserted into the plant tissue, and from that time the insect 
 is a fixture. Little waxy filaments begin to exude from the body, 
 which soon coalesce, or run together, forming a first covering or 
 scale over the soft larva. The insect soon moults, and the cast 
 skin forms part of the scale, the resulting creature being legless 
 and without power of motion. There is one additional moult, 
 after which the sexes are very different in appearance. The male 
 shows antennae, legs, and wings well marked, and is indeed a 
 perfect pupa, while the female is even more grub-like than before, 
 rudiments of antennae only being visible. The second cast skin 
 of the female also forms a part of her scale, and there is nearly 
 always some difference in shape between the sexes, the male 
 being not only smaller, but narrower. Shortly after the change 
 to the pupa the male becomes adult, and in this series has the 
 end of the abdomen prolonged into a style or pointed process, 
 sometimes equalling in length the rest of the insect, though 
 usually shorter. Antennae and wings are both prominent, and 
 as a whole the insect is curious and exceedingly fragile in appear- 
 ance. Its life is probably short, though long enough to accom- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 115 
 
 plish its mission, — the fertilization of the female. After this the 
 life histories differ greatly ; sometimes the female lives through 
 the winter in the partly-grown or adult condition ; sometimes she 
 lays eggs which fill up the entire space beneath the scale, the 
 insect itself shrivelling up until scarcely a trace remains. Some- 
 times living young are brought forth, and there may be one or 
 several broods. Hence it is necessary to study each species in 
 detail before we can say much on the subject of remedies. It is 
 obviously beyond the province of this book to describe all the 
 injurious species, and general statements only are possible. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Oyster-shell scale, M\tila^f>is pomorum. — a, female scale, from beneath, filled with 
 eggs ; b, same, from abo\ e , c, twig infested by female scales ; d, male scale and a twig 
 infested therewith. 
 
 Perhaps the most common forms of this series are the ' ' oyster- 
 shell" bark-lice, of which we have several species, deriving their 
 common name from the fact that the scales have a marked resem- 
 blance to the shells of some oysters. In the Northern United 
 States Mytilaspis pomorum is the common form, infesting apple 
 
ii6 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and other fruit trees, willow, lilac, and a great variety of other 
 plants. It is perhaps uncertain whether all are really one species, 
 but for our present purpose we may consider them so. There is 
 one brood only, and they winter in the ^^^ state, the larvae 
 appearing in spring, the time depending upon the weather. In 
 the South there may be two broods, but I believe that there are 
 few exceptions to the rule that wintering takes place in the ^^^ 
 stage. On orange and other citrus plants we have species closely 
 resembling that on the apple, and not distinguishable except on 
 
 Fig. 87. 
 
 Mytilaspis pomorum.—a, male ; b, its tarsus ; c, young larva ; d, its antenna ; e, female. 
 
 close examination, even by the specialist. These scales some- 
 times cover twigs and large branches completely ; even the leaves 
 are often infested, and not infrequently the fruit itself becomes 
 more or less covered. It is not unusual to see in market oranges 
 and lemons more or less spotted by these oyster-shell scales, and 
 I have seen lemons from Mediterranean countries with the skin 
 almost entirely hidden by them. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 Fig. 88. 
 
 117 
 
 HECfT 
 
 The San Josd scale : winged male above ; a, young larva, just hatched ; b, its antenna; 
 c, female, showing the forming young through the body wall ; d, outline of anal plate 
 of female : all very much enlarged. 
 
Il8 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGt. 
 
 In our treatment of these insects we must either apply exceed- 
 ingly caustic winter washes, to corrode the scale and allow the 
 eggs to be washed out by rain or destroyed by other climatic 
 influences, or we must apply contact insecticides when the eggs 
 hatch or the larvae emerge from beneath the scales. 
 
 Some of our destructive species belong to the genus Aspidiotus, 
 and these have the scale nearly circular in outline, with the rem- 
 nants of the cast larval skins showing through at or near the 
 middle and forming a sort of nipple-like prominence. The male 
 scales are decidedly smaller than those of the female, and some- 
 what more oval or oblong. The ' ' red scales' ' of the orange in 
 California and in Florida belong to this genus ; but perhaps the 
 most troublesome of all is the A. pemiciosus, or San Jos6 scale. 
 As this species is now widely distributed and very injurious where 
 it occurs, its life history may be given in some detail. 
 
 The insect winters on the infested trees in the larval state, and 
 usually about half grown, both sexes being found. Males mature 
 soon after spring opens, — in the latitude of Philadelphia, about 
 the end of May, but depending somewhat upon the season. 
 On or about the loth of June the females become fully devel- 
 oped, and begin to bring forth living young. That is to say, the 
 species is viviparous, and produces no eggs. The larvae do not 
 differ essentially from those of other scales, and fix in from twelve 
 to thirty-six hours, depending somewhat upon circumstances. 
 At that time a thin white pellicle forms, which soon turns yellow, 
 and a little later becomes gray around the edges. The insect is 
 then a fixture, and continues its grovvth much as previously 
 described, but reaches the adult condition, and is ready to repro- 
 duce, in a little more than a month. This short period enables 
 it to mature several broods, and during the entire summer, and 
 until late fall, reproduction continues, — the broods becoming 
 mixed, and all stages being present continuously upon the plants 
 soon after summer opens. With such a life history the insect is 
 exceedingly difficult to control, and practically we are reduced to 
 winter work, as will be hereafter pointed out. The scale infests 
 all the usual deciduous fruit-trees, roses, currants, gooseberries, 
 — in fact the entire order Rosacea;, and occasionally occurs on 
 chestnut, walnut, and elm. It is probable that yet other plants 
 are subject to infestation, and this omnivorous habit and the 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 119 
 
 I 
 
 wonderful power of reproduction make the scale especially dan- 
 gerous. 
 
 In the genus Diaspis the scales are more oval, and the cast 
 larval skins are at or near the margin rather than toward the 
 middle, while the 
 
 males are long and Fig. 
 
 slender. A common 
 example is the Di- 
 aspis rosce, found 
 on roses and other 
 plants belonging to 
 the same natural 
 family. The scale 
 is pure white and 
 very conspicuous, 
 measuring nearly an 
 eighth of an inch in 
 diameter. 
 
 Yet more oval, 
 with the cast larval 
 skins at the smaller 
 extremity, are spe- 
 cies of Chio7iaspis, 
 and a good exam- 
 ple is the ' ' scurfy 
 scale, ' ' C. furfu- 
 rus, common on 
 pear and apple. A 
 similar species is 
 found on pine and 
 spruce throughout 
 
 the United States. These species may have one or two gener- 
 ations, according to latitudes, but ususally winter in the egg state. 
 
 Some of the species have the curious habit of boring under 
 bark, thus passing a large part of their life out of sight, becoming 
 more dangerous by that fact, since trees may be badly infested 
 and the cause of sickness not even suspected by the farmer. 
 
 It is practically impossible to even mention all the injurious 
 scales of house, conservatory, or orchard plants, and it is not 
 
 San Jose scale on a California pear, natural size ; the scale 
 itself enlarged at iJ. 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 really necessary, since the treatment to be adopted is nearly the 
 same in all cases. On deciduous trees, where the scales remain 
 during the winter upon trunks and branches, and where the trees 
 become dormant, the scales are best treated during the winter. 
 At that time there is no foliage to interfere, and we can use much 
 stronger washes than would be safe during the summer, or when 
 the tree is active. I have already called attention to the fact that 
 it is difficult to penetrate insect tissues with ordinary liquids, and 
 it has been found impossible in practice to obtain good results in 
 the destruction of scale insects except by means of caustics. 
 
 Potash and soda have 
 ^'^- 9°- been used with good effect 
 
 even in a simple watery 
 mixture, but more satis- 
 factorily in the form of 
 very caustic soap. Whale, 
 or other fish-oil soap, at 
 the rate of two pounds in 
 one gallon of water, as a 
 winter wash, has proved 
 absolutely effective against 
 the San Jos6 scale and the 
 oyster-shell bark-louse, 
 two of the most resistant 
 of the armored scales. 
 The simple muriate of 
 potash used as a fertil- 
 izer has proved effective 
 against the scurfy scale, while common laundry soap has been 
 efficient against others of the softer species. The common soaps 
 are all caustic, and, when applied at the strength indicated, the 
 scale is shrivelled, lifted, and partially corroded, so that the oily 
 mixture works its way beneath, into absolute contact with the 
 insect. Or it is raised at the edges and washed off by the rains, 
 carrying with it either eggs or young, as the case may be. In 
 fact, where the eggs hibernate winter applications act only by 
 exposing them, so that they are easily washed away by rains and 
 scattered, under no proper condition to hatch. Or, should they 
 hatch, the larvae are able in rare instances only to get upon the 
 
 The scurfy scale, Cliionaspis furfiiriis. — rt, twig 
 infested by female scales ; b, with male scales ; c, 
 female; d, male scale, much enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 121 
 
 proper food-plant. In the case of plants which do not lose their 
 foliage at any period, or in conservatories, or where winter treat- 
 ment for any reason is not feasible, we must attack the insects 
 when the larvae are crawling about, and before they are fixed. 
 At that time, while not protected by a scale, they may be easily 
 killed, almost any of the contact insecticides being effective. 
 Soapsuds, a dilute kerosene emulsion, or a mixture of both, are 
 satisfactory, and a good formula is : kerosene emulsion one part, 
 soapsuds ten parts, the suds being of the strength of one pound 
 of soap to six gallons of water. Whale or other fish-oil soap is 
 better than common laundry soap, and the latter is better than 
 high-grade articles containing only a minimum amount of caustic. 
 This would not hurt any except very delicate plants, while it 
 would be absolute death to larval scales. It is useful in the con- 
 servatory on palms, which are often much infested, and for some 
 of these it might be well to reduce the amount of kerosene to 
 one part of the emulsion with from twelve to fifteen parts of soap- 
 suds. Where the insects are viviparous, or bring forth living 
 young, the spraying must be done systematicall)», at intervals of 
 four or five days, until no more young appear. On out-door 
 plants the same mixture may be used, but the spraying, if the 
 larvae come from eggs, need not be done more than twice, since 
 as a rule the eggs hatch at about the same time. On the Pacific 
 Coast lime, salt, and sulphur mixtures, and various resin washes, 
 have proved effective, but they are troublesome to make, and 
 hardly cheaper, all things considered, than the soap mixtures 
 above referred to. They act largely by sealing the scales to the 
 tree, so that the young cannot emerge or the adults are stifled ; 
 hence they are most effective where rains are few and far between. 
 The formulae for their preparation will be found in the chapter on 
 insecticides, where their range of usefulness is also stated. 
 
 The species belonging to the family Aleyrodidcs resemble 
 scale insects in the immature condition, but are not fixed to the 
 plants, and in the adult stage both sexes are winged, somewhat 
 resembling minute plant-lice. The striking character by which 
 they may always be recognized is a covering of white, flour-like 
 powder, which renders them easily visible upon the leaves. 
 They are not common on out door crops in the North, but are 
 not infrequent on house or conservatory plants, becoming more 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 abundant and correspondingly more troublesome southward. A 
 species sometimes occurs in considerable number on orange. As 
 the insects live exposed in all stages, they are easily reached by 
 contact poisons, and of these the kerosene emulsion is usually the 
 most satisfactory. It kills them in all stages at moderate strengjth, 
 
 UlUJMM Iii llllu /n 
 
 one part of emulsion in ten or twelve parts of water being ordi- 
 narily sufficient. Whale-oil soap is quite as effective, and is 
 preferable on some house or conservatory plants, while even the 
 pyrethrum extract is useful on a small scale, and is, perhaps, the 
 cleanest of all on house-plants. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 123 
 
 It is a short step from the Aleyrodidce to the plant-Hce, be- 
 longing to the family Aphididce. Plant-lice are well known to 
 agriculturists by the injury they cause, and they are interesting 
 to the naturalist from their life history. Here we have the most 
 striking apparent exception to the general rule that insects are 
 developed from eggs, and yet perhaps the exception is more 
 apparent than real. At all events, parthenogenesis, or repro- 
 duction without the intervention of a male, occurs normally in a 
 large percentage of the species. Of course there are many differ- 
 ences in life habits, but a general account, covering most of the 
 cases, is all that can be attempted here. As a rule, plant-lice 
 
 Fig. 92. 
 
 a, female hop-louse, showing eggs through skin ; b, the stem-mother that starts the 
 transformation ; much enlarged. 
 
 winter in the q:^^ stage ; but this is subject to many exceptions, 
 especially in the warmer parts of the country. Early in spring, 
 as soon as there is a trace of reviving vegetation, these eggs 
 hatch. The insect that now appears is wingless, and usually 
 remains so, but grows rapidly by sucking the plant juices, and 
 soon begins to produce living young. It is called a "stem- 
 mother," because it is the source from which numerous genera- 
 tions issue during the season. All the young born by this stem- 
 mother are, like herself, without sex ; that is, they are neither 
 males nor sexually-developed females. The rate at which they 
 are born varies, but as many as eight living young have been 
 
124 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 observed within a period of twenty-four hours from one specimen, 
 and it is not unusual to find, early in the season, a single large 
 louse surrounded by a group of anywhere from a dozen to 
 twenty or even more small specimens. The rate of growth also 
 varies, depending upon the weather ; indeed weather conditions, 
 early in the season, frequently determine the question of whether 
 or not certain species are to become injurious later on. A warm, 
 moist temperature favors their development, and reproduction 
 goes on at a rapid rate. Correspondingly, cold, wet weather 
 checks development, and may even destroy a large number, 
 especially of the young. Plant-lice, in their younger stages, are 
 exceedingly susceptible to sudden changes of temperature, and 
 at almost any time in the season a sudden drop of from fifteen to 
 twenty degrees, accompanied by a rain, will prove fatal to a great 
 proportion of them. But assuming that all is favorable, the 
 young that were first brought forth are in turn ready to repro- 
 duce in five or six days, and they also form little colonies ; this 
 method of reproduction continuing as long as food is plenty and 
 the weather mild. Experimentally, reproduction of this kind 
 has been continued for several years in succession, without any 
 tendency to develop sexed individuals or to produce eggs. At 
 almost any time after the first generation, specimens may become 
 winged, and these fly to other localities, forming new colonies 
 wherever suitable food is found. In this way they spread, and, 
 though they may have started from a single favorable locality, 
 yet in the course of a few weeks they may cover many hundreds 
 of acres. Exactly what determines the formation of wings in 
 some specimens and not in others is not known. We do know, 
 however, that the progeny of a single individual is variable, and 
 that while some become winged others do not ; but whether 
 winged or wingless, the specimens are equally without sex, and 
 all are viviparous, or bring forth living young. As the summer 
 advances, reproduction becomes less rapid. Plants tend to dry, 
 the supply of sap is not so plenty, and these features become 
 more marked through the autumn months until, with the ap- 
 proach of cold weather, plant growth entirely ceases. It becomes 
 necessary now to provide for the continuation of the species 
 during winter, and sexed forms are developed. The males are 
 usually winged and appear a short time before the females, which 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 125 
 
 differ by the lack of wings and the usually small size compared 
 with the normal sexless form. Pairing takes place as soon as 
 the female is sexually mature, and in a very few days after- 
 wards eggs are laid. In many instances the &^<g supply is 
 exceedingly small, indeed there may be one only matured by 
 a female. Even this may remain within the body of the parent, 
 who simply dries up, the skin shrivelling around and form- 
 ing a protection to the ovum. More usually several eggs are 
 produced, and these of large size in proportion to the size of 
 the insect that lays them. They are green or greenish-brown 
 
 Fig. 93. 
 
 Hop-louse, male ; return migrant. 
 
 in color when laid, sometimes yellowish, and frequently darken 
 to black. They are placed in sheltered situations on plants, and, 
 in the case of orchard trees, are usually found at the tips of twigs, 
 around the buds, or on the leaf-scales, where vegetation will first 
 start in the spring following. They are very firm in texture and 
 very resistant to insecticides ; in fact, it is impossible to destroy 
 them except by the most caustic mixtures. It has been already 
 indicated that there are many exceptions to this general life his- 
 tory, and one kind of exception we find where species feed dur- 
 
126 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 ing the summer upon a plant which dies down to the ground, 
 leaving nothing through the winter. In such cases there is an 
 alternate food-plant, upon which the winter and early spring are 
 passed. From this the insects migrate in early summer and to 
 it they return when cold weather sets in. Such a case we have 
 in the hop-louse, which spends the summer upon the hop, in- 
 creasing greatly in number in favorable seasons and often causing 
 much injury. When the vines mature and die, males develop, 
 and all the lice fly to plum-trees. Here the female is born, the 
 sexes mate, and eggs are laid. In the spring two or more gen- 
 erations mature upon the plum, and, when the vines are again 
 well started, winged forms develop and migrate to their summer 
 food-plant. This sort of migration is not unusual, although it 
 has not been traced out in many cases. 
 
 Another example we find in the "melon-louse," which has a 
 considerable range of food-plants, including cotton, orange, 
 strawberry, and nearly all the common weeds of our fields. If 
 circumstances favor their increase in spring, winged forms are 
 produced which migrate and settle upon melon fields, providing 
 for colonies during the summer. 
 
 The scientific problems connected with this method of repro- 
 duction and spread are of great interest, but cannot be entered 
 upon here ; the mere statement of the case being sufficient for 
 practical purposes. Plant-lice are so commonly known that a 
 detailed description of their appearance is unnecessary ; but it is 
 well to call attention to the presence of a pair of little tubes or 
 cornicles near the end of the abdomen, projecting from the upper 
 surface. These are called honey-tubes, and from them is excreted 
 a sweetish liquid known as honey-dew. Sometimes, when food 
 is abundarit and the insects are active, the amount of sap they 
 pump out of the plants is so great that, in order to ease them- 
 selves, they void it in little streams through the anus, as well as 
 in drops through the honey-tubes. Thus the leaves of infested 
 plants become sticky or glazed with a sweetish liquid, on which 
 a black fungus rapidly develops, the leaf being frequently killed 
 by simply choking to death. Sometimes the vegetation beneath 
 a tree becomes thoroughly coated in the same way, or, when 
 shade-trees in cities are infested, the pavement becomes wet and 
 slippery with the viscid liquid. This honey-dew is often attractive 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 1 27 
 
 to bees and wasps, who feed greedily upon it, and is yet more 
 tempting to ants, whose relations to plant-lice merit more than a 
 passing notice, since they are of decided economic importance. 
 
 It is a common thing to see ants crawling over leaves infested 
 by plant-lice, and it is often considered well that this should be 
 so, under the erroneous impression that the ants feed upon plant- 
 lice. In some cultivated fields ant-hills abound early in spring, 
 the little mounds scarcely rising above the surface, being seen 
 everywhere. We next find, shortly after, plant-Hce infesting the 
 roots or leaves of the growing crop. In truth, ants are protectors 
 of plant-lice ; they are fond of their sweet excretion, and favor 
 their increase and development in every possible way. The 
 plant-lice seem to realize that they have nothing to fear, and 
 readily yield to the ants of their sweets whenever approached for 
 that purpose. Some species of aphids are indeed practically 
 dependent upon ants for their existence. Where some of them 
 lay their eggs we have not yet been able to learn, but perhaps 
 they simply drop them to the ground, where their color and size 
 render them invisible to our eyes. The ants find, gather, and 
 carry them into their galleries, where they store them until spring. 
 When vegetation starts and all conditions are favorable, the 
 eggs are taken where they can hatch normally, the young lice 
 being afterward carried to the plants upon which they are to feed. 
 An instance nearly like this, save that the young are carried over 
 winter, we find in the lice infesting corn roots, and undoubtedly 
 there are many others. 
 
 The study of plant-lice is difficult by reason of the matters 
 already set out, and it sometimes requires years to supply a miss- 
 ing link in their life history. The differences between them are 
 not always well marked, and the tendency has been to recognize 
 species as distinct when they feed on different food-plants. This 
 basis has proved erroneous, however, and now the wonder is to 
 find how many food-plants a single species may actually have. 
 
 It has been mentioned that a number of plant-lice feed upon 
 roots, and some species pass their entire life underground. Such 
 are the Rhizobihice , which sometimes become distinctly injurious, 
 as, for instance, when they occur on the roots of lettuce, in green- 
 houses and out-doors. Sometimes they are found on the roots 
 of trees or shrubs, quite usually attended by ants, which provide 
 
128 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 for their distribution. As they never come to the surface, so far 
 as we know, they are never winged, and are usually dull white 
 in color, or with a slight tinge of green. The body is covered 
 with a whitish powder and lacks honey-tubes. 
 
 Fig. 94. 
 
 Phylloxera vastatrix.—a. unaffected rootlet of grape; b, rootlets with newly-formed 
 galls; c, same, with old and dried-up tissue; dd, groups of the lice on roots and root- 
 lets ; e,/, female pupa, from above and below ; g, h, winged females ; i, an antenna ; J, 
 oviparous wingless female and her eggs; k, root showing location of the eggs. 
 
 An advance upon those root-living species is found in Phyl- 
 (oxera, which belongs with Chermes in a sub-family, Chermesina, 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 129 
 
 distinguished by having only two discoidal veins on the fore- 
 wings. The grape Phylloxera is known by reputation all over 
 the world, and its ravages in European countries have called 
 forth volumes of print. It has been thoroughly studied in our 
 own country by Dr. C. V. Riley, among others, and from his 
 works the following life history is taken. 
 
 The insect winters on the roots of grape, mostly as a young 
 wingless form. This starts growth in spring, rapidly increases 
 in .size, and soon commences to lay eggs, the young from which, 
 like their mothers, remain wingless, are also sexless, and also lay 
 eggs ; and so we may have a series of generations of similar 
 creatures, no true sexes becoming developed, no wings appear- 
 ing, and reproduction being entirely through unfertilized eggs. 
 Sometimes, in midsummer, some individuals acquire wings, and 
 thus we get migrating forms, which issue from the ground while 
 yet in the pupa stage, and, as soon as they become winged, fly 
 and spread to other vineyards in the vicinity. Eggs are then 
 laid, usually on the under side of the leaves, from three to eight 
 being the range, while five is perhaps the usual number. They 
 are of two sizes, of which the larger produce females, the others 
 males, and they come from the eggs fully developed and ready 
 to reproduce. These curious creatures have become modified 
 for the one purpose of reproducing their kind, and can neither 
 feed, for the mouth is aborted, nor fly, for they have no wings. 
 After copulation a single ^%%., almost as large as the insect itself, 
 is developed in the female, and from it hatches a form which is 
 Hke the type which started the cycle early in the season. Curi- 
 ously enough, it occasionally happens that some of the wingless 
 forms which remain underground also lay eggs of two different 
 sizes, producing males and females, and thus it appears that 
 winged forms are not really necessary to the continuation of the 
 species. Quite usually wingless individuals abandon the roots 
 and crawl up the stems to the leaves, where they form the galls, 
 which are the most prominent external indications that a vine 
 is infested. I have seen vineyards in New York and New Jersey 
 in which almost every leaf showed these galls, yet withal no real 
 injury had been done. In other words, most of the native 
 American vines are able to sustain the attack of the species. 
 This is not true of the vines in Europe, where this insect has 
 
 9 
 
I30 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 been introduced, and, after a long series of experiments with 
 insecticides, none of which proved satisfactory, resort was finally- 
 had to American stocks upon which the foreign varieties were 
 grafted. This has proved effectual to an extent ; but it seems 
 that, in the course of time, the period varying somewhat, even 
 
 American stocks lose 
 ^'^- 95- their exemption in 
 
 Europe and become 
 gradually subject to 
 injury from the Phyl- 
 loxera attacks. 
 
 We have a number 
 of species of this same 
 genus infesting a great 
 variety of plants not 
 of economic interest. 
 Perhaps the most com- 
 mon is that which 
 forms large, blister- 
 like galls on hickory 
 leaves, so prominent 
 as to attract attention 
 from even the most 
 casual observer. If one of these galls be cut open, the inside 
 will be found lined with numerous minute, yellow insects, with 
 dusky wings which lie folded flat over the back, and in this par- 
 ticular the Phylloxera differs from the typical aphids, which have 
 the wings vertical when at rest. 
 
 The subject of dealing with underground pests, or plant-lice 
 which feed upon roots, is one of importance, upon which the 
 last word has not yet been said. As against the Phylloxera, 
 bisulphide of carbon has proved useful, injected by means of a 
 proper instrument into the ground at about the level of the roots 
 and allowed to permeate the soil. The fumes are deadly to 
 insects, and where they reach them in any but the ^^^ stage, 
 kill. The Phylloxera does not require attention in our country 
 at the present time, and no large space need be given the subject 
 of remedies against it. The matter is different when we consider 
 the species which infest other cultivated plants ; whether Rhizo- 
 
 Galls of Phylloxera on grape-leaf. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 131 
 
 Mini, or forms like the ' ' peach-louse' ' or the ' * woolly apple- 
 louse," where they may be on leaves, twigs, and roots at one or 
 different times. Bisulphide of carbon can be used with good 
 effect in such cases ; but it is rather an expensive application, and 
 there is an element of danger that makes it desirable to employ 
 something equally effective yet less liable to injure vegetation. 
 Very satisfactory results have been obtained with tobacco, some 
 under my own observations, some reported by other trained 
 observers, and it seems fairly well proved that trenching around 
 an infested tree, and filling into the trench a liberal supply of 
 ground tobacco, refilling the trench immediately after, will have 
 the effect of clearing the roots of these pests. This has been 
 used more particularly against the peach aphids, and has been 
 almost uniformly successful. Tobacco is a good fertilizer, and 
 many dealers carry the coarsely ground product as part of their 
 stock in trade. It is rather expensive as a fertilizer, but cheap as 
 an insecticide, and a double value is obtained because besides 
 killing the lice it also stimulates the trees or other plants. The 
 use of tobacco, therefore, where root-lice are troublesome, is 
 good farm practice. It may be well to say, however, that little 
 or no benefit is derived from the use of stems spread upon the 
 surface, or dug in, because there is not a sufficiently rapid extrac- 
 tion of the nicotine, and this is, after all, the killing agent. The 
 ground material on the other hand gives up its nicotine readily 
 to a small quantity of moisture, and it will be quickly carried 
 down and around the roots of the plants, into direct contact with 
 the insects. In land infested by root-lice the use of commer- 
 cial fertilizers is indicated. It has been found by experience that 
 salty mixtures kill plant-lice more or less rapidly, and therefore, 
 where root-lice are present, potash in the form of kainit and 
 nitrogen in the form of nitrate of soda are advisable. I have 
 frequently noticed that on land where these fertilizers are used 
 underground insect life is scant, and direct experiments have 
 proved that this condition of affairs is largely due to the salty 
 fertilizers introduced into the soil. As against peach-lice in light 
 soil, ten pounds of kainit to a five- or six-year-old tree of good 
 size is about right, and the material should be spread on the 
 surface evenly as far as the roots are likely to extend. 
 
 In the more normal plant-lice the wings are better developed, 
 
132 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and we find differences in the form of the honey-tubes which are 
 of generic or even sub-family value. Thus, we have some species 
 of Pemphigus entirely without them, or with very small, mere 
 tubercle-like structures. They live on a variety of trees, but. 
 perhaps more abundantly on poplar, and make galls, which are 
 sometimes spherical and nearly half an inch in diameter. If we 
 cut one of them after midsummer, we find it full of plant -lice, 
 
 Fig. 96. 
 
 Cock's-comb gall on elm, Colopha ulmicola.—a, elm-leaf showing galls; b, winter 
 egg, covered by the skin of the true female ; c, larva just hatched ; d, pupa ; e, winged 
 adult. 
 
 the progeny of the single specimen which caused the growth of 
 the gall early in the season. There are many other gall-producing 
 lice, perhaps the best-known being the Colopha ulmicola, found on 
 elm, and forming the "cock's-comb" gall. The popular name 
 fairly describes the appearance of the abnormal growth, which 
 is an inch or more in length and about one-quarter of that in 
 height. None of these gall-making species are abundant enough 
 to be seriously troublesome ; but quite the contrary is true of the 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 133 
 
 Woolly apple-louse, Schizoneiira lanigera: show- 
 ing a group of specimens on bark, a crevice on a 
 branch, in which they congregate, and a winged 
 
 form. 
 
 "woolly plant-lice," belonging to the genus Schizoneura. These 
 
 cover themselves with a secretion resembling fine cottony fibre, 
 
 which conceals them more or less completely. Thus there may 
 
 appear to be tufts of cot- ^ 
 
 ^^ Fig. 97. 
 
 ton attached to leaves 
 
 or twigs, beneath each 
 of which we find, how- 
 ever, a great mass of 
 plant lice busily en- 
 gaged in feeding. The 
 ' ' alder - blight' ' and 
 " beech-blight" are due 
 to species of this kind, 
 and more important 
 than all is the "apple- 
 blight, " or " the woolly 
 apple-louse. ' ' This spe- 
 cies, Schizoneura lani- 
 gera, has been intro- 
 duced into other countries, and is known in England and Aus- 
 tralia as the "American blight." Young trees are frequently 
 injured by these aphids, which gather in masses on the trunks, 
 and cause the death of the bark below the point of attack. The 
 eggs may be found 
 
 singly in the bark ^'^- 98- 
 
 crevices during win- 
 ter, completely envel- 
 oped in the dry skin 
 of the female, and 
 from them appear, in 
 spring, agamic, wing- 
 less forms, which bear 
 living young. This 
 method of reproduc- 
 tion continues until the 
 winged type, which 
 spreads to other localities, is produced in late summer. The 
 sexed forms are wingless and mouthless, the female producing 
 only a single eg^ ; but in the southern parts of our country it 
 
 Schizoneura lanigera. root form. — a, galls caused by 
 them on apple-roots ; b, wingless, wax-coated form ; c. 
 winged form. 
 
134 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 is not unusual for the insects to survive winter in the adult con- 
 dition, without producing a winter ^%%. One form of the species 
 works deep underground on the fibrous roots ; and this is most 
 difficult to deal with, and often causes the death of the attacked 
 trees. When they appear on the trunk, treatment with either 
 whale-oil soap or kerosene emulsion will be effective, and the 
 underground form can be reached with bisulphide of carbon, or 
 by a liberal use of the tobacco or kainit, as recommended on a 
 previous page. 
 
 We have a number of species that attack our common orchard 
 and farm crops, like the cherry-aphis, Myzus cerasi, the peach- 
 louse, Aphis persicae-niger^ the apple-louse, Aphis ntali, the 
 hop-louse, wheat-louse, melon-louse, and others of equal reputa- 
 tion. Almost every species requires different treatment, and it 
 is difficult to lay down general rules. Cabbage-lice, which fre- 
 quently do great injury, can be kept down by the prompt removal 
 of all plant remnants left in the field after the heads are taken out 
 and disposed of. On the stumps the insects continue to breed 
 and live during the winter, if not disturbed, either as eggs or 
 adults ; therefore, remove, use up, or destroy them as soon as 
 may be. In pits where cabbage is kept to obtain seed the year 
 following, a great number of lice pass the winter safely, but a free 
 use of bisulphide of carbon will result in their destruction, so that 
 the plants may be set without infestation in spring. An equally 
 important point is keeping down all cruciferous weeds like mus- 
 tard, shepherd' s-purse, and the like, because on these the insect 
 flourishes as well as on cabbage ; therefore, clean culture, not 
 only in the fields but along fences and roads, will pay over and 
 over again. The corn-root louse can best be attacked through 
 its guardian ant, which colonizes the helpless forms upon the 
 roots in spring. Late fall- plowing the corn-fields is indicated 
 here, that the nests of the ants may be destroyed at a season 
 when they are unable to rebuild them. In those sections where 
 fertilizers must be used, the kainit and nitrate of soda, already 
 referred to, will prove effectual. The ' ' apple-louse' ' and ' ' cherry- 
 louse," though different in appearance and habits, have a similar 
 life history, and both pass the winter in the Qgg state, the eggs 
 being laid on young twigs close to the buds. It is good policy 
 to trim a tree on which there are many eggs pretty thoroughly in 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 135 
 
 winter, the cuttings, of course, to be promptly destroyed. Thus 
 the number of individuals to start new infestation in spring 
 will be greatly reduced. They breed agamically throughout the 
 summer, and bring forth the sexed individuals late in fall or 
 early in winter. I found them in New Jersey still ovipositing 
 during the first week in December. Where pruning is not de- 
 sirable, much can be done by spraying the trees, as soon as the 
 eggs have hatched, with kerosene emulsion, — say, one part in 
 twelve or thirteen of water. Both of these species lay a number 
 of eggs, but how many has not, I believe, been actually deter- 
 mined. The species that infests hops has been already mentioned, 
 and the best remedy against it is the total destruction of the vines 
 immediately after the hops have been gathered, which will head 
 off the production of the sexes. If this is delayed, spraying the 
 plum-trees in fall or early in the spring before the hop-vines have 
 made much start will be of great advantage. When the insects 
 infest such plants as wheat, rye, or oats, it becomes difficult to 
 adopt measures likely to be of much benefit. They multiply so 
 rapidly, and the task of spraying a wheat-field is so enormous, 
 that it is hardly worth while to recommend it. In such cases 
 we must stimulate, to assist the plants in outgrowing injury, by 
 applying such readily soluble fertilizers as nitrate of soda. This 
 gives additional vigor to the plant, enabling it to sustain the 
 attacks of the insect and mature a crop as well. Harvesting 
 should not be delayed longer than absolutely necessary, unless it 
 is observed that the enemies of the plant-lice are getting the bet- 
 ter of them, and in that case nothing will be lost by leaving the 
 grain as long as desirable. The aphid infesting cucumber- and 
 melon-vines has been recently determined to be the same as one 
 of those infesting oranges, and as that which frequently injures 
 cotton. It has also been found on the strawberry, and seems, 
 indeed, to be a very general feeder, passing the winter upon 
 such wild plants as remain more or less green. Under favorable 
 circumstances it increases rapidly in spring, and a migration 
 starts to cultivated fields. Against this insect on melon-vines 
 we can use bisulphide of carbon, covering the plants with a bowl 
 or other covering, and evaporating a small quantity beneath it. 
 This will kill the aphids in about an hour, and, though the pro- 
 cess is slow, it has the advantage of being completely effective. 
 
136 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 While, as has been stated, we cannot lay down general rules 
 as to the treatment of all plant-lice, there are a few points that 
 are always important. In the first place, the earlier the insects 
 are dealt with, the more chance there is for the application to be 
 effective. Plant-lice should be treated just as soon as they are 
 noticed ; the longer the delay the weaker the plants become, and 
 the greater the thoroughness required to reach all the specimens. 
 
 As a general insecticide, nothing is better than the kerosene 
 emulsion, which, when diluted ten times with water, kills all the 
 young forms and adults of the green species. It has been found 
 by experiment that black or brown species are much more diffi- 
 cult to destroy, and one part of emulsion in six or eight parts of 
 water is more likely to be effective. Fish-oil soap is effective at 
 the rate of one pound in six gallons of water ; or, as against the 
 brown species, one pound in four gallons of water. Thorough- 
 ness of application is always essential. It must be remembered 
 that these poisons act by clogging the spiracles, or by entering 
 into the body through them. Unless the application is thorough, 
 the insects may be weakened but not killed, or, if rendered help- 
 less for a time, they may recover, and a second dosing becomes 
 necessary where one, more thoroughly applied, would have been 
 sufficient. Where it is not advisable to apply either of the ma- 
 terials mentioned, we can use tobacco with good prospects of 
 success, either as a decoction or a very finely ground powder. 
 In greenhouses, tobacco is a standard remedy, and its frequent 
 application results in keeping them moderately free from these 
 pests. It may be applied as already described, but is more usu- 
 ally burnt to make a smoke, which is poisonous to the insects. 
 A milder method is to keep the steam-pipes covered with moist 
 stems, so as to produce a nicotine-laden atmosphere. Very often 
 plant-lice appear in forcing-beds, and these we can generally 
 destroy with bisulphide of carbon placed in a shallow dish and 
 left in the covered beds overnight. Greenhouse benches may 
 be rid of the pests in the same way, covering the plants for two 
 or three hours with a frame or box, and evaporating a small 
 quantity of the bisulphide. A fumigating-box made of wood, 
 canvas, tin, or other material, large enough to contain potted 
 plants of good size, should be in every greenhouse and nursery. 
 A number of pots of infested plants may be placed in such a box. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 137 
 
 the door closed, and bisulphide evaporated from a vessel hung up 
 just below the top of the box. As the vapors descend, they will 
 kill the insects infesting the plants, which may then be sent out 
 free from all insect troubles. One dram of liquid per cubic foot 
 of space will be about the right quantity not likely to hurt vege- 
 tation, while killing all lice by the time the liquid has entirely 
 evaporated. 
 
 The "jumping plant-lice" are so called from their habit of 
 leaping readily, though, as a matter of fact, their resemblance is 
 -rather to the tree-hoppers, and most of all they recall a miniature 
 
 Fig. 99. 
 
 The pear-psylla. — a, pupa from under side, showing the thread-like piercing lancets; 
 to the right, a winged adult and stalked egg. 
 
 cicada. They all belong to the family Psyllidce, some species of 
 which are exceedingly troublesome, — ^-g-, the "pear-psylla," 
 Psylla pyricola. This infests pear-trees in the more northern 
 parts of the country, extending south to Maryland, though 
 south of New York State it occurs in isolated patches only. It 
 does its injury, first, by sucking the juices of the plant and so 
 weakening it ; second, it exudes honey-dew in such quantity as 
 actually to close the pores of the leaves and young bark, over 
 which a fungus forms and checks growth. It commonly attacks 
 the stalk of the fruit, or the twig just where it is fastened, and 
 the result is nearly always a cessation of growth in the pear itself 
 The species has several broods during the season, but winters as 
 
138 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 an adult in any available shelter, — under loose bark of trees, under 
 rubbish, and, in fact, wherever there is an opportunity to hide. 
 The application of whale-oil soap early in spring, just as the buds 
 begin to swell, will generally kill the insects, which are then ready 
 to emerge from winter quarters. Good practice is to scrape all 
 the loose bark from the trees during the winter, and burn it ; 
 wash at that time with a potash or strong kerosene mixture, and 
 in spring use the whale-oil soap at the rate of one pound in one 
 gallon of water, being careful to confine the spraying to the 
 trunk and larger branches. If this is thoroughly done, it forms 
 a film over the trunk which no insect will voluntarily pierce. A 
 liberal application of whitewash is also advantageous, and should 
 be put on with a knapsack sprayer and Vermorel nozzle. 
 
 We have many species belonging to this family, some of them 
 gall-makers on the hackberry, or Celtis ; but none others occur in 
 sufficient numbers to be of economic importance. 
 
 The ' ' tree-hoppers' ' belong to the family Membracidcs, and 
 contain many odd-looking types. The general shape has been 
 compared to a beech-nut, and the most prominent part is always 
 the thorax, which may be produced into a curved horn forward, 
 into a broad hump, into a pair of curved lateral horns, into a 
 double hump, or into a dozen other forms. The species occur 
 on trees, shrubs, vines, and indeed on vegetation generally, 
 though rarely in great numbers. Some species excrete honey- 
 dew, some lay their eggs in white frothy masses on plants, and a 
 few are attended by ants, thus resembling the plant-lice. Only 
 a few are troublesome, and of these are the ' ' buffalo tree- 
 hoppers," belonging to the genus Ceresa. They derive their 
 common name from the fact that the thorax is cut off" square 
 anteriorly, and projects into two short, lateral, curved horns, 
 which give it a fanciful resemblance to the massive front of a 
 buffalo. The head is small and scarcely noticeable, the horns 
 not being recognized at first as really belonging to the thorax. 
 This insect causes injury by laying its eggs in sHts on twigs of 
 apple- and other fruit trees. There appears to be almost a poi- 
 soning of the plant tissue, because the wounds, though apparently 
 slight, do not readily heal over, but rather open up the year 
 following, giving rise to an abnormal swelling, weak and morbid 
 in character, unable to sustain the weight of any fruit that occurs 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 139 
 
 beyond it, and ready to break in the first high wind. On old or 
 large trees the insects are rarely dangerous, because their injury 
 results in only a little pruning, but on young trees they may 
 cause deformities ; hence, if the insects are noticed in a young 
 orchard, it will be advisable to go over it carefully during the 
 winter, to trim out all infested twigs or branches, burning the 
 
 Fig. 100. 
 
 Buffalo tree-hopper, Ceresa bubalus.—a, adult; b, c, d, tarsus, antenna, and wing-, /,g, 
 tip of abdomen, showing ovipositor. 
 
 cuttings to destroy the eggs. Active insecticide applications are 
 hardly indicated. 
 
 Next come the cicadas, or "harvest-flies," often miscalled 
 locusts, and the largest of the Homoptera. They are easily known 
 by their broad, transparent wings, the large head with prominent 
 eyes set on each side, and by their intensely shrill, loud song, 
 which during midsummer forms one of the common sounds 
 of the country. The author of this concert is the ' ' dog-day 
 harvest-fly," greenish in color, more or less marked with black. 
 The noise is produced by an elaborate drumming and resonating 
 structure on the under side of the thorax and abdomen of the 
 
I40 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 males, who alone are musical, giving rise to that" oft- quoted old 
 saying,— 
 
 " Happy the cicadas' lives, 
 For all have voiceless wives." 
 
 The plan of the sound-organs can best be described by com- 
 paring to a slightly convex-bottomed tin pan, which makes a 
 
 Fig. ioi. 
 
 Fig. I02. 
 
 a, Ceresa bubalus, ovipositing in slits b ; the 
 eggs, d, arranged as at c ; old, scarred punc- 
 tures shown at e. 
 
 The dog-day harvest-fly, 
 Cicada tibicen. 
 
 snapping noise whenever the bottom is forced to change from 
 convex inwardly to convex outwardly. By an exceedingly rapid 
 snapping of the convex "drum" of the cicada, the continuous 
 shrilling sound is produced, intensified and modified by the vari- 
 ous tense membranes more or less surrounding it. 
 
 The most famous species of this family is the ' ' periodical 
 cicada," or " seventeen-year locust," Cicada septendecim. It is 
 of especial interest from the unusually long larval period, re- 
 maining in the Middle and Northern States sixteen years beneath 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 141 
 
 the surface of the ground, feeding on the juices of roots, and 
 transforming in the spring of the seventeenth year into a winged 
 adult. No less than twenty-two broods have been tabulated in 
 the United States, chiefly through the efforts of the late Dr. C. 
 V. Riley, so that we know approximately how each is distributed, 
 and are able to foretell with certainty when the insects will appear 
 and about what territory they will cover. A further point of 
 
 Fig. 103. 
 
 The periodical cicada, C septendecim.—a, pupa, ready to change; b, pupa-skin from 
 which the adult c has emerged ; c, eggs, taken from the egg-punctures d. 
 
 interest is that in the more southern States the period of develop- 
 ment is somewhat shorter, thirteen years only being required to 
 bring the insect to maturity. Much confusion was caused in 
 arranging the broods until this fact was understood ; but experi- 
 ments have now been made in transferring eggs of the thirteen- 
 year variety to northern regions, and eggs of the seventeen-year 
 variety to southern regions ; the object being to ascertain whether 
 climate would affect the larval period in the first generation. 
 These experiments have not yet terminated. This cicada makes 
 up for the long intervals at which it occurs by the enormous 
 numbers in which it appears, and in a " locust' ' year its loud 
 
142 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 104. 
 
 song may be heard at all periods of the day and until late into 
 the night, from the end of May to nearly the end of June, louder 
 and more intense on warm or hot days. No injury is done by 
 the insects in feeding, but their egg-laying habits often cause 
 
 considerable trouble. Though 
 the larvae feed under ground, the 
 eggs are laid in the twigs and 
 branches of trees ; a series of slits 
 being cut by the powerful ovi- 
 positor of the female, forming 
 smooth chambers in which the 
 eggs are arranged in series. 
 There is nothing to be done when 
 such a brood occurs except take 
 the injury and make the best of 
 it. Of course valuable plants or 
 trees can be protected by mos- 
 quito-netting, but my statement 
 applies to ordinary farm and or- 
 chard crops. The fact that we 
 know when the insects are to 
 appear makes it possible for the 
 fruit-grower to guard himself to 
 some extent by not setting out 
 young stock. On old trees no 
 serious injury will be done, and 
 if no pruning is attempted during 
 the winter preceding, the insects 
 will probably find an abundance 
 of useless twigs to oviposit in. 
 Young trees, however, are some- 
 times so injured as to make them 
 practically useless, either by com- 
 pletely spoiling the shape, or by 
 so weakening the main branches 
 that they never become strong enough to bear a proper top. 
 Wherever the English sparrow has been introduced, the period 
 ical cicada is doomed. These birds seem to have an intense 
 hatred for the insects, attacking and pulling them to pieces in 
 
 Cicada egg-punctures : at a, freshly 
 made; at b, old and distended. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 143 
 
 the most wanton manner. Near the large cities where the spar- 
 rows are numerous, entire broods have already been destroyed. 
 In 1889 the insects appeared in large numbers in Prospect Park, 
 Brooklyn, and in the surrounding woodland, but in an entire 
 day's careful search I found only a single branch containing 
 eggs! 
 
 That it may be known in a general way where and when these 
 insects may be expected, the following record of the broods is 
 
 Fig. 105. 
 
 Cicada egg-punctures, seen at a, from outside ; b, cut down on puncture to show the 
 two chambers ; c, side view of an egg-chamber ; d, a pair of egg-chambers from which 
 the eggs have been removed. 
 
 given, with the date of last appearance, the time when they may 
 be next expected, and the country covered by them. The state- 
 ment is made up from the reports and bulletins of the United 
 States Department of Agriculture. 
 
 Brood I. last appeared in 1893 ; will appear again in 1910. 
 Occurs in Massachusetts and Connecticut in small numbers. 
 
 Brood II. appeared last in 1895 ; will appear again in 1908. 
 It covers the northwestern part of Georgia, and appears at thir- 
 teen-year intervals. No very definite limits have been assigned 
 to it. 
 
 Brood III., originally supposed to occur in Ohio in 1887, was 
 based on erroneous information. 
 
 Brood IV. is of the thirteen-year variety, appeared last in 
 1883, and will appear again in 1896, covering parts of Florida, 
 
144 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, but it seems not to be 
 very numerous. 
 
 Brood V. occurred last in 1888 and will appear next in 1905. 
 It covers parts of Southern Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, the 
 eastern third of Iowa, the northwest counties of Indiana, and the 
 more southern part of Michigan. This brood is very numerous 
 in individuals. 
 
 Brood VI. occurred last in 1884 and will occur again in 1897, 
 being of the thirteen-year race. It occurs in the southwestern 
 part of Mississippi and extends into Louisiana, infesting a com- 
 paratively small territory only. 
 
 Brood VII. occurred last in 1885, and will occur again in 
 1898, being also of the thirteen-year race. It occurs in South- 
 ern Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, 
 Mississippi, and Tennessee. 
 
 Brood VIII. appeared last in 1889, and will appear again in 
 1906. It covers a portion of Southern Massachusetts, a large 
 part of Long Island, extends along the Atlantic Coast to the 
 Chesapeake Bay and for some distance into Pennsylvania, Ken- 
 tucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois 
 
 Brood IX. occurred last in 1891 and will appear again in 1908. 
 It occurs in parts of Nebraska and probably in portions of Colo- 
 rado, though it has not yet been satisfactorily limited. 
 
 Brood X. occurred last in 1888 and will appear again in 1901, 
 being of the thirteen-year race. It has been recorded from Texas, 
 but is yet a doubtful brood, requiring fuller observations than 
 have been made to substantiate it positively. 
 
 Brood XI. occurred in 1893 '^^'^ will occur again in 1910. It 
 is a large one, covering parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Mary- 
 land, Illinois, and Indiana, although not the entire State in any 
 instance. 
 
 Brood XII. occurred last in 1894 and will make its next ap- 
 pearance in 191 1. It extends along both sides of the Hudson 
 for its full length, into Southern New York, Connecticut, through 
 the entire State of New Jersey, and into Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
 Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. 
 
 Brood XIII. appeared in 1895 and will appear again in 191 2. 
 It occurs throughout a large part of Iowa, and probably a portion 
 of Illinois and Missouri. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 145 
 
 Brood XIV. will appear in 1896, and covers Western Missouri, 
 extending into Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Northern Texas, and 
 Indian Territory. 
 
 Brood XV. will occur in 1897 i" Western Pennsylvania and 
 Ohio, extending into Kentucky and West Virginia. 
 
 Brood XVI. appeared last in 1893 and will appear again in 
 1906, being of the thirteen-year race. It occurs in the northern 
 portion of Georgia, but its limits are not well defined. 
 
 Brood XVII. will appear next in 1898 and at intervals of 
 seventeen years thereafter. It occurs in Wisconsin, the north- 
 ern part of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and parts of New York, as well 
 as isolated localities in New Jersey. The brood is a small one, 
 however, especially in the southern part of its range, and appar- 
 ently dying out. 
 
 Brood XVIII. occurred in 1894 and will occur again in 1907, 
 being of the thirteen-year race. It is a very well-recorded one, 
 and covers Southern Illinois, nearly all of Missouri, Louisiana, 
 Arkansas, Indian Territory, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, 
 Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina. 
 
 Brood XIX. occurred last in 1882 and will occur again in 
 
 1899. It is a small one and confined to a few counties in Central 
 and Northern New York, — that is, Monroe, Livingston, Madi- 
 son, Yates, and, perhaps, those immediately adjoining. 
 
 Brood XX. appeared last in 1883 and will appear again in 
 
 1900. It occurs in Western New York and Pennsylvania and 
 Eastern Ohio. It is a small brood and does not attract attention. 
 
 Brood XXI. occurred last in 1884 and will occur again in 
 
 1 901. It covers parts of North Carolina, Virginia, and West 
 Virginia, and may possibly occur in Massachusetts (Martha's 
 Vineyard) as well. 
 
 Brood XXII. appeared last in 1885 and will appear again in 
 
 1902. It occurs on Long Island, in New York, New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Vir- 
 ginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, 
 Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Brood 
 VII., of the thirteen-year race, and Brood XXII., of the seventeen- 
 year race, come in contact in Southern Illinois and Northern 
 Georgia, and it may happen, as it did in 1885, that these two 
 broods appear during the same year at the same place. 
 
146 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 b 
 
 FulgoridcE, or lantern-flies. — a, Scolops 
 sulcipes ; b, Paeciloptera truncaticorms ; 
 twice natural size. 
 
 The FuIgorid(s, or ' ' lantern-flies, ' ' contain some very remark- 
 able and striking species in tropical countries, but are sparsely 
 
 represented by somewhat rare 
 species in our fauna. Perhaps 
 the most common of our forms 
 are species of Onnenis, pale 
 green or whitish, having some- 
 what the appearance of small 
 wedges, the broad wing-covers 
 being flattened vertically. They 
 may be found on the under side 
 of leaves of various plants, par- 
 ticularly grape, sucking the 
 juices, preferably from the larger 
 veins or ribs. None of them are 
 injurious, and the family is mentioned only that our common 
 species may be recognized. 
 
 The "spittle-insects," or "frog-hoppers," of the family Cer- 
 copidcB, resemble some forms of tree-hoppers in their habit of 
 
 laying the eggs in little, 
 iG. 107. frothy, white masses. These 
 
 masses of ' ' frog-spittle' ' are 
 often noticed in grass lands, 
 but their true character is 
 rarely understood. Unlike 
 the "tree-hoppers," the 
 CercopidcB never have horn- 
 like processes or projections, 
 but are usually squat, some- 
 what angular, yet flattened 
 creatures, whose popular 
 name, "frog-hoppers," has 
 been obtained by the some- 
 what fanciful resemblance of the insects to a frog when just ready 
 to leap. Few of these species, so far as I have any information, 
 are sufficiently injurious to be of economic importance. They 
 feed on a great variety of plants, but are rarely common on culti- 
 vated crops. 
 
 It is different with the "leaf-hoppers," or Jass id a;, which are 
 
 Cercopid, or spittle-insect. — a, larva, en- 
 larged; (^,same, natural size, on a leaf bearing 
 "frog-spittle;" c, the adult, enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 147 
 
 small, slender insects with the wing-covers narrow and slightly- 
 thicker than the broad hind wings, which are the only effective 
 organs of flight. The thorax is broad and square, the head 
 usually short and very broad, in most cases somewhat crescent- 
 shaped, with prominent eyes occupying a large part of the sides. 
 If we examine the insects on the under side it appears as if the 
 beak or rostrum came out from the breast between the front legs, 
 so much is the head curved under. The antennae are very short 
 and bristle-like ; the legs are well developed, the hind pair espe- 
 cially being very long and powerful, set with spines on the tibiae, 
 
 Fig. 108. 
 
 Development of a Jassid, Agallia sanguinolenta.—a, larva; b, pupa; c, adult ; also head 
 of same from below. 
 
 somewhat as in the grasshoppers, and like them the insects are 
 powerful leapers. This they are in all stages, but as adults they 
 are also ready fliers, and hence diflicult to capture. Many of 
 them are common and, feeding on cultivated plants, are injurious. 
 As in other families, there is considerable difference in the life 
 history of the species ; but of most of those of economic impor- 
 tance it may be said that they pass the winter in the adult stage, 
 hiding in all sorts of rubbish or in crevices, wherever they find 
 opportunity. Some time in spring they leave their winter quar- 
 ters, attack the plants upon which they feed, and lay eggs. The 
 number of hibernating individuals is usually not very great, but 
 they lay a large number of eggs, and the young and future broods 
 become troublesome. One of the best-known species is that 
 
148 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 The grape-leaf-hopper, Etythroneura vitis ; at rest, 
 and with wings expanded. 
 
 found on grape-vines, which causes the leaves during the latter 
 part of the summer to become marked with brown spots, some- 
 tmies in such numbers that they become confluent and the entire 
 leaf is "burnt." If we tap a leaf at this time swarms of little 
 creatures, not exceeding an eighth of an inch in length, prettily 
 
 marked with green, rosy- 
 ^'^- '°9- red, and yellow, will fly 
 
 or jump from them. 
 Earlier in the season 
 they are yellow or green- 
 ish, without wings, but 
 jump readily if disturbed. 
 On roses we find a simi- 
 lar appearance, and here 
 the species are green or 
 yellowish, without much 
 marking. Many are the crops infested by these little hoppers, 
 and, though there are good characters by which they can be 
 distinguished scientifically, yet to ordinary observation they 
 appear much alike, except in size and color. 
 
 The methods of preventing injury are much the same for all 
 species. In the first place, where experience has shown that the 
 insects are likely to occur during the summer, all rubbish should 
 be disposed of in the course of the winter preceding. This can 
 be done by collecting and burning, or by plowing under very 
 early and cultivating so as to leave a clean field. Loose bark, 
 dead branches, twigs, or scaly fence-posts should all be attended 
 to, and piles of dead grass or weeds along fences or in corners 
 should be burnt or otherwise destroyed. In this way much can 
 be done to prevent the insects from getting a start. When the 
 larvae are first noticed great success has been attained in vine- 
 yards by walking along the sides of vines strung on wires, dis- 
 turbing them to start the insects, which jump wildly and readily. 
 A shingle or palm-leaf fan smeared on both sides with coal-tar or 
 insect-lime should be kept in constant motion near the vines, and 
 by this fanning a great quantity of the jumping larvae will be drawn 
 to the smeared surfaces and destroyed. This method is practical, 
 and has been found effective within my own experience ; so large 
 a proportion of the insects being captured in the course of two 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 149 
 
 days that subsequently they were not noticeable. If this method 
 cannot for any reason be used, the kerosene emulsion diluted ten 
 times may be applied, and the vines should be disturbed as the 
 spraying is done. If a Vermorel nozzle is used, it can be held 
 a little distance from the vines and will hit the insects while they 
 are in the air, either jumping or flying. The wetting done in 
 this way is as effective as when done on the leaves, and there is 
 even more chance of hitting them in the air than at rest. So the 
 effort should be to fill the air around the vines, for some little 
 distance, with the fine mist-like spray so easily produced by the 
 
 . Vermorel nozzle. This method should also be made use of if the 
 insects are found in numbers after they are winged. It is appli- 
 cable in many cases, but hardly practical where insects feeding 
 upon wheat or similar plants are to be dealt with. It has been 
 found that the adults are attracted to light, and the electric arc- 
 light, particularly, destroys myriads of them. I have seen in a 
 
 'single globe no less than one pint of leaf-hoppers, and the num- 
 ber included in that measure is almost impossible of estimate. 
 The unfortunate feature in this method is that the damage to 
 vegetation has been done when it takes effect, and it is in the 
 line of preventing injury during the year ensuing, which can 
 be accomplished as readily by the winter treatment. In fact, 
 cleaning up during winter is strongly insisted upon, and will pay 
 many times over. A great number of leaf-hoppers are found in 
 grass lands, where they do much more injury than is generally 
 supposed, — an experiment in Iowa seeming to prove that just 
 about one-half the crop is destroyed in badly infested fields. The 
 experiment was made by setting off two patches of equal size, as 
 nearly equal in all respects as could be made, leaving the one 
 untreated and collecting the leaf-hoppers from the other. Cattle 
 were pastured on both parcels, and that on which the insects 
 were collected supported iust double the number. The insects 
 were collected by means of shallow pans coated with tar, drawn 
 by man or horse-power, and in jumping or flying up before it they 
 alighted immediately behind the edge, upon the tar. It requires 
 very few such collections to practically exterminate the pests on 
 a tract of land, but of course the question remains whether it 
 will pay. On grass lands winter treatment is hardly practicable, 
 and collecting in pans is perhaps the only available method. 
 
ISO 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. iio. 
 
 A water-boatman, Notonecta species. 
 
 Fig. III. 
 
 The sub-order Hetcroptera contains those species of bugs in 
 which the upper wings are thickened toward the base and the 
 
 terminal portion is membraneous 
 and veined. We have a large 
 number of species belonging here, 
 and some large series may be en- 
 tirely left out of consideration. 
 Such, for instance, are the 
 aquatic families, all of which seem 
 to be carnivorous in habit, 
 whether they live on the surface 
 of the water or beneath it. One 
 of the water-boatmen, a species of Corisa, may be mentioned, 
 because its eggs are used as food in Mexico. These eggs are 
 nearly white in color, about one-tenth of an inch in diameter, and 
 laid in great numbers on sedges, where they are collected by the 
 
 natives. Judging from the usual odor 
 of the bugs and from the taste of 
 such eggs as are sometimes involun- 
 tarily eaten on fruits, it requires a 
 specially-developed gustatory appa- 
 ratus to enjoy a meal of this char- 
 acter. This suggests the fact that 
 one of the peculiarities of this sub- 
 order is the more or less marked 
 presence of odors, differing some- 
 what in kind, but all of them intensely 
 disagreeable. In bed-bugs we have 
 one type in marked perfection, while 
 in the ' ' squash-bug' ' we find an ex- 
 cellent illustration of another. 
 
 One of the water-bugs that some- 
 times attracts attention is a huge 
 creature, two or three inches in 
 length, broad in proportion, livid 
 gray in color, flattened above, with 
 a short beak and very large, thick- 
 ened forelegs, often drawn in considerable numbers to electric 
 lights. It is the Belostoma americana, which lives in ponds and 
 
 Belostoma americana. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 151 
 
 Streams, where it feeds on other insects and small fish, destroy- 
 ing large numbers. During the night the winged individuals 
 leave the ponds, pair, and fly to new localities to lay their eggs. 
 So abundantly do they occur that they sometimes become nui- 
 sances near electric lights, and have been termed from this fact 
 ' ' electric-light bugs. ' ' 
 
 Sometimes we find slender, spider-like creatures of a brown 
 color scudding over the surface of the water at a rapid rate, and 
 
 Fig. 112. 
 
 A water-strider, Rheumatobates rileyi, female. — a, anterior tarsus ; b, ovipositor ; c, hind 
 
 tarsus. 
 
 these are ' ' water striders, ' ' or Hydrobatidce. They are inter- 
 esting because some of them pass their entire lives upon the 
 ocean, miles from land. These are said to feed upon the juices 
 of such dead fish and other animals as they find on the surface, 
 and probably also on the floating masses of sea-weed occurring 
 in equatorial regions where they are most common. 
 
 The first family of economic importance among the terrestrial 
 species is the Reduviidce , containing species of quite large size. 
 
152 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 distinguished by a comparatively small, narrow head with promi- 
 nent eyes, and by a short, very stout, curved, pointed beak, 
 which rests, when not in use, in a little groove between the 
 front legs. The insects are strongly built, with legs usually well 
 developed, and, as they are predaceous, are to be regarded as 
 
 friends. The very small 
 Fig. 113. head and short, slightly 
 
 yc^^^j-riJH ^i^ y ,..,^^^^ curved, pointed beak, serve 
 
 to distinguish them from 
 the plant-feeding species. 
 They readily puncture the 
 skin of any one handling 
 them carelessly, and the 
 
 Wing of Heteropteron with all the regions (,i -^ x • j- 1 
 
 named. " bite IS exceedingly pain- 
 
 ful, the poison injected 
 into the wound being intensely irritating, and sometimes causing 
 considerable swelling, with pain lasting for days. One of the 
 species has adapted itself to life in houses, feeding upon flies and 
 bed-bugs. The young have the curious habit of coating them- 
 selves with particles of dust or fibre which conceals them perfectly 
 from casual observation. A similar species, Conorhinus sangui- 
 sugis, nearly an inch in length, is found in houses in the South- 
 ern States, — not to feed on bed-bugs, however, but as a bed-bug 
 itself. It is especially inclined to bite children, and many cases 
 of supposed spider-bites are believed by Dr. Leconte to be really 
 due to this insect. He also states that he has known a patient 
 to suffer from the effects of such a ' ' bug' ' bite for nearly a year. 
 Fortunately, the insects are not very common, their large size 
 and black color, with red markings, making them easily visible 
 and readily destroyable. 
 
 The largest species occurring in the Eastern United States is 
 the so-called "wheel-bug," Prionidus cristatus, and this becomes 
 more common southwardly. It lays its curious, jug-like eggs in 
 hexagonal masses on bark of trees, fences, or any other conven- 
 ient locality, and the adult, which is brown in color, is one of the 
 most readily recognized of our species. The thorax has a semi- 
 circular crest, the edge of which is toothed, so that, viewed from 
 the side, it has somewhat the appearance of a segment of a cir- 
 cular saw. It attacks all sorts of insects, piercing them with its 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 153 
 
 powerful beak and sucking their juices. There are other species 
 of the same general appearance common everywhere, and some 
 even maintain themselves in our cities, feeding upon the larvae 
 injuring shade-trees. I have noticed certain of them in New 
 Brunswick destroying the larvae of the elm-leaf beetle in large 
 
 Fig. 114. 
 
 The wheel-bug, Prionidus cristatus, in all its stages; natural size. 
 
 numbers. Taking it altogether, we find in this family mainly 
 forms that are beneficial to the farmer. 
 
 There are a few other common species, also predaceous in 
 character, but much smaller and more slender than the pre- 
 ceding, belonging to the family Nabidce, Our common species 
 of the genera Nabis and Coriscus are yellowish in color, flat- 
 tened above and rather roughened, with long legs, but other- 
 wise resembling in head and beak the usual predaceous form, 
 except that the beak is longer and more slender. They are 
 found on flowers and leaves, preying upon almost anything that 
 they can conquer. 
 
154 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 A very curious, chunky little species, with the sides of the 
 abdomen much elevated, and the forelegs much broadened and 
 fitted for clasping, belongs to the genus Phymata and the family 
 Phytnatidce. It is yellow and brown in color, and has the habit 
 
 of placing itself in the centre of 
 Fig. 115. certain flowers, in such a manner 
 
 as to seem a part of the flower 
 itself It is thus in position to seize 
 any unlucky insect that comes 
 within reach, and, although it is 
 scarcely a quarter of an Inch in 
 
 Fig. 116. 
 
 Nabis/iisca. 
 
 Phymata erosa.—a, b, adult, from above and 
 side; c, front leg; d, beak. 
 
 length, it is sufficiendy powerful to hold and conquer even 
 honey-bees. Butterflies are frequently its victims, and it is one 
 of the oddest forms in this order. 
 
 We sometimes find on the under side of leaves of tree and 
 shrub, litde whitish, flat creatures, with gauze-like, broad wing- 
 covers, and a broad, gauze-like expansion covering the thorax. 
 These belong to the family Tingitidce and are among the prettiest 
 species in the order. There is no difficulty in recognizing them 
 in the adult stage, by their lace-like or reticulated covering, 
 which is sometimes banded with brown or spotted. Beneath 
 this covering the insects are black or brown, and occasionally 
 they increase sufficiently to do some injury to the plants upon 
 which they feed. The adults usually live through the winter and 
 lay their eggs in spring ; but sometimes eggs are laid in fall, and 
 the insects winter in that stage. For shelter, fallen leaves are 
 usually employed, or the adults creep under loose bark scales or 
 into crevices, and we must again recommend winter work in clear- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 155 
 
 Fig. 117. 
 
 ing up rubbish of all kinds, or plowing it under. Where this is 
 done there will be no necessity for active treatment in summer. 
 They may be destroyed at that time, however, by the application 
 of the kerosene emulsion diluted ten times, or by the whale-oil 
 soap used at the rate of one pound in four gallons of water. 
 
 Perhaps no insect is better known than the "bed-bug," Acan- 
 thia ledularia, which occurs, especially in hotels, throughout the 
 country. It is wingless, very much flattened, broadly oval in 
 shape, and red brown in color. It is 
 able to crawl into the narrowest crev- 
 ices, and no bedstead has yet been 
 made which does not afford it shelter. 
 It is nocturnal in habit, seeking its 
 prey at night and occasionally making 
 life miserable. Where a house be- 
 comes thoroughly infested, specimens 
 are found under baseboards, beneath 
 loose paper, in cracks in the plaster, 
 and in fact wherever there is an open- 
 ing large enough to insert the blade 
 of a thm knife. They multiply rapidly 
 and are able to do without food for a 
 considerable period. In houses that 
 
 have been long abandoned, bed-bugs of all sizes may sometimes 
 be found, perfectly transparent as if they had been always with- 
 out food. It is probable, therefore, that they are able to subsist 
 upon some substance other than human blood. Where they are 
 accidentally introduced into a house and confined to beds, there 
 is nothing better for use than kerosene or gasoline. It should be 
 liberally applied in joints, crevices, and wherever there is the 
 least opening, so as to reach the bottom before the material soaks 
 into the wood, A single thorough application of this kind 
 usually proves successful, although it would be better to renew it 
 a week afterward, to reach forms that have hatched from eggs 
 since the previous application ; for in my experience neither 
 kerosene nor gasoline destroys the eggs with certainty. Another 
 effective remedy is corrosive sublimate dissolved in alcohol, and 
 this has the advantage of being more lasting, remaining effective 
 for some time after it is applied. It is, however, exceedingly 
 
 The bed-bug, Acanthia lectulana. 
 
156 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 poisonous, and must be used with that fact in mind. Professor 
 Comstock states that where, in travelhng, ' ' one is forced to lodge 
 at places infested by these insects, or by fleas, protection from 
 them can be had by sprinkling a small quantity of pyrethrum 
 powder between the sheets of the bed on retiring." 
 
 Rather closely allied to the bed-bug in structure, if not in habit, 
 are a number of very small, flat species, with fully developed 
 wing-covers, which are usually found on flowers, feeding upon yet 
 smaller insects and perhaps also on eggs. They belong to the 
 family Atithocoridcz, and the most common is a minute black in- 
 sect with yellow-tipped wings, known as 
 Fig. nS. \\^q "insidious flower bug," Triphleps in- 
 
 sidiosjis, credited with feeding among others 
 upon the insects in Phylloxera galls. 
 
 Now follow the Capsidce, containing a 
 long series of species softer in texture than 
 most of those heretofore described. They 
 are plant bugs par excellence, found on 
 vegetation of all kinds, frequently in very 
 great numbers, and feeding upon their 
 juices. The wing covers are soft and flex- 
 _ . ,, ^. , ible throughout, though thickened basally. 
 
 Tripnleps insiaiosits, the o ■ ■o ^ j 
 
 " insidious flower-bug." They puncture leaf, twig, stem, or flower, 
 and, where these punctures have been 
 made, there is usually a drying of the tissue which interrupts the 
 nourishment of the plant and often causes injury. As a rule, the 
 species are green or yellowish in color, sometimes black speckled, 
 and occasionally with reddish markings. In form they vary, 
 being sometimes broadly oval, sometimes quite narrow. The 
 antennae are usually long and prominent, and the " buggy" odor 
 is well developed. We have a number of species abundant 
 enough to be injurious, and the question of dealing with them is 
 sometimes complicated. The insects winter in different stages ; 
 often as an e^^ laid in twigs, as with the "four-lined plant-bug," 
 Pcecilocapsiis lineatus, attacking among others currant and goose- 
 berry bushes. The application of insecticides to kill plant-bugs 
 has been found unsatisfactory. They resist even the kerosene 
 emulsion quite strongly, and in order to kill adults it cannot be 
 diluted more than five times. Even against immature forms a 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 157 
 
 very strong mixture is necessary, and not more than six or seven 
 parts of water can be added if a good effect is expected. In the 
 case of the four-Hned bug already mentioned, the knowledge 
 that it lays its eggs near the tips of currant and other twigs 
 suggests a careful winter pruning, the cut twigs and branches to 
 be burnt, and in this way injury may be prevented during the 
 year following. This measure is successfully used where shrubby 
 
 Fig. 119. 
 
 Pcecilocapsus lineatus, four-lined plant-bug, natural size and enlarged : also egg mass 
 in currant, and, at e, a single egg, greatly enlarged. 
 
 or woody plants are attacked ; but on succulent annuals, collect- 
 ing the insects in the morning, before they have become active, 
 by shaking them into some sort of receptacle, is the most satis- 
 factory method. 
 
 In the Cotton belt there was no more troublesome insect, some 
 years ago, than the "red-bug," or " cotton-stainer," Dysdercus 
 suturellus, so named from the fact that its excrement, voided in 
 the opening bolls, stained the cotton red, and thus caused it to 
 become of inferior value. Since cotton-seed has become almost 
 as valuable as the cotton itself, and is now completely used up, 
 it has been found that these insects have become practically harm- 
 less. It seems that they were enabled to multiply unduly in the 
 heaps of decaying cotton-seed, and since at present no such heaps 
 exist they cannot increase so rapidly. They also attack oranges 
 in Florida, and Professor Comstock recommends that they be 
 
158 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 trapped by placing small heaps of cotton-seed in the groves, to 
 attract them where they can be easily destroyed with pure kero- 
 sene. 
 
 Fig. I 20. 
 
 Fig. 121. 
 
 Dysdercus sidurelbis. — a, pupa; b, adult. 
 
 In the family Lygceidce we have species that are oblong in 
 shape, rounded behind and flattened above. They " have quite 
 
 long beaks, a moderate- 
 sized head, and all of 
 them are vegetable feed- 
 ers. The body is rather 
 hard, and the insects are 
 often brilliantly or gaudily 
 _ ^iivA/ilk. \^ / .mik. \ colored, black and red, 
 
 * ^W^Q^"N^ T ^^^B■1\^^ "^ ^^ strongest possible 
 / IIKI \ I ^HK \ contrast, being favorite 
 
 m ymm w jj Wmf il combinations. Some be- 
 
 r cQnig nearly an inch in 
 length, though most of 
 them are much smaller. 
 The best known of the species is the "chinch-bug," B/issus 
 leucopterus, less than one-fifth of an inch in length, blackish- 
 
 The chinch-bug, Blissus leucopterus ; long and 
 short-winged forms, enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 159 
 
 brown in color, and with soft white wing-covers, which make it 
 quite conspicuous. It feeds on grass crops of all kinds, in- 
 cluding grain and corn, and causes enormous injury annually. 
 It can hardly be said that we have any entirely satisfactory 
 means of controlling this pest at the present time. Elaborate 
 experiments have been made in some of the Central States with 
 a fungous disease to which the insects are subject, but the out- 
 come has hardly equalled expectations. We know positively 
 that they hibernate in the adult stage, hidmg everywhere, and 
 appearing in spring to oviposit just beneath the soil upon roots, 
 or on stems at or above the surface. It is said that a single 
 female lays about five hundred eggs. The brood becomes adult 
 in midsummer, or thereabouts, and there is then a tendency 
 to migrate, particularly if the original infestation was in wheat, 
 which is by that time mature and does not suit them as food. 
 Corn or any other 
 
 grass crop in the ^^^- ^^2. 
 
 vicinity is then at- 
 tacked, though corn 
 is favored because 
 of its juiciness. 
 Elaborate publica- 
 tions on this insect 
 and the means for 
 its control have been 
 issued by the United ^^. ^^ 
 
 ■ Chinch-bug.— a, b, egg; c, newly-hatched larva; c, /, larva 
 
 otates Department further advanced; g, pupa; h, leg; i, beak ; j, tarsus. 
 
 of Agriculture, and 
 
 by the Experiment Stations in Illinois, Kansas, and other States 
 in the grain and corn-raising districts of the country. The 
 recommendations generally narrow down to a thorough clear- 
 ing up in winter to destroy as far as may be the hibernating 
 adults. When the migrations commence from wheat to corn, 
 protection may often be obtained by trenching. The insects 
 do not readily resort to flight even when adult, but rather march 
 from field to field, and, by interposing a trench which is not 
 easily crossed, and where the insects can be destroyed by means 
 of tar or kerosene, fields may be protected. As this subject 
 is yet under consideration by so many students, it will not be 
 
i6o 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 necessary to go into details here. The agriculturist in the regions 
 subject to chinch-bug attack should in each case inform himself 
 of what results have been reached, and what recommendations 
 are made by the Experiment Station in his own State. It need 
 only be added that the character of the weather frequently deter- 
 mines the increase of the insects, dry warm weather favoring, 
 and wet cold weather being unfavorable to their development. 
 
 In the family Coreidce we have species of moderate or large 
 size, many of them very curious in form and shape, some of them 
 carnivorous, but others vegetarian and more or less injurious. 
 They are oblong, rounded behind, the head rather small, with 
 long antennae, and a beak of moderate length. They are flat- 
 tened above, but very convex beneath, so that a section through 
 the insect would show an appearance nearly resembling an equi- 
 lateral triangle. The legs are usually of moderate length, but 
 sometimes become curiously enlarged, the hind legs especially 
 being subject to leaf-like expansion?, giving the insects a decidedly 
 odd and bizarre appearance. They are brown in color, some- 
 times black-marked, sometimes with reddish variegations, and 
 altogether, perhaps, they resemble most nearly the Reduviidce, 
 from which they are easily distinguished by the larger head and 
 the longer, flattened, four-jointed beak. All 
 the members of this family may be looked 
 upon with suspicion, because, although a 
 number of them do undoubtedly feed upon 
 other insects, yet some of these very pre- 
 daceous forms have also been observed feed- 
 ing upon plants, and it is more than likely 
 that they varj' their diet as occasion serves. 
 A typical representative of the injurious 
 forms is the well-known "squash-bug," 
 Anasa tristis, which attacks cucurbit vines 
 of all kinds and sometimes does notable 
 injury. The insect is dull grayish-brown in 
 color, the tips of the wing-covers darker, 
 while the edges are somewhat paler. It is 
 between one-half and three-fourths of an inch in length, quite a 
 ready flier, but with rather weak legs, and therefore a poor run- 
 ner. It is also called the "stink-bug," because of a peculiarly 
 
 Fig 
 
 The squash- bug, Anasa 
 lyistis. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. l6i 
 
 offensive musky odor, which is quite lasting and noticeable even 
 after stained hands have been thoroughly washed. We find the 
 adult late in fall, and it remains in that condition during the winter, 
 under bark of trees, under rubbish, in barns and similar localities. 
 A large number are destroyed by one cause or another during this 
 period, but some survive, and in the spring lay upon the squash 
 or other cucurbit vines patches of unusually large, almost golden- 
 brown eggs. The little fellows that hatch from them are much 
 shorter and broader in proportion than the adults, maturing some 
 time during midsummer, and providing thus for a second genera- 
 tion. Only two broods occur in the Middle States, though they 
 overlap somewhat, making it appear as if breeding continued 
 during the entire summer and early fall. The punctures made by 
 this insect in feeding seem to have a peculiarly poisonous effect 
 upon the plants, young vines especially being apt to succumb to 
 even a i^vi specimens. This is another of the cases where clean- 
 liness becomes advantageous, and constitutes also a method of 
 avoiding injury to a great extent. It has been found that the 
 second brood does not mature until quite late in fall, and, seem- 
 ingly, only those that become adult after the beginning of Sep- 
 tember have any tendency to go into winter quarters. It should 
 be the object of every grower afflicted by these insects to destroy 
 the cucurbit vines just as soon as he has all the crop he wants from 
 them. This can be done by plowing under thoroughly, or by 
 raking out and burning the vines. In either case the immature 
 bugs starve to death and never develop into adults. If this practice 
 is followed by all growers, in localities where raising cucurbits is 
 an industry, there is little danger of trouble from the insects. In 
 kitchen gardens, and on a small scale, injury may be prevented 
 by first picking off the bugs wherever they are noticed and, later, 
 picking off those parts of the leaves containing eggs. The eggs 
 are laid on the under side, and are so prominent that looking for 
 them is a matter of little difficulty, no cluster escaping a more 
 than casual glance. 
 
 Now comes a series of broad, heavily-built bugs, in which the 
 scutellum is greatly elongated and covers a large part of the 
 abdomen. In this, the Pentatomidce, the enlarged scutellum is 
 triangular, and has a lateral groove into which the edges of the 
 wing-covers fit when not in use. Here also we have some species 
 
 II 
 
l62 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 124. 
 
 that are predaceous and others that are plant-feeders, and, as in 
 the preceding case, it is difificult to say alv/ays whether the 
 species are beneficial or injurious. They will all stand watching, 
 at any rate, but, fortunately, not many of them occur in great 
 numbers. Perhaps the most marked exception is the " harlequin 
 cabbage-bug, ' ' Murgantia histrionica. This is one of the most 
 serious pests to cabbage in the Southern States, being found in 
 
 small numbers on Long 
 Island, in the southern part 
 of New Jersey, and then 
 increasing rapidly in num- 
 ber and destructiveness 
 throughout the South and 
 Southwest. These also win- 
 ter in the adult stage, and 
 egg-laying begins quite 
 early in the spring. They 
 are said to pass through all 
 their stages in two weeks, 
 and it can be readily seen 
 that there is room for a 
 number of generations in 
 the course of the season. Practical experiments seem to prove 
 that fighting the adults early in spring is most effective. Mus- 
 tard seems to be their favorite food-plant, and it is recommended 
 to plant rows of mustard between the cabbage rows for the pur- 
 pose of attracting the old bugs. They can be sprayed there 
 with pure kerosene, which kills them readily, and if it also kills 
 the mustard, no great harm is done ; or, they can be collected in 
 pans in the morning, before they have become active, and in this 
 way they will be sufficiently reduced in number to prevent them 
 from becoming troublesome later on. Of course this is another 
 of the remedies that depends for its greatest success upon com- 
 bined action. It has also been recommended that the hibernating 
 bugs be trapped in early spring under turnip or cabbage leaves, 
 preserved for that purpose during the winter. 
 
 The allied family Cydnidcs is interesting, having the legs formed 
 for digging, though otherwise resembling the preceding. Their 
 food habits are not well known ; but none of them are injurious. 
 
 Harlequin cabbage-bug, Murgantia histrion- 
 ica. — a, b, larva and pupa ; c, d, e, eggs, natural 
 size and enlarged, from side and top \/,g, adult. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 163 
 
 A very curious series is the Corimelce^iidce , or " negro-bugs," 
 distinct by their usually small size, their intense black colors, 
 which occasionally have a bluish or greenish 
 tinge, and by their very convex form. The ^"^- ^^5- 
 scutellum covers nearly the entire upper surface 
 of the body, and the insects are quite generally 
 mistaken for small beetles. They may be found 
 on plants of all kinds and sometimes in consider- 
 able numbers, but noticeable injury is rarely in- 
 flicted. Their most disagreeable habit is laying Fiea-iike negro- 
 eggs on a number of the small fruits, like black- ^^^' ^^'^^^^^ 
 
 ^^ _ ' ^«/(t:a>-za, enlarged. 
 
 berry and raspberry, and if these are crushed 
 
 in eating, an excessively disagreeable, ' ' bed-buggy' ' taste is 
 
 noticed. 
 
 The last family of this order to which we call attention, even 
 though it is not injurious, is the Scutelleridcs, the species of 
 which are yet more oval, though perhaps less convex than the 
 preceding. As before, the scutellum covers nearly the whole 
 of the abdomen, but these species are often brightly colored. 
 They are moderate in size or quite large, and are southern and 
 western, a few species only being rarely found northward. 
 
 Taking it altogether we have in the heteropterous series of the 
 Hemiptera forms which gain their food by sucking juices, and in 
 perhaps the majority of instances the juices of plants. Yet, 
 taking it altogether, there are comparatively few seriously injuri- 
 ous species, and, if we except the " chinch-bug," they do not 
 begin to compare with their homopterous brethren in the amount 
 of injury they do to farm crops. The insects are nearly all diffi- 
 cult to deal with, as they resist insecticides quite strongly. No 
 weak mixtures affect them, and even the kerosene emulsion 
 cannot be diluted more than three or four times, if any large 
 proportion of adults are to be killed. Stomach poisons are out 
 of the question, of course, and we are thus reduced to mechani- 
 cal means or farm practice to avoid trouble. These methods 
 have been indicated in the course of the chapter, and need no 
 formal repetition. 
 
164 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE COLEOPTERA OR BEETLES. 
 
 The Coleoptera, "horn-winged" insects, or beetles, are dis- 
 tinguished by the hard, horny, or tough, leathery texture of the 
 fore wings or elytra, which meet in a straight line down the 
 middle of the back, and are not used in flight, serving as wing- 
 covers only. They vary greatly, and are numerous in specimens 
 and species, over twelve thousand kinds having been described 
 from the United States and British America alone. They are as 
 diverse in habit as in size and form, some being among the most 
 dangerous enemies of agriculture, while others are among the 
 most useful. 
 
 It seems at first sight as if the recognition of beneficial or in- 
 jurious forms among so many would prove a hopeless task, and 
 yet we find it in most cases possible to say at a glance whether a 
 given specimen is herbivorous, i.e., plant- 
 FiG. 126. feeding, or carnivorous, i.e., flesh-feeding 
 
 ^]:C33Q::3:::3} and predaceous. 
 
 ^'^ All beetles are mandibulate and chew their 
 
 ~ ~L -~w^»-~3vJ-TCr^ food ; but in one series the head is more or 
 ^ J^ less prolonged into a snout or beak, at the 
 
 •~~v— >^ — r:^=^r\ 6nd of which the much reduced mouth parts 
 "^^^''^^^^^J'/ are situated. These are the Rhynchophora, 
 — |— '^V'T'^^;^ o"" "snout-beetles," all of which are plant- 
 "-^ JN-K^:^^/ feeders and injurious, or likely to prove so. 
 Tarsi in Coieoptera.- ^j^^ ^^^^ Co/eofitera, in which the head is 
 
 c, normally nve-jointea ; •< ' 
 
 b, normally four-jointed ; not prolonged iuto a beak; wc cau separate 
 r four-jointed, with the 1 ^|^g structurc of the tarsi or feet. Nor- 
 
 third joint deeply lobed, ^ 
 
 from side and from above, mally there are fivc joints or segments to 
 each pair of feet ; but there are many de- 
 partures from this rule, one large series having four apparent 
 joints only, of which the third is lobed or deeply notched. The 
 species in which this structure obtains are all plant-feeders ; 
 either on leaves or in stems, trunks, branches, or roots ; often 
 in dead, though more usually in living tissue. In no other case 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. ■ 165 
 
 is the structure of the tarsi alone an absolute guide to the food 
 habits ; but if we turn to the antennae or feelers we obtain an 
 additional basis. 
 
 Roughly speaking, the beetles, other than those already sepa- 
 rated off, may be divided into filicornia^ or those in which the 
 antennae are more or less thread-like, and which are usually car- 
 nivorous ; clavicornia, in which they enlarge toward the tip or 
 terminate in a more or less marked club, which are rarely carniv- 
 orous and usually scavengers ; serricornia, where the joints are 
 somewhat flattened and widen toward the tip, so that one mar- 
 gin resembles to a greater or less degree the toothed edge of a 
 saw, which are feeders upon vegetation, as a rule ; latnelli- 
 cornia, in which there is a leaf-like club at tip, which are always 
 vegetable feeders ; and vionilicornia, where the joints are more 
 or less oval or globular and set so as to appear like a string of 
 beads. 
 
 The terms JilKor?iia and monilicornia are not in general use at 
 the present time. The latter series has the hind tarsi four-jointed 
 and the anterior and middle five-jointed, whence they are now 
 termed Heteromera, or "different-jointed," to distinguish them 
 from the '' Isomera," where all feet have the same number of 
 segments. But they are not uniform in habit, so that the deter- 
 mination of an insect as belonging to this heteromerous series 
 does not at once determine whether it is friend or foe. For the 
 filicor7iia the term Adephaga is used, from the usually predaceous 
 habits. 
 
 Following the usual order of systematic arrangement, a com- 
 prehensive statement of the differences is as follows : 
 
 I. Series with the head not prolonged into a snout, true Coleoptera. 
 
 a, The antennae filiform, or thread-like, the tarsi with five joints on 
 
 all feet Adephaga. 
 
 b, The antennae thickening outwardly into a more or less well-formed 
 
 club, tarsi with an equal though varying number of joints on 
 all feet Clavicornia. 
 
 c, The antennae serrate or saw-toothed, the tarsi usually five- 
 
 jointed Serricornia. 
 
 d, The antennae with a lamellate or leaf-like club at tip, the tarsi 
 
 five-jointed Lamellicornia. 
 
 e, The antennae somewhat variable, the tarsi four-jointed, the third 
 
 deeply lobed or cleft Phvtophaga. 
 
1 66 ■ AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 ', The antennae variable, though usually moniliform ; fore and middle 
 
 tarsi five-jointed, hind tarsi four-jointed .... Heteromera. 
 
 2. Series with the head prolonged into a more or less prominent snout, 
 
 hence called snout-beetles or weevils Rhynchophora. 
 
 In the Adephaga there are many species of predaceous habit 
 in the larval as well as adult stage, of which a few more common 
 types may serve as examples. 
 
 The "tiger-beetles," or Cichidelida , are moderately large, 
 very active and graceful species, that run rapidly and fly readily. 
 Most of them frequent sandy or open spaces, their colors often 
 matching their surroundings with marvellous accuracy. On the 
 seashore they are white, or gray with white hairs and lines, and 
 on the marshes or mud-flats the prevailing colors are dull mouse- 
 gray, without contrasting lines. Early in spring a bright-green 
 species is found at the margin of woods or in shaded lanes, promi- 
 nent on the bare ground for an instant, but lost to sight at once, 
 when startled, in a tuft of grass or on a moss-covered stone or 
 log. 
 
 The larvae are uncouth creatures, rarely seen unless sought for. 
 They make vertical burrows in sandy soil or along roads, and 
 there wait for passing prey, their round flat head closing the 
 opening completely, while their eyes are so set as to command 
 the near surroundings. They are humped posteriorly, and on 
 the hump curved spines are set, which may be forced into the 
 burrow wall to maintain a position at any height, and to resist 
 without effort any ordinary attempt to pull them out of their den. 
 Though these "tigers" are exceedingly voracious, they are of 
 little benefit to the agriculturist, because they do not frequent 
 cultivated fields or orchards. 
 
 The Carabidcz, or "ground-beetles," run to black and brown 
 colors without prominent markings, and are usually more or less 
 flattened. They live under stones, sticks, leaves, or shelter of 
 any kind, in fields and along the edges of woods, more rarely in 
 the woods themselves, and sometimes under loose bark or even 
 among leaves. They are of a retiring disposition, and seldom 
 stir abroad until after dark, when the majority fly readily. Many 
 of them are attracted to light, and are recognizable, when they 
 strike the table or other flat surface, by the rapidity with which 
 they run, by their prominent mandibles, and slender, moderately- 
 
Fig. 129. 
 
 Fig. 133. 
 
 Fig. 130. 
 
 Fig. 131. Fig. 138. Fig. 128. Fig. 127, Fig. 132. 
 
 Fig. 135. 
 
 A® ^'SSl ylES) 
 
 Fig. 134. Fig. 136. 
 
 Tiger-beetles and ground-beetles. — Fig. 127, larva of Cicindela. Fig. 128, head of 
 Cicindela, to show mandible. Fig. 129, C. generosa. Fig. 130, C. purpurea. Fig. 131, 
 C. sexguttata. Fig. 132, C. repatida. Fig. 133, Calosoma calidum and its larva. Fig. 134, 
 C. scrutator. Fig. 135, Brachinus fumans. Fig. 136, Harpalus caliginosus. Fig. 137, 
 larva of Harpalus, devouring larva of plum-curculio. Fig. 138, Lebia grandis. All 
 except Fig. 135 about natural size. 
 
 167 
 
1 68 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 long antennae. Some of them are dirty clay-yellow in color, with 
 the disk of the wing-covers marked with black or brown. 
 
 We have only a few species belonging to the genera Carabus 
 and Calosoma, in marked contrast to the great number found in 
 European fields, none of our large forms having found life in 
 tilled land tolerable. The species of Calosoma often ascend trees 
 and feed on caterpillars, the term "caterpillar hunters" having 
 been in consequence applied to them ; but some of the smaller 
 species also have similar habits. In orchards they are sometimes 
 found hidden just beneath the surface of the soil, close to the base 
 of the trees. 
 
 The " Bombardier beetles," belonging to the genus Brachmus, 
 may be especially mentioned because of their peculiar power of 
 emitting a puff of bluish vapor from the anus when suddenly dis- 
 turbed. They have the body, head, and thorax reddish, the 
 elytra blue, and are found under stones along the edges of roads 
 and near woodlands, or, more rarely, in the loose rubbish at the 
 base of trees. 
 
 A series of very much flattened species frequents flowers, feeding 
 upon the minute insects abundant there, and these are sometimes 
 red and blue, or even brilliant metallic green, with the wing- 
 covers squarely cut oft behind so as to expose the tip of the 
 abdomen. Among these is the Lebia grandis, a moderate-sized 
 species, with yellowish-red head and thorax, and blue elytra, that 
 makes itself useful by feeding upon the eggs and larvae of the 
 Colorado potato-beetle. 
 
 But the great majority of our species are moderate in size, and 
 of powerful build, black or nearly so, lurking under all sorts of 
 rubbish in field and orchard, frequently in large numbers, yet 
 rarely observed, and ready at all times to pounce upon any soft- 
 bodied larvae that come within their range of vision. These 
 belong to the genera Pterostichus, Anisodadylus, Amara, Har- 
 palus, Agonoderus, or their close allies, and they are decidedly 
 important factors in checking the undue increase of certain species 
 which must go underground to complete their transformations, 
 — ^.^., the " plum-curculio," " pear-midge, " and others. Their 
 larvae are even more retiring and less frequently seen, but live 
 in similar situations. They are slender, more or less flattened, 
 of nearly equal width, with six short legs, a pair of prominent 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 [69 
 
 mandibles, and a pair of bristly processes at the anal end of the 
 body. 
 
 Two other families belonging to the Adephaga are aquatic in 
 the larval as well as adult stage, and are as predaceous as their 
 terrestrial relatives. 
 
 The DytiscidcB and ^^^- i39- 
 
 their larvae have been 
 termed "water- 
 tigers," and the larger 
 species attack small 
 fish as well as insects. 
 In form they are oval 
 and somewhat flat- 
 tened, and they may 
 often be seen rising to 
 the surface of quiet 
 pools or spring-holes, 
 head down, releasing 
 a bubble of air, and 
 then, after remaining 
 for a little time, with 
 
 the anal extremitV ^ water-tiger, Dytlscus marginalis. — a, larva, devour- 
 
 , , ^ ing an Agrion larva ; b, pupa ; c, male beetle, the elytra 
 
 aDOVe tne SUriace, ofthefemaleatsidejrf, anterior tarsus of the male, with 
 
 aSfain starting for the sucking disks ; e, tarsus of the female : a, b, c, about 
 
 1 ,, T-.. . natural size. 
 
 bottom. 1 here is con- 
 siderable space between the wing-covers and the abdomen in 
 these species, and this is utilized as a reservoir for the air which 
 the insect breathes beneath the surface. When it becomes impure 
 the beetle rises again to the surface, releases the vitiated air, and 
 takes in a new supply. 
 
 This ends the series Adephaga, and no practically injurious 
 forms exist in it ; all are more or less beneficial by reason of their 
 predaceous habits. Under some circumstances a few of the 
 species eat pollen, and after midsummer some have been found 
 gnawing grass-seed ; one or two species have even been found 
 eating into the kernels of corn, so there appears to be a tendency 
 to vary to a vegetable diet under certain conditions. In fact it 
 has been demonstrated that in many species some vegetable 
 matter is regularly eaten ; yet, as this feeding is not of a character 
 
170 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 injurious to the agriculturist, the series may be, as a whole, 
 accounted beneficial. 
 
 In the Clavicornia we have a much greater diversity of form, 
 and many families, differing widely in habit, and some of these are 
 economically important. 
 
 Fig. 140. 
 
 A water-scavenger, Hydrophiliis triangularis. — a, llie larva ; b, male adult ; c, pupa ; d, 
 opened, and e, closed egg case ; y to /, enlarged structural details of the adult. 
 
 First, joining to the aquatic Adephaga there are two families 
 of aquatic Clavicornia, the Hydrophilidce. or " water-scavengers," 
 and the GyrinidcE, or "whirligig-beetles," 
 The former resemble the water-tigers in 
 general appearance, but are more convex 
 above and more flattened below, usually with 
 brightly-polished wing-covers. The differ- 
 ence in the form of the antennae will easily 
 prevent confusing the families. 
 
 The Gyrinidce cannot be mistaken. They 
 ^^I^KV " are black or bronzed, oval, shining, with un- 
 
 ** *^ usually long forelegs, and disport themselves 
 
 in swarms on the surface of ponds and streams, 
 darting here and there, or sometimes swim- 
 ming rapidly in large or small, regular or 
 irregular circles, whence they derive their ' ' whirligig' ' appella- 
 tion. They are predaceous in all stages, but of no agricultural 
 value from their strictly aquatic habits. 
 
 A " whirligig"-beetle 
 ( 1 ) and its larva (2) : nat- 
 ural size. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 171 
 
 The family Silphidcs, containing what are popularly known as 
 "carrion" and "burying beetles," is in sharp contrast to any- 
 thing heretofore spoken of, and here the antennae are capitate, — 
 i.e., terminated by a spherical or ovate knob abruptly formed, 
 like a head. The beetles are usually found on or about carrion 
 of all kinds, though some of the smaller forms live in decaying 
 fungi. In the large species there are two distinct types, repre- 
 sented on the one hand by the genus Silpha, in which the species 
 
 Fig. 142. 
 
 Carrion beetles. — c, Necrophortis americana ; b, larva oi Silpha lapponica ; c, Silpha 
 
 americana. 
 
 are much flattened and proportionately very broad, with small 
 heads, and on the other by the genus Necrophoriis, in which the 
 species are much more heavily built, narrower, not flattened, and 
 with large heads. These are the true "burying" beetles, and 
 derive the name from their habit of excavating beneath small 
 dead animals and gradually sinking them below the surface level. 
 Then the females lay their eggs in and the larvae live upon the 
 buried and decaying creatures. The other carrion beetles make 
 no pretence of burying their prey, but lay their eggs at once, 
 and the larvae feed upon it from below, usually making a short 
 burrow in the soil for shelter, though this is not universal. In 
 both types the larvae are black, flattened, broadly oval, and with 
 
172 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 143. 
 
 Rove-beetle ami its larva. 
 
 the segments distinctly marked at the edges. These beetles have 
 the sense of smell wonderfully developed, and I have frequently 
 covered a small, freshly-killed animal with a box of wood or 
 tin, only to find next morning a number of the insects beneath 
 it. The species are generally nocturnal, and as scavengers are 
 useful, or at least innoxious. 
 
 The large series of "rove-beetles," or Staphylinida, is pecu- 
 liar in the short wing-covers, which leave more than half the 
 abdomen exposed. The species are always 
 long and comparatively narrow, usually 
 with a large head and Avell-developed man- 
 dibles, and live in all sorts of fermenting, 
 decaying, or excrementitious animal or 
 vegetable matter. Most of them are small, 
 and many are found beneath bark, in fer- 
 menting sap, or in fungi, while the larger 
 forms are often found in or under animal 
 excrement, or on or under carrion. In 
 short, the species are scavengers, with a 
 tendency to a predatory habit in some cases, and never any 
 disposition to feed upon growing vegetation. They may thus be 
 accounted either actively beneficial or at least not injurious, and 
 as scavengers they aid in reducing organic matter into condition 
 for assimilation by plant-life. 
 
 The next family meriting attention from its economic interest 
 is the Coccincl/idce, or, as the species are commonly termed, 
 "lady-bugs" or "lady-birds." Scientifically these insects are 
 distinguished by having the tarsi three-jointed only ; but practi- 
 cally they are recognizable by their oval or round form, — always 
 convex, sometimes almost hemispherical, — and by their colors, 
 which are either of some shade of red with black spots and 
 markings, or black, with red or yellow spots. The species are 
 never large, sometimes very small ; but in almost all cases are 
 predaceous, their prey consisting chiefly of plant-lice or scale 
 insects. The larvae, which have the same feeding habits, are 
 usually fusiform, with a small head and quite long legs. They 
 are often prettily colored, sometimes with spiny warts or pro- 
 cesses, and may be seen running about wherever plant-lice 
 abound. " Patches of from fifteen to forty of the yellow eggs 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 173 
 
174 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 laid by the beetles are often seen in abundance on infested 
 plants. 
 
 The species of Mcgilla and Hippodamia are more oval and 
 less convex than usual, and some of them have been found feed- 
 ing on pollen or even seeds, when their natural prey was scarce ; 
 yet I have observed these same species doing yeoman's work in 
 the destruction of plant-lice on melon-vines. 
 
 The genera Adalia and Coccinella contain the more hemispher- 
 ical types, and among the most common are the " 9-spotted lady- 
 bird," Coccinella g-notata, which is one of the larger species, and 
 the " 2-spotted lady-bird," Adalia bipuncta, which is the smaller 
 and perhaps most frequently seen in gardens and even houses. 
 Among the largest of our forms is the " 15-spotted lady-bird," 
 Anatis 15-punctata, interesting from its color variations, ranging 
 from creamy-white with distinct black spots to uniform mahogany 
 brown. 
 
 Opening quite a distinct series of species, which are black, 
 with red or yellow spots, is the " twice-stabbed" lady-bird, Chilo- 
 corus bivulneriis, in which the larva is spiny. This is black, 
 almost hemispherical, with a somewhat ovate red spot on each 
 wing-cover, and is found throughout the United States. Its 
 chief food, in the larval as well as the adult stage, consists of scale 
 insects, and it is one of the most effective checks on that kind of 
 plant pest, under favorable circumstances ridding individual trees 
 completely. 
 
 We have other similar but smaller species, sometimes with 
 numerous yellow spots on the wing-covers, and most of them 
 have the scale-eating habit to a greater or less extent. The 
 species of Pentilia are uniformly black and very small, less in 
 size than most of the scale insects upon which they prey ; but 
 they, as well as their minute spiny larvae, are great feeders, espe- 
 cially upon the eggs and larv?e. The destructive San Jos^ scale 
 has no more persistent or effective enemy than this kind of small 
 lady-bird. 
 
 The species of Scymmis are also small, usually recognizable by 
 their fine pubescent or hairy clothing and black colors. There 
 is a tendency to red-tipped wing-covers or red thorax, and these 
 forms also prey largely upon scales. To this family belong the 
 Australian species of Vedalia, Orcus, and Rhizobius, introduced 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 175 
 
 Fig. 150. 
 
 to destroy the also imported ' ' cottony cushion-scale, ' ' leery a 
 purchasi. The relation of these species has been already dis- 
 cussed when speaking of the scale, 
 and will be again referred to in Part 
 III. of this work. 
 
 There are few rules without excep- 
 tions, and so we find sinners among 
 the lady-birds also, — all belonging to 
 the genus Epilachne. The species 
 are large, hemispherical, and yellow, 
 with black spots. The larvae are 
 also yellow, elongate oval, with long 
 branched spines. E. borealis is the 
 Northern and Eastern species at- 
 tacking cucumber, melon, and sim- 
 ilar vines, while E. corrupta is found 
 in the West and Southwest, injuring 
 beans. A curious feature in E. borealis 
 is the manner in which the adult 
 marks out a circle at the edge of a 
 leaf and feeds within it until all usable 
 tissue is exhausted, before proceeding 
 to another place to repeat the opera- 
 tion. 
 
 As these injurious species feed 
 openly in all stages, they can be 
 reached without trouble by any of the 
 arsenites. 
 
 The family ErotylidcB contains some 
 very prettily marked species of quite 
 diverse forms, most of which feed in 
 or on fungi, or may be found under 
 loose bark, and are, therefore, innox- 
 ious. In the genus Languria, how- 
 ever, we find an exception, since their 
 larvae live in the stems of clover and 
 other plants. They are very slender, 
 almost cylindrical, from one-fourth to 
 one-half an inch in length, and have the wing-covers blue or 
 
 Epilachne corrupta. — A, adult ; 
 B, pupa ; C, larva ; D, injury on 
 bean. 
 
176 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 black, while the thorax is usually more or less red or yellow. 
 Our common clover-feeding species is L. viozardi. It is rarely 
 that any species becomes abundant enough to do noticeable in- 
 
 FiG. 151. 
 
 Languria mozardi.—a, egg ; b, larva in clover stem ; c, larva ; d, pupa ; e, adult. 
 
 jury ; but in clover, if a sufficiently large infested area occurs, 
 prompt close cutting or turning under the sod will be most 
 effective in checking present and preventing future injury. 
 
 The Ciicujidce are elongate and very much flattened beetles, 
 fitted to live under bark of trees or in the narrow crevices where 
 
 Fig. 152. 
 
 Silvanus siirinamensis. — a, beetle ; b, pupa ; c, larva. 
 
 they are usually found. Some of the species of Silvanus, notably 
 »S. surinamensis , a brown species, hardly more than one-eighth 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 177 
 
 inch in length, with the edges of the thorax toothed, are excep- 
 tions in habit, though not in form, and often infest granaries, 
 mills, and stables. The adult as well as its larva is frequently 
 found in mangers or in neglected little masses of meal, flour, or 
 grain, in which they breed. Cleanliness is the best remedy when 
 these insects become abundant : allow no partly emptied boxes 
 or bags to lie about, keep current supplies covered or tied up, 
 and sweep out corners at short intervals. Bisulphide of carbon, 
 where its application is possible, is an effective remedy, readily 
 destroying the beetles as well as their larvae. 
 
 Fig. 153. 
 
 Fig. 154. 
 
 Fig. 155. 
 
 Atomaria ephippiata. 
 
 Corticaria pumila. 
 
 Cryptophagtts croceiis. 
 
 There are other, yet smaller beetles found in similar situations 
 in less numbers, and these belong to allied families. They may 
 be brown, not more than one-sixteenth of an inch in length, with 
 an oval body and narrow thorax, and then they are probably 
 species of Corticaria ; they may be of similar color, but with the 
 thorax and body more nearly of a width, and then they may 
 belong io Atomaria or Cryptophagiis ; or they may be equally 
 minute but flattened, black, with red or yellow spots or bands on 
 the elytra, and then they probably belong to Litargiis. All may 
 be treated as above suggested. 
 
 We have a series of robust, small or moderate-sized beetles, 
 usually broad but sometimes narrowly oval, with small retracted 
 head, slender, moderately long legs, capable of being so closely 
 folded upon the breast as to be almost invisible, and with the 
 unpleasant habit of feeding upon dried animal substances, such 
 as furs, skins, woollens, museum specimens, meats, and the like. 
 
178 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig 
 
 The larder-beetle, Dennes- 
 tes lardarius. — a, larva; b, a 
 single hair from larva ; c, adult 
 beetle. 
 
 These belong to the family Dermestida, which contains such 
 nuisances as the "larder-beetles," "carpet-beetles," and "mu- 
 seum-beetles." The elytra, which cover 
 the abdomen completely, are black or 
 gray, usually ornamented with white or 
 colored scales, which sometimes form 
 quite pretty markings. 
 
 The "larder-beetle," or "bacon- 
 beetle," Dermestes lardarius, is rather 
 
 more than one-fourth of an inch long, 
 
 I /^^Hfi*V ^^^ easily recognizable by having the 
 
 1v/jbHH^1L anterior half of the wing-covers pale 
 
 C |HhJ|||I I brown or yellowish, its livery else being 
 
 ^■Hllif K oi 2i sombre black or dark gray. The 
 
 larva is nearly half an inch in length, 
 rather narrow yet plump, and clothed 
 with rather dense, long, brown hairs. 
 It feeds on stored provisions of all 
 kinds, on hides, skins, or other similar substances, and is occa- 
 sionally quite troublesome in smoke-houses. Cleanliness, plenty 
 of air, tight receptacles, and close-meshed wire netting on the 
 
 covers or doors of 
 FiG- 157- pantries and boxes 
 
 are the best prevent- 
 ives, supplemented 
 by destruction of the 
 beetles and larvae 
 wherever noticed. 
 Good results are 
 often obtained by 
 leaving a tempting 
 bit in an exposed 
 position, which will 
 act as a trap, attract- 
 ing beetles and larvae 
 where they can be 
 easily found and destroyed. Several other species, similar in 
 size but differently marked, have similar habits, and among 
 them the ' ' leather-beetle, ' ' D. vulpinus, has been responsible 
 
 Leather-beetle, Dermestes vulpiitus. — a, larva; h, pupa; 
 k, adult ; d to /, details of larva. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 179 
 
 for much mischief in tanneries and factories producing leather 
 goods. Where fumigation is possible, bisulphide of carbon may 
 be employed with good effect, while gasoline readily destroys 
 both beetles and larvae where it can be brought into contact with 
 them. 
 
 Larvae similar to those above described, but much smaller, are 
 often found in museum collections on mounted animals, eating 
 the skins, hair, and feathers, and in entomological collections, 
 destroying the specimens entirely. The beetles from these 
 larvae are smaller and more ovate, and belong to the genera 
 Trogoderma or Megatonia. They are often found on flowers 
 
 Fig. 158. 
 
 The carpet-beetle, Anthtenus scrophnlaricE.—a, larva; b, larval skin split to expose 
 the pupa within it ; c, pupa ; d, beetle. 
 
 in this stage, in company with species of Anthrenus, in which 
 the larvae are stouter, more clumsy, equally clothed with hairs, 
 but with the ability to expand two larger tufts posteriorly. 
 Anthrenus also contains museum pests as well as the "carpet- 
 beetle," A. scrophu/aria, which feeds on woollens in the larval 
 condition, and is then better known as the " buffalo-moth," from 
 its tufted appearance. The beetles are very broadly oval, with 
 brick-red scales along the middle of the wing-covers, and two 
 irregular white scaly bands transversely across the elytra. I have 
 found them very early in spring under the loose bark of trees 
 where they had passed the winter. Later they fly into open 
 windows, and lay their eggs wherever they find a supply of 
 
l8o AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 woollens. For this household pest a liberal use of napthaline in 
 crystals or balls, in trunks and closets, is advisable as a pre- 
 ventive. Where woollen garments are to be stored through 
 the summer they should be first thoroughly beateA or brushed 
 and sunned out, then wrapped in stout paper with the edges 
 pasted, or in cotton sheeting well sewed. Then, if laid away 
 in boxes or trunks, or hung in closets with napthaline crystals 
 between the layers, or on the shelves, or among the bundles, 
 little danger is to be feared. Where carpets are infested, it is 
 best to have them taken up, thoroughly beaten and cleaned, and 
 the floors thoroughly cleansed before they are relaid. Where 
 this is undesirable for any reason, gasoline may be used with 
 satisfactory results. Except on the cheapest fabrics it may be 
 safely used in liberal quantities without danger of injuring either 
 texture or colors, and wherever the liquid comes into contact 
 with either beetle or larva it kills at once. Eggs, however, are 
 not destroyed, and close watch must be kept for a week at least, 
 when a second appHcation may be found necessary to reach the 
 larvae hatched since the first was made. Another method, 
 almost equally good but more troublesome, is to place a wet 
 cloth over the infested patches and press over it with a very hot 
 flat-iron, the object being to drive hot steam or vapor through 
 the fabric and thus, practically, to cook the insects. In collec- 
 tions, tight boxes or cases and a free use of napthaline or 
 bisulphide of carbon, or both, are essential. 
 
 Unity of habit in this family is marred by Bytiirus unicolor, 
 a little yellowish species which is densely covered with short silky 
 hair, and feeds in the blossoms of the red rasp- 
 PjG. 159. berry, where also its eggs are laid. The larvae 
 are white, nearly naked, and are found on the 
 inside of the berry when picked. The species has 
 not become seriously troublesome as yet, and is 
 mentioned here chiefly because of its unique 
 habits. 
 
 ^''enlarged ''''''' ^hc Histeridcz are small, oval, shining, very 
 hard, black, bronzed or greenish beetles, with the 
 wing-covers cut off squarely behind, leaving the last segments 
 of the abdomen exposed. The legs are broad and flat, fitted for 
 digging, and the head is small, yet with quite prominent sharp 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 l8l 
 
 mandibles and capitate antennae. They are mostly scavengers, 
 the larvae white and somewhat maggot-like, occurring on, in, or 
 under all sorts of excrementitious or decaying animal or vegetable 
 
 Fig. i6o. 
 
 Fig 
 
 Fig. 162. 
 
 Hister arciiattis and Hister bimaculatus , much enlarged. 
 
 matter, in over-ripe fungi or fruit, or under the loose bark of 
 trees. They are of no practical importance to the agriculturist. 
 
 The NitidiilidcB, or " sap-beetles," are also small, more or less 
 flattened, always with the tip of the abdomen exposed beyond the 
 wing-covers, and with the 
 legs not specialized for 
 digging purposes. They 
 feed in all stages on de- 
 caying or fermenting sap 
 or fruits or in fungi, and 
 some of them are found 
 also on carrion. As a 
 whole, while the species 
 are quite numerously rep- 
 resented and often seen, 
 yet they are not either markedly beneficial or injurious. 
 
 Somewhat similar habits are met with in the Trogositidce, 
 which are also flattened creatures, most of them living under 
 bark. Some of the species of Tenebrioides, however, — black 
 beetles about one-fourth of an inch in length, with square thorax 
 and large head, known as " cadelles" — are found in stables, 
 barns, and mills, feeding on grain, meal, and flour. They are 
 
 Carpophilus hemipterus, 
 enlarged. 
 
 Ips fasciatus and its 
 larva, enlarged. 
 
l82 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Tenebrioides corticalis, the "cadelle." — a, larva; 
 adult ; c toy, structural details. 
 
 rarely very numerous, and may be kept in check as recom- 
 mended on a previous page for the Cucujid<z. 
 
 There are other small families in the clavicorn series, some of 
 them interesting enough to the entomologist, but none of im- 
 portance economically 
 Fig. 163. or likely to attract the 
 
 attention of the cas- 
 ual observer ; hence 
 hardly subjects for de- 
 scription here. 
 
 The Serricornia, or 
 "saw-horned" series, 
 begins with the family 
 DascyllidcE, contain- 
 ing mostly small forms 
 found on dead or dy- 
 ing trees or branches, 
 in which the larvae probably live. None are of economic im- 
 portance, a fact which is also true of the next family, RhipiceridcE. 
 This latter, indeed, contains only five species, all accounted 
 rarities in collections, and believed to breed in cedars. 
 
 The idLmWy ElateridcE, "spring-beetles," "click-beetles," or 
 " snapping-beetles," contains numerous troublesome forms, and 
 is easily distinguishable in all its stages. The beetles have the 
 prothorax very loosely jointed to the rest of the body, and on 
 
 the under side a curved 
 ^' process fits into a cavity 
 
 of the meso-thorax. 
 When a specimen is 
 placed on its back it 
 bends the extremities so 
 as to raise the middle of 
 the body from the surface, and to bring the tip of the curved 
 process to the edge of the cavity. A sudden release of muscular 
 tension reverses matters, sends the insect into the air a few inches, 
 and this "snapping" or jumping performance is repeated until 
 it alights on its feet. In the larval stage the term " wire- worms" 
 expresses the appearance and texture of the creature, and brings 
 to mind at once an agent of destruction hardly surpassed in the 
 
 Fig. 
 
 An Elater from side, to show the prosternal process. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 183 
 
 insect world. Scarcely a farmer can be found who has not been 
 troubled to some extent by "wire-worms," and many a remedy 
 recommended as infallible has been tried and found wanting in 
 actual practice. We have two series of species, one of which 
 
 Fig. 165. 
 
 Fig. 166. 
 
 Fig. 167. 
 
 a I 
 
 Fig. 165, the eyed Elater, Alans ociilatus. Fig. 166, wood-boring wire-worm, from side. 
 Fig. 167, a, larva; b, adult click-beetle. 
 
 feeds in decaying wood, the other underground on the roots of 
 plants ; of these the first may be left out of consideration alto- 
 gether, though in it may be found the species of Alans, our 
 largest and most prominent forms. The history of the subterra- 
 nean species is in general as follows : The beetles appear quite 
 early in spring, and may be noticed in fields where a sod has 
 been turned down, during the first days of May, or earlier in the 
 Southern States. They fly quite rapidly in mid-day, copulate, 
 and later seek a place to oviposit. During May or June, earlier 
 or later, according to the species, the eggs are laid in grass-land 
 or where there are plenty of weeds, — in other words, wherever 
 vegetation, especially of a grassy character, is abundant. The 
 larvee hatch by midsummer and feed upon roots, growing but 
 slowly and requiring, indeed, in many cases, two or three years 
 to complete their development. Pupation takes place in fall, and 
 usually the change to the adult also takes place before winter sets 
 in, though they remain quiet, and do not voluntarily emerge 
 until the spring following. 
 
 This brief sketch does not apply in its entirety to all the sub- 
 terranean forms even, but it applies very well to the majority 
 
1 84 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 of the injurious species. The noteworthy points are the early 
 appearance and oviposition of the beetles, the two- or three-year 
 life of the larva, and the pupation and change to adult in fall ; 
 all of which must be considered in the methods of treatment to 
 be adopted. 
 
 The direct application of insecticides is usually impracticable, 
 and the texture of the larva is so dense that most contact poisons 
 are of little or no avail, salt in large quantity having proved the 
 most effective. Stomach poisons are not easily applied, but on 
 an experimental scale it has been found that sweetened dough 
 placed beneath the surface attracts them, and this can be poi 
 soned and used as a trap. Practically, methods of cultivation 
 calculated to avoid injury are most satisfactory. Grass land 
 known to be infested should be plowed in fall, and while this will 
 not destroy any large proportion of the larvae, it will kill most of 
 the pupae and beetles then in the ground, so if the practice be 
 continued for a series of years the insects will be gradually run 
 out. Wherever feasible, crimson clover should be used as a 
 sod crop, as this is sown in late summer after the beetles have 
 oviposited and may be harvested and plowed under shortly after 
 the beetles have laid eggs, practically preventing the develop- 
 ment of the larvae, especially if a crop little or not at all subject 
 to wire- worms follows the clover. In fact, frequent change of 
 crops is a most satisfactory measure if the land be not allowed to 
 remain in grass more than one year, and if corn or potatoes do 
 not directly follow the sod. In light soil the salty fertilizers ex- 
 ercise a very beneficial effect when properly applied, and some- 
 times an advantage may be gained by keeping the land in sod as 
 long as possible, where grass is needed as a crop. When it has 
 " run out," plow in fill ; in spring, after cultivating and prepar- 
 ing for the new crop, fertilize heavily, using kainit for potash and 
 nitrate of soda, so far as possible, for nitrogen. At least one 
 thousand pounds of kainit per acre should be used, and this 
 seems exceedingly disagreeable to the insects at all ages, and 
 fatal to the younger forms. Conditions vary so much in different 
 parts of the country, and rotations are so diverse in character, 
 that it is impossible to suggest any course that will be universally 
 applicable, except the fall plowing. The suggestions above made 
 should be sufficient, however, to guide the intelligent farmer in 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 185 
 
 adopting the practice best suited to secure exemption in his case. 
 It may be added, however, that the fertiUzers will not prove satis- 
 factory unless applied as directed, — i.e., in one heavy application 
 and when the ground is bare. 
 
 The species of the family Buprestidce resemble the click- 
 beetles in general form, but the prothorax is firmly articulated to 
 the rest of the -body, so that the insects have no "springing" 
 powers, and the colors are metallic. The beetles vary much in 
 appearance, but the larvae resemble each other closely, being 
 always flattened in form, with greatly enlarged anterior segments. 
 They are usually known as "flat-headed borers," sometimes as 
 " hammer-heads," and infest not only trees but shrubs, vines, and 
 sometimes even herbaceous plants. Some of the species prefer 
 dead or dying wood, some attack healthy plants 
 only, while others, and perhaps the majority, are 
 somewhat indifferent, yet are oftener found in 
 weak than in healthy and vigorous trees. 
 
 Our largest Eastern species belong to the 
 genus Chalcophora, the larvae mostly feeding on 
 conifers, though two of them feed on deciduous 
 trees like the sycamore. The beetles have the 
 elytra quite deeply and irregularly furrowed, while 
 the colors are bronze, brown, or blackish. I have 
 found the larvae in quite old and decaying logs, but they are said 
 to attack healthy trees as well, and to cause occasional injury. 
 
 The genus Dicerca contains robust species, sometimes nar- 
 rowing so strongly toward the tip as to seem almost tailed. The 
 wing-covers are decidedly convex, irregularly corru- 
 gated, or even reticulated, with elevated spots, and 
 the colors are bright bronze-brown, often with green- 
 ish or brassy reflections. They are rarely common, 
 but infest a variety of trees, among them peach, 
 plum, apricot, cherry, hickory, oak, and pine. 
 
 The genus Buprestis contains flattened species 
 with even striae or ridges, and they are often of a 
 brilliant blue, green, or golden metallic color, occa- 
 sionally spotted and banded with yellow or brown. 
 The larvae feed mostly in conifers, but some also infest deciduous 
 trees, none thus far in dangerous numbers. In Melanophila the 
 
 Chalcophota vit- 
 gitiiensis. 
 
 Fig 
 
 Dicerca di- 
 varicata. 
 
i86 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 170. 
 
 The flat-head apple-borer, 
 Chrysobothris femorata. — a, 
 larva; A, pupa ; rf, adult. 
 
 wing-covers are nearly smooth or with fine punctulations only, 
 and the larvae also feed principally in conifers. 
 
 In the genus Chrysobothris we have forms that are quite flat- 
 tened above, the wing-covers with irregular depressions and 
 elevations, the prothorax with curved 
 ^ides and narrower behind. Here be- 
 long most of the troublesome species, 
 including C. femorata, the ' ' flat-headed 
 apple-borer," which, despite its com- 
 mon name, attacks a great variety of 
 trees. The larva makes irregular chan- 
 nels and chambers in the sap-wood, 
 boring into the solid tissues a short dis- 
 tance only, just before pupation, and 
 this describes also the habits of many 
 of the other species of this genus. The 
 eggs are laid on the bark in June or 
 July, and the larvae live from one to 
 three years before coming to maturity. 
 Pupation occurs shortly before the pe- 
 riod at which the adults emerge. 
 
 The genus Agrilus contains species differing from any of those 
 heretofore mentioned by their slender, cylindrical form, the head 
 squarely truncate, or cut off in front, the elytra much narrowed 
 at tip. As a rule, the species are dull 
 brownish-bronze in color, the prothorax 
 sometimes brassy or red-bronzed, and 
 none is better known than the ' ' red- 
 necked blackberry-borer," Agrilus rufi- 
 collis, the author of the "gouty gall" on 
 that plant. The larvae in this genus are 
 unusually long and flattened, the seg- 
 ments strongly marked, the ' ' head' ' not 
 much wider than the body, and the anal 
 forks distinct, differing in each species. 
 Returning to the blackberry-borer, it is 
 good practice to cut out all galled canes early in spring and burn 
 them. Trimming is done at this time as a matter of regular 
 cultivation, and the galls are then easily seen. No "galled" 
 
 Fig. 171. 
 
 Blackberry - cane borer, 
 Aorilus ruficollis. — b, larva ; 
 c, adult. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 187 
 
 cane ever ripens a fair set of berries, and it might as well be cut 
 out at once. Another satisfactory method is to cut off all the 
 new shoots at the surface of the ground about the end of June. 
 At this time all the beetles have laid their eggs, and the shoots 
 which come up in July cannot become infested. The best results 
 will be obtained by combining both methods. Cutting the new 
 
 Fig. 172. 
 
 <C 
 
 Blackberr>'-gall maker.— a, gall just beginning to form over recent borings ; b, section 
 through an old stem to show the character of the gall. 
 
 shoots causes the death of the young larvae, which are unable to 
 subsist on dead wood, and being footless are unable to migrate 
 to new stalks. 
 
 Another species of Agrilus seriously injurious in parts of the 
 Eastern United States is the "sinuate pear-borer," A. sinuatus, 
 imported from Europe within recent years. This feeds between 
 bark and wood in pear-trees, making immensely long zig-zag 
 galleries, finally girdling the tree and killing it. It lives two 
 years in the larval stage. 
 
 In general we are very helpless against boring larvae once they 
 get into the trunk of a tree. Cutting out is a tedious process, 
 even if the location of the larva is easily discoverable, which it 
 often is not. We must, therefore, try to prevent their entrance, 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and this may be done more or less completely by mechanical 
 means. As against the larger species — i.e., against all except 
 Agrilus — a wire mosquito netting loosely encircling the trunk, so 
 as not to touch it anywhere, is a complete protection. The in- 
 sects lay their eggs under a bark scale, or on smooth bark gnaw 
 a little hole in which the ^^^ is laid, and if access to the bark be 
 prevented they seek other localities. The wire must be tied at 
 
 Fig. 173. 
 
 The sinuate pear-borer, Agrilus sinuatus. — a, beetle ; b, larva ; c, its anal fork ; d, 
 pupal chamber with pupa in position. 
 
 the top to prevent beetles getting under it, and must extend 
 underground an inch or so. In this way we not only prevent 
 new infestation, but any beetles that may emerge from the trunk 
 will be hopelessly imprisoned and will die without a chance to 
 reproduce. 
 
 Instead of wire netting, tarred paper or even newspapers 
 tightly wrapped around the trunk to the branches will answer 
 an excellent purpose, needing renewal each year, however, where 
 the wire netting lasts several seasons. Thorough whitewashing 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 offers a large measure of protection, since the adults will not vol- 
 untarily eat through a coat of it, and the larvae cannot do so 
 
 Fig. 174. 
 
 Work of the sinuate pear-borer on a Bartlett pear-tree : about one-fourth natural size. 
 
 when first they emerge from the o.^^. The whitewash can be 
 
190 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 applied with a knapsack pump through a Vermorel nozzle, and 
 a little Paris green adds greatly to its effectiveness. It should 
 be renewed every week or two until the middle of July, when the 
 danger from these flat-headed borers may be considered at an 
 end, and it has the advantage of protecting the branches as well 
 as the trunk. The admixture of a little glue or salt will improve 
 its adhesive and lasting qualities. 
 
 A strong fish-oil soap, say one pound in one gallon of water, 
 is also effective and may be applied in the same manner. It 
 forms a film of soap over the bark, and is repellent to the beetles 
 as well as fatal to the young larvae. The admixture of an ounce 
 of crude carbolic acid to a gallon of suds is advantageous. This 
 mixture should not be applied to leaves or on young shoots, 
 as it would probably cause injury. As these methods are all 
 preventive rather than remedial, they must be promptly and 
 thoroughly applied, and success will be in proportion to the 
 thoroughness with which the work is done. Instead of any of 
 the preceding methods, "insect lime" or "dendrolene" may 
 be with proper precautions employed on the trunks and larger 
 branches, and, practically, this is the best material for use against 
 the "sinuate pear-borer." It can be easily applied, remains 
 effective for weeks, and one application, properly made at the 
 right time, will protect the trees for the season. As against the 
 pear-borer, it should be applied not later than May 15th, and 
 
 kept intact until June 
 Fig. 175. 15th, when all danger 
 
 from that pest is over. 
 Reference should be 
 made to the chapters 
 on insecticides and 
 preventives for further 
 details as to applica- 
 tions. 
 
 In the next series, 
 the Lampyridtz., there 
 are no species injurious to vegetation, though, under the name 
 "fire-flies," some of them are well known. The beetles are 
 usually slender, somewhat flattened above, with a more or less 
 retracted head, and are of a soft leathery texture. The " fire- 
 
 d 
 
 Fire-fly, Pliotmus pyralis.—a, larva; *, pupa in cell; 
 c, adult ; d to/, structural details of larva. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 191 
 
 Fig. 176. 
 
 flies " are first noticed in June in the more northern and central 
 portions of the United States, and have the terminal segments 
 of the abdomen on the under side of a bright sulphur-yellow 
 color, which at the will of the insect glows with a phosphorescent 
 light of considerable illuminating power. They hide during the 
 day on the foliage of plants or in crevices, and begin their flight 
 with the deepening of the twilight. In some species the female 
 is without wings and remains on the ground among the grass — 
 the "glow-worm." The larvae are predaceous, and some of 
 them live on snails. 
 
 Belonging to the same family, but of a diurnal habit and with- 
 out the illuminating power, are the "soldier-beetles," belonging 
 to the genera Chauliogna- 
 thiis and Telephoriis ^ dis- 
 tinguished also by having 
 a more prominent head 
 and large, round eyes. 
 These may be found on 
 flowers, where they prob- 
 ably feed on pollen, but 
 are of direct benefit by 
 aiding in pollination. The 
 larvae are even more de- 
 cidedly useful, being predaceous and feeding largely on soft- 
 bodied grubs and the like. Thev are long and slender, flattened 
 above and somewhat narrowed at each end, or fusiform, the 
 edges of the segments quite prominently marked. They are 
 especially eflective against such creatures as the larvae of the plum 
 curculio when they enter the ground to pupate, and a large pro- 
 portion are thus disposed of annually. 
 
 The species belonging to the family MalachiidcE resemble the 
 Lampyrids in the soft body texture and leathery wing-covers, 
 but they are much shorter and broader, the broadest part of the 
 body coming near the end of the wing-covers. The antennae 
 are short, a little enlarged at the tip, and often curiously 
 knotted in the male. Many of the species have soft, orange- 
 colored vesicles, capable of being protruded from the side of 
 the body. They are usually found on flowers and feed on other 
 insects or insect eggs, probably doing much good in this way. 
 
 Soldier-beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus. 
 —a, larva; b, its head enlarged; c to h, struc- 
 tural details ; /, beetle, natural size. 
 
192 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 The larvae of only a few species are known, and these are pre- 
 daceous. 
 
 Next come the Cleridcr, many of which are also flower-beetles, 
 but with longer legs, more prominently enlarged antennae, more 
 
 slender cylindrical form, and much 
 Fig. 177. firmer texture. They are bright 
 
 colored, as a rule, often prettily 
 banded, and sometimes quite abun- 
 dant. Many species are found on 
 
 Fig. 178. 
 
 AJa.aciiiiii inargi>iicollis : much 
 t'ularared. 
 
 Clems apinorns.—a, larva ; b, pupa ; 
 beetle central : all enlarged. 
 
 the trunks of trees, running about rapidly and somewhat resem- 
 bling ants. Their larvae in such cases prey upon wood-boring 
 insects, principally such as live in sap-wood, and they are slender, 
 
 with short legs and a 
 Fig. 179. prominent, somewhat 
 
 pointed head. They are 
 extremely useful in keep- 
 ing in check bark-beetles 
 and other borers, and are 
 thus worthy of our dis- 
 tinguished consideration. 
 Most of the other species 
 are also predaceous in 
 the larval stage, but 
 hardly beneficial, since they live in the nests of bees, devouring 
 both the larvae and the food stored for them. Clerus apivorus 
 
 Red-legged ham-beetle, Coiynetes rujipes. — a, 
 larva; <J, pupa ; c, cocoon ; d, e, beetle, enlarged 
 and natural size ; y toy, structural details. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 193 
 
 infests the hives of the common honey-bee, and is more or less 
 of a nuisance in some locahties. 
 
 The almost inevitable exception occurs in this family also, and 
 the species of Cory?ietes, blue or part blue and part orange in 
 color, live upon dead or dry animal matter, often attacking pro- 
 visions. The ' ' red-legged ham-beetle, ' ' C. riifipes, is of this 
 type, and will serve to illustrate the series. The measures recom- 
 mended as against the Dermestida will answer here as well. 
 
 In the family PtinidcB we have an aggregation of oddities diffi- 
 cult of general definition, save that as a rule the species are 
 small, with retracted head, more or less cylindrical firm body, and 
 firm wing-covers. They feed in the larval as well as adult con- 
 dition on dry animal or vegetable matter, though some species 
 attack green vegetation. Many live in dead branches or twigs, 
 and only a few are of sufficient interest to be especially noted. 
 Of these is the "death-watch," Sitodrepa panicea, so named 
 from the ticking sound frequently made by the beetle when 
 workins^ in wood, which superstition has interpreted as a warning 
 of approaching death. It works also in a great variety of other 
 substances, ranging from gunwads to roots of hellebore and old 
 books, as a fleshy, white, grub-like larva, with a brown head and 
 a surface covered with short, brown, bristle-like hairs. Where 
 the nature of the article admits of such treatment, exposure to 
 the fumes of bisulphide of carbon is a good remedy, as is also 
 saturating with gasoline or benzine. A liberal use of paint with 
 plenty of turpentine is indicated in other cases, and sometimes 
 mere cleanliness following the destruction of hopelessly infested 
 material will answer every purpose. 
 
 Of the same general shape, but larger and broader, with smooth 
 instead of striated wing-covers and a "humped" form, is the 
 Lasioderma serricorne , popularly known as the ' ' tobacco-' ' or 
 ' ' cigarette-beetle. " It is a great lover of tobacco in all its forms, 
 the larva relishing plug, long or fine cut, chewing or smoking, in 
 cigarette, cigar, or leaf, almost equally well, and injuring it 
 materially for the human user of the " weed." The matter is an 
 important one to manufacturers, who deal with it in a variety of 
 ways ; but it does not particularly interest the farmer. 
 
 Among the wood-feeders the species of Bostrychus and Sin- 
 oxylon are of interest, their larvae sometimes boring into fruit-trees. 
 
 13 
 
Fig. tSo. 
 
 Fig. i8o, cigars injured by the tobacco-beetle, Lasiodei'ma serricorne ; holes show 
 where the beetles issued. Fig. i8i, Lasioderma serricorne, from above and side. 
 Fig. 182, the " death-watch," Sitodrepa panicea, larva and beetle, from above and side; 
 much enlarged. 
 194 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 195 
 
 The " apple-twig borer," Amphicenis bicaudatus, is about the 
 only species needing especial remark, and this beetle bores into 
 small apple- twigs in early spring, entering close to a bud and 
 making a channel several inches in length, apparently for food 
 and shelter merely. It remains in these burrows a short time 
 only, and then lays its eggs in the dead or dying roots of ' ' cat- 
 
 F"lG 
 
 Apple-twig borer, Amphicenis bicaiidatus.—a, beetle, from above ; b, same, in outline, from 
 side; d, larva; g, pupa; h, same in larval burrow; c, e,f, structural details. 
 
 brier," or " greenbrier" {Stnilax sp.), or in dead shoots of 
 grape. The insects rarely appear in troublesome numbers, and 
 then good practice is to look after neglected vineyards or grape 
 tangles in near-by woods, and after brier thickets, which latter 
 are an abomination at best and should be destroyed. 
 
 There are other Serricorn families, small both in size and in 
 the number of species they contain, but they are mostly rare, of 
 no economic importance, and need not be referred to here even 
 by name. 
 
196 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 The next large series is the Lamellkornia, where the antennae 
 terminate in a lamellate or leaf- shaped club. All the species are 
 feeders upon vegetation, living or dead, green or in a stage of 
 decay, and in all cases the larvae are "white grubs," large or 
 small, smooth or hairy, but always " white grubs. " These can 
 be generally described as having a large, yellow, or brown head, 
 with prominent mandibles and long palpi, legs that are quite long, 
 moderately stout, with distinct claws at the tip, usually also 
 
 Fig. 184. 
 
 Stag-beetles. — i, Lucanus elaphus, male; 2, L. dama, male. 
 
 clothed with hair, a body that is cylindrical, stout, wrinkled, 
 somewhat curved or even crescent-shaped, ending rather abruptly 
 in a more or less enlarged, obtuse, terminal bulb. As a rule, 
 the color is dirty yellowish white, but it may become pink, 
 greenish, or even blackish, the hinder portion always showing 
 darker because of the excrementitious mass which shows through 
 the transparent tissue. 
 
 Two families belong to this series, of which the L^icanidce, or 
 stag-beetles, are of no economic importance though of much 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 197 
 
 Fig 
 
 popular interest. They differ from the Scarab(sidce in that the 
 leaves of the club are separated and cannot be made to form 
 a solid club or mass. 
 
 Our most common "stag-beetle" is the Lucamis dama, in 
 which the mandibles of the male are much enlarged and sickle- 
 shaped ; whence the common term " pinching-bug." It occurs 
 throughout the Middle and Central States, becoming more rare 
 to the North and losing interest in the South in favor of its more 
 prominent relative, the L. elaphus, which in the male has man- 
 dibles almost as long as itself, and branched like antlers, yielding 
 in this respect, however, to its European congener, the L. cervus, 
 or original "stag-beetle." Quite a different-looking creature is 
 the Passahis cormdiis, perhaps the most common of all the 
 members of this family, though not always readily found. It is 
 coal-black, shining, with a large square thorax and a small head 
 armed with a short curved horn. All 
 these species and all the larvae of this 
 family feed in decaying wood, and 
 preferably in stumps or in roots. Thus 
 their function is rather as scavengers, 
 and never as destroyers of vegetable 
 life. The larva of the Passaliis cornutiis 
 is interesting, because it has four legs 
 only, one pair being entirely aborted. 
 
 In the family ScarabcBidce the leaves 
 of the antennal club are always close 
 together when at rest, but can be spread 
 out fan-like at the will of the insect, 
 exposing the numerous sensory pittings 
 with which they are closely set. The 
 legs are always fitted for digging. 
 
 At the beginning we meet a series of 
 species that are scavengers, living on 
 decaying or excrementitious matter. Some of them are large 
 and have the curious habit of making balls of dung, in each of 
 which an o.^^ is laid. The balls are then buried beneath the 
 surface, and each furnishes sufficient food to bring one larva to 
 maturity. When the ball is made up on a road or other hard 
 surface, the insects roll it to some more suitable place, and have 
 
 Passalu 
 
198 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 186. 
 
 therefore received the popular name "tumble-bugs." The 
 
 beetles are usually 
 blackish or bronze 
 brown in color, but 
 sometimes bril- 
 liantly metallic blue, 
 green, coppery, or 
 bronzed, and often 
 we find in the male 
 a prominent, [curved 
 horn on the top of 
 the head, and angu- 
 lar processes on the 
 thorax. 
 
 Other large or 
 moderate-sized spe- 
 cies make holes 
 close to or under 
 droppings in fields, 
 working mostly at 
 night, and leaving 
 evidences of their 
 presence in the 
 shape of little piles of fresh dirt next to or even on top of* the 
 droppings ; cow-dung being the favorite food. These beetles 
 
 usually have deeply striated wing- 
 covers, are more stockily built 
 than those previously mentioned, 
 and belong mostly to the genus 
 Geohypes. 
 
 A series of small, more slender 
 or oblong, black or reddish beetles 
 is often found in considerable num- 
 bers burrowing in or under excre- 
 ment, and these have similar habits 
 and are referable to the genera 
 Aphodius or Atcenms. 
 
 Very often large, clumsy "white 
 grubs" are found in manure heaps, and these are larvae of 
 
 A "tumble-bug," Copris Carolina.— a, larv-a ; 
 cell in which it lived ; c, pupa ; d, female beetle 
 structural details. 
 
 Fig 
 
 b, the 
 e to i. 
 
 Aphodius gyaiiarius, much enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 199 
 
 beetles belonging to this series. None of them are in any way 
 injurious. 
 
 The exception in food habits in this family is found in the 
 genus Trox, containing oblong, very convex species, with rough, 
 tuberculate or pitted wing-covers, and a deeply furrowed thorax. 
 They are usually more or less incrusted with dirt, are found 
 feeding under old skins, bones, or hoofs, and are, as scavengers, 
 at least innoxious. * 
 
 The more typical ' ' leaf-chafers' ' are of diverse forms, often 
 common and economically important. Among the first we reach 
 
 Fig. 188. 
 
 Rose-chafer, Macrodactylus S7ibspinosus. — a, beetle; b, head and thorax, in outline, from 
 side ; ^ to ^, structural details. 
 
 the genus Macrodadyliis, of which the ' ' rose-chafer, ' ' or 
 "rose-bug" is a member. This appears in June at about the 
 time roses and grapes come into blossom, and eats their flowers 
 in preference to anything else. 
 
 Occasionally, for a series of years, the insects appear in ever- 
 increasing abundance, until the swarms are so great that they 
 ruin not only vineyards but orchards and gardens, eating almost 
 every kind of fruit and flower. In the presence of such swarms 
 we are almost helpless, and insecticides are of no possible use. 
 No contact poison kills them, and the arsenites or other stomach 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 poisons act too slowly, as two or three days suffice to ruin a vine- 
 yard. Lest this seem strange, I will state that I have seen on 
 hundreds of acres of vineyard every vine bearing multitudes, and 
 every bunch of blossoms from two to ten, or even more beetles. 
 I have counted over twenty on a single apple, and a full-blown 
 rose may bear as many as thirty or even more. We are reduced 
 
 , Fig. 189. 
 
 Larva, a, and pupa.y", of rose-cliafer ; h to e, g, h, structural details. 
 
 to actually collecting the specimens from the vines by means of 
 funnel or umbrella-shaped collectors, adapted to the method of 
 cultivation in use. They drop readily when the vines are jarred, 
 and the collector should be so made as to roll them to the centre 
 and into an attached pail containing kerosene. This must be 
 done not only daily, but continuously for several days until the 
 flight is over or the grapes have set, for well-set grapes are 
 rarely eaten. Fortunately, a period of abnormal increase seems 
 to be followed by a period of decrease, though the lengths of the 
 periods have not been ascertained. The larvae feed in light land 
 on the roots of various plants, but principally on grass. They 
 pupate in spring, shortly before changing to the ?dult condition, 
 and by ploughing infested sod at this time a large proportion can 
 be destroyed. When only moderate numbers occur, lime often 
 serves to protect the plants, or, better, the Bordeaux mixture, 
 which is distasteful to them. 
 
 The "May-beetles," or "June-bugs," sometimes termed 
 " cockchafers," are much larger, and mostly members of the genus 
 
THE INSECT IVORLD. 
 
 2ol 
 
 Lachnosterna. They fly at night, are readily attracted to light, 
 and often come into rooms, clumsily and noisily bumping against 
 all sorts of obstructions until they eventually strike something 
 which sends them heavily to the floor. We have many species 
 more or less resembling each other, and all chestnut brown or 
 yellowish in color. Some years they are very abundant and 
 cause injury by eating the foliage of trees or shrubs. I have 
 found them eating pieces out of the stalks of recently set apples 
 
 Fig. 190. 
 
 May-beetle.— I, pupa in earthen cell ; 2, larva or white grub ; 3, 4, beetle, 
 from side and above. 
 
 and pears, causing the fruit to wilt and drop. The larvae live 
 on grass and other roots, and are typical " white-grubs." Culti- 
 vated crops are frequently attacked and much injury is some- 
 times caused. The larval period has not yet been satisfactorily 
 determined for all species, and varies, as does also the time for 
 changing to the adult condition. Frequent rotation and fall 
 ploughing are to be recommended, and where grass lands are 
 infested, heavy top-dressings of kainit and nitrate of soda have 
 proved beneficial. Wherever ploughing is done in infested fields, 
 chickens should be encouraged to follow in the furrow to pick 
 up the grubs. 
 
 Where young trees are to be protected from the beetles, jarring 
 them into an umbrella two or three times early in the evening 
 
202 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 will prove effective, as they do not fly much after nine o'clock, 
 except on unusually warm and sultry nights. 
 
 Frequently we find on grape and Virginia-creeper, during 
 midsummer, a small chafer with clay-yellow, rather shining, and 
 striated wing-covers, feeding upon the leaves. This is the 
 Anomala lucicola, which varies also to a shining black. It is 
 occasionally numerous enough to cause notable injury, but 
 
 Fig. 191, 
 
 Fig. 192. 
 
 ^<Z. 
 
 Anomala lucicola.— a, b, larva; c, pupa in 
 larval skin ; d, e,f, adult beetles. 
 
 Goldsmith beetle, 
 Cotalpa Ian ig era. 
 
 yields readily to any of the arsenites. The larvae live in light 
 soil, feed upon the roots of grasses, and pupate in late fall, the 
 adult forming soon after and remaining within the cast larval 
 skin until ready to emerge in early summer. 
 
 Also found during the day on grape foliage, or flying toward 
 it during early evening, is a large, shining, tan-yellow chafer, 
 with eight black .spots, two on the thorax and six on the wing- 
 covers. This is the Pelidnota punctata., or ' ' spotted vine-chafer, ' ' 
 which feeds upon the leaves, but rarely does noticeable injury. 
 The larvae feed upon decaying roots and stumps, and I have 
 taken both larva and pupa out of a rotten cedar trunk. 
 
 Swamp-willow in the East is the food of Cotalpa lanigera, a 
 beetle very similar in size and shape to the preceding, but of a 
 beautiful shining, lemon yellow, the head glittering with a golden 
 sheen, hence known as the "goldsmith beetle." Beneath it is 
 of a burnished copper color, densely clothed with white woolly 
 hair. It is not injurious, and mentioned here only because of its 
 beauty. Some of its allies in the Southwest and in the tropics 
 are of the most brilliant golden and silvery tints. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 203 
 
 A beetle that sometimes does considerable injury to sugar-cane 
 and corn in the Southern States is the " sugar-cane beetle," Li- 
 gyrus nigiceps. Unfortu- 
 nately, we do not yet know ^^ 
 its entire life history, and, as 
 the injuries seem to have 
 been rather local and occa- 
 sional, it may be that it will 
 not prove of wide or gen- 
 eral importance. No satis- 
 factory method of dealing 
 with it is known at present. 
 
 In the genera Xy/orycfes, 
 Strategus, Dynastes, and 
 Phileiirus, we have a series 
 of species more or less 
 bizarre in form, with curious 
 horns and processes on 
 head or thorax or both, but 
 not of economic interest, 
 since neither beetles nor 
 larvae are found on culti- 
 vated plants. Ash furnishes 
 food for several of the spe- 
 cies in both larval and adult 
 form. 
 
 Beginning with the genus 
 AUorhina, we have a series 
 of beetles that frequent 
 flowers, feeding on pollen, 
 but largely repaying what 
 they devour by the benefit 
 they confer in pollenizing. 
 Sometimes, however, they prefer ripening fruits or even corn 
 when in milk, and then become troublesome. Belonging to this 
 genus Allorhina are velvety-green and dull-brown beetles, an 
 inch or more in length, which fly during the day with a buzzing 
 sound somewhat like a bumble-bee, and usually close to the sur- 
 face of the ground, except where they attack fruit. Yet' I have 
 
 H.H.U\UHQ\_S. 
 
 Ligyrus riigictps. — The beetle and its work. 
 
204 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 seen hundreds of them flying about among half a dozen plum- 
 trees, apparently injuring nothing but possibly themselves. 
 Their larvae, however, feed on grass roots and are often trouble- 
 some on lawns. They are quite large creatures and very hairy, 
 with a fashion of travelling on the back instead of the legs, when 
 removed from their congenial soil. Heavy top-dressings of 
 kainit and tobacco have proved about as effective as anything in 
 dealing with these insects, though on a small scale the kerosene 
 emulsion diluted ten times, and then washed into the soil by rain 
 or frequent waterings, has proved effective. On any large area 
 
 Fig. 194. 
 
 Allorhina iiitida.—a, larva ; b, pupa ; c, adult ; rf to^, structural details of larva. 
 
 this process would probably be too expensive. The species Is 
 more common southward, and is more likely to become trouble- 
 some on lawns, in parks, and in gardens than in the field. 
 
 To this same group belongs the "Indian Cetonxdi,'' Euphoria 
 ifida, which is one of the earliest of our Eastern beetles, flying 
 in April or May over sandy or bare spots, close to the ground. 
 At this time it is sometimes found on flowers, but remains only 
 a few days. In early September a new brood appears, and this 
 is occasionally troublesome, the beetles eating into ripe fruits or 
 into corn. They have never yet appeared in such numbers, 
 however, as to make remedial measures necessary. 
 
 Taken as a whole, the Lamellicorns contain no directly bene- 
 ficial insects, and the white-grub larvae are in many cases injurious 
 when they feed on the roots of cultivated plants. Where a 
 variety of cultivated crops follow each other, there is little chance 
 for their excessive development, and frequent rotation is there- 
 fore indicated, with as short a period in grass as may be. As 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 205 
 
 the beetles in most cases appear in spring and oviposit late in 
 May or in June, land bare at that time will probably escape. 
 Fall sowing of crimson clover, to be turned under by the middle 
 of May or before, will in some cases protect the land and act as a 
 green manure if required ; or it may be allowed to remain until 
 mature to make hay, and, if then ploughed and put into potatoes 
 or some crop which the white-grubs do not attack, such as are 
 then in the ground will be starved out. Where white-grubs are 
 abundant, strawberries should not follow sod or other grass crop 
 directly, and the beds should be kept clean, at least through the 
 second year. Where the culprits are species of Lachnosterna, 
 fall ploughing is indicated, since this will turn out the newly-formed 
 beetles at an unseasonable period, and will cause their death in 
 most cases. 
 
 We now reach the great series of Phytophaga, in which the 
 tarsi are apparently four-jointed, the third joint deeply lobed. 
 Two families belong here, — the Ceranibycidce, or long-horned 
 beetles, and the Chrysomclidcs, or leaf-beetles. The ' ' long- 
 horned " beetles are so named from their usually well-developed, 
 slender antennae, rarely shorter than the body, and often several 
 times as long. They are usually more or less cylindrical, often 
 with a vertical head, and always with well-developed mandibles. 
 
 The larvae are wood-borers, using that term in a somewhat 
 loose sense to include roots and the more solid parts of a few 
 herbaceous plants, and are always cylindrical, the segments well 
 marked, those immediately behind the head considerably enlarged, 
 while anally they often taper quite abruptly. They are known as 
 "round-headed" borers to distinguish them from the "flat- 
 headed ' ' larvae of the Buprestidcs, and the jaws, though rather 
 small, are powerfully developed, fitted for cutting the hardest 
 wood-fibre. In food habits the insects vary greatly, some attack- 
 ing only dead or dying tissue, while others infest sound trees 
 only. Perhaps in most cases they do best in somewhat weakened 
 trees which their ravages soon kill entirely. 
 
 Among our largest species are the Prionids in which the 
 margin of the thorax is thin, sharp, and often toothed, and our 
 most common species, extending over a large part of the United 
 States, is Orihosoma brnnneiim, an oblong, somewhat flattened, 
 brown species, from one and one-half to two inches or more in 
 
2o6 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 length. It is not economically important, unlike the "broad- 
 necked Prionus," P. laticollis, whose larvae in blackberry are 
 known as "giant root-borers." The beetle is black, robust, 
 broader than usual, with a broad, toothed thorax, and from one 
 to two inches in length. The larvae are immense, nearly three 
 inches for a full-grown female, and they feed in the roots of a 
 
 Fig. 195. 
 
 The " giant root-borer," Prionus laticollis.— 'V.'3.xy2^, pupa, and adult. 
 
 variety of trees and plants, including chestnut, oak, cherry, apple, 
 grape, and blackberry. They require three years to reach 
 maturity, and are sometimes decidedly troublesome. There is no 
 way of reaching the larvae except to dig them out, and in black- 
 berry fields the sudden wilting of part or all of a hill indicates 
 almost infallibly the presence ot one or more, which should then 
 be found and destroyed at once. Grape and apple stand the 
 injury better, but when a tree becomes badly infested nothing 
 remains but to take it out and burn it. Even large trees are 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 207 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Phymatodes amcenus : pupa and adult. 
 
 sometimes killed, an old cherry-tree, fully eighteen inches in 
 trunk diameter, which died rather suddenly, having the roots 
 absolutely riddled in every direction by a dozen or more of these 
 immense creatures. 
 
 The species of Phymatodes are much smaller, a little flattened, 
 with an oval thorax and a tendency to blue and yellow colors. 
 The larvae feed only in dead or 
 dying wood : P. ajucenus, a bright 
 blue species with yellow thorax, 
 attacking dead shoots of grape, 
 while P. variiis and P. variabilis 
 live under the bark of oak cord- 
 wood. The beetles appear in 
 spring and lay their eggs in 
 dying wood or in wood cut 
 during the winter, often in such 
 numbers that the bark is com- 
 pletely loosened by the larvae and will, next spring, slip off in 
 its entirety. They are hence called "bark-slippers" by wood- 
 men. In the Southern States they infest tan-bark, sometimes 
 injuring it considerably. Cutting the trees during the summer, 
 after the beetles have disappeared, or very early in fall will put 
 the bark and wood in such condition that it will not be attractive 
 the season next following. 
 
 The species of Elaphidion are narrow, brown beetles, covered 
 with whitish, somewhat mot- 
 tled pubescence, and have long 
 and rather stout antennae. 
 They are known as " oak- 
 pruners," because the larvae 
 of several species bore into 
 twigs and branches of oak and, 
 when nearly full grown, girdle 
 them from the inside, so that 
 the first high wind of early 
 winter breaks them off, carry 
 ing the larvae to the ground. 
 Transformation is completed in the June or July following. Often, 
 during late summer, the wilting of a twig or small branch indi- 
 
 FlG 
 
 The oak-pruner, Elaphidion parallelum. 
 —a, larva ; 6, pupa in its burrow ; c, beetle ; 
 ik, cut ends of the twig; d to i, structural 
 details. 
 
2o8 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. I 
 
 cates the presence of such a larva. Apple-trees are sometimes 
 attacked, and the best measure for general adoption is the sys- 
 tematic gathering and burning of all fallen twigs and branches 
 during the winter. The insects are not confined to terminal 
 branches only, but sometimes attack the trunks of young shoots 
 or trees after a fire has been over the ground and scorched them, 
 and in such cases the larvae make no effort to girdle. 
 
 In the genus Cyllene we have moderate-sized species that 
 are dark velvety brown or blackish, with bright golden-yellow 
 bands. Of these, C. pidus infests hickory not uncommonly, 
 and appears in spring, while C. robini(Z infests the locust, and 
 appears in fall. This latter is a ^erious pest, and makes growing 
 locusts simply impossible in many localities. As soon as a tree 
 attains a moderate size it is riddled with the 
 large holes made by the larvae, and leads but 
 a sickly life for a few years thereafter, event- 
 ually dying down to the ground. The 
 beetles themselves frequent the flowers of 
 golden-rod, and may be collected there in 
 great numbers, the females resorting to the 
 locusts only when ready to oviposit. An 
 allied, yet larger and prettier, species, Pla- 
 gio7iotiis speciosus, bores into maple, but 
 is usually somewhat rare and has not proved 
 injurious until very recently in some parts of New Hampshire, 
 where certain shade-trees suffered. 
 
 We sometimes find a small larva belonging to this series boring 
 into the branches and smaller shoots of currant- 
 bushes, and early in spring these change to a 
 small, brown, somewhat flattened beetle, rarely 
 exceeding one-quarter of an inch in length, 
 clothed with white hair grouped to form two 
 white spots towards the end of the wing-covers. 
 This is the Psenocoriis siipcrnotatus , which is 
 occasionally abundant enough to be troublesome. 
 It can be held in check by close pruning during 
 the winter, the cuttings to be burnt before spring 
 opens to destroy the contained larvae. 
 
 In late spring or early summer some of the terminal shoots 
 
 Plagionotus speciosus. 
 
 Fig. 199. 
 
 American cur- 
 rant-borer, Pseno- 
 corus supernotatus , 
 enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 209 
 
 of apple- trees may suddenly wilt and the leaves become brown 
 and dry, the fruit, if any, dropping to the ground. These 
 wilted shoots will be found hollowed out, and the culprit is the 
 larva of another little brown longicorn, about one-quarter of an 
 inch in length, quite robust and cylindrical, the wing-covers a 
 little mottled with rather long, pale hair. It is a species of 
 Eupogonius which has not figured much in economic literature, 
 because its injuries rarely amount to more than a light summer 
 pruning. On smaller trees the infested shoots can be cut and 
 destroyed and on larger trees careful winter pruning is indicated. 
 A well-known orchard pest is the round-headed apple-borer, 
 the larva of the Saperda Candida. It attacks quince in prefer- 
 
 FiG. 200. 
 
 CU c i 
 
 Round-head apple-borer, Saperda Candida. — a, larva ; b, pupa; c, adult. 
 
 ence even to apple, but is more rarely found in pear. The 
 beetle appears late in June or early in July, depending somewhat 
 upon latitude, and lays its eggs on the trunk, as near to the surface 
 of the ground as possible, under a loose bark-scale or in a little 
 hole gnawed by its mandibles. The larva lives for a year in the sap 
 wood, then bores into the trunk, up or down, sometimes some 
 distance below the surface, and in the spring of the third year 
 changes to a beetle. Trees of quite large size are killed in a 
 very few years, and for some time before are sickly and do not 
 properly mature a crop of fruit. All sorts of remedies and 
 devices have been proposed, cutting out the larvae being the one 
 most relied upon even yet. This means, in many cases, making 
 an additional large wound in the tree, and sometimes the remedy 
 is worse than the disease. The best method of protection, and 
 
 14 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 203. 
 
 this applies as well to other species infesting tree-trunks, — e.g., 
 the locust-borer, — is mechanical, the trunk being covered or 
 coated by some material impenetrable, repellent, or destructive 
 of or to the adults, thus preventing oviposition. The most 
 satisfactory and lasting measure, all things considered, is cover- 
 ing the lower portion of the trunk with wire mosquito-netting, 
 tying at the top and hilling up against it at the bottom. The 
 netting should extend at least two feet up the trunk and above 
 that a coat of whitewash should be maintained during the danger 
 season. Other measures, equally useful here, have been already 
 referred to when speaking of the " flat-headed borers." 
 
 In the genus Oncideres we find a curious and interesting egg- 
 laying habit : the beetle lays an ^^^ in a twig or branch, and 
 then girdles it at a little distance below, eating 
 so far through that a high wind brings it down. 
 The twig wilts at once and the wood is then in 
 the exact condition desired by the larva, which 
 undergoes its transformations undisturbed by 
 growth or undesired moisture. Sometimes 
 shade-trees are attacked ; but merely gathering 
 and burning the fallen wood keeps the insects 
 in check. 
 
 There are many other longicorns in our fauna, 
 nearly six hundred species being listed in the 
 catalogues, and many are beautiful as well as 
 interesting. The few species referred to here 
 do not even illustrate all the different types, 
 but are all that are sufliciently injurious to be 
 referred to at any length. Wooded regions 
 furnish the greatest variety of species, and all 
 portions of the trees furnish support for their 
 larvae. 
 
 The family Chrysornelidce, or leaf-beetles, contains species 
 that, in the main, feed upon leaf-tissue in the larval as' well as 
 adult stages, and many of them attack cultivated crops. The 
 beetles may be distinguished by the tarsal structure already 
 described, by their usually moderate or small size, short antennae 
 which are not situated on frontal prominences, and by their 
 usually margined, not cylindrical prothorax. The larvae vary 
 
 The "twig-gird- 
 ler," Oncideres cin- 
 gtilatus. — a, beetle 
 at work ; b, egg- 
 puncture ; c, gird- 
 ling done by beetle ; 
 e, egg. 
 
Fig. 2oi. 
 
 Work of the round-head apple-borer, Saperda Candida. — a, puncture in which egg 
 is laid ; b, same in section ; <?, hole from which beetle has emerged ; f, same in section ; 
 g, pupa in its cell. 
 
 Fig. 202. 
 
 Work of tlie locust-boici , <_ wVcv; 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 Fig. 204. 
 
 considerably in form and habit, but are often more or less viscid, 
 and are then termed slugs. 
 
 Belonging- to the genus Lema is a little series of species, several 
 of which feed upon the potato, and of these the best known is 
 the Lema j-lineata, or " 3-lined potato-beetle." It is yellow in 
 color, the head and thorax much narrower than the body, and 
 the wing-covers have three broad, black stripes. It is rarely 
 abundant now a-days, though at one time a somewhat important 
 species, and it may be easily controlled by the use of the arsenites. 
 In fact it is the treatment adopted for the better-known "Colo- 
 rado " beetle that has in a large measure exterminated the Lema. 
 
 Somewhat allied in form are two species of Crioceris, both 
 feeding on asparagus, and both introductions from Europe. The 
 common "asparagus-beetle," C. asparagi, is about one-fourth 
 of an inch in length, the wing-covers black with red or yellow 
 markings, the thorax red with black dots. It hibernates as an 
 adult, and appears early in spring, eating into the asparagus 
 shoots and laying its eggs upon them. 
 These eggs are black and quite long, cylin- 
 drical, set on end so as to project from the 
 shoots in every direction. The larvae hatch 
 soon thereafter, and are slimy, greenish 
 slugs, with black dottings, a blackish head, 
 and black legs. They often do great in- 
 jury, particularly on young plants. On 
 beds where cutting is done, a i^w shoots 
 should be allowed to grow as traps during 
 the cut'ting season, and on these the ma- 
 jority of beetles will oviposit. In a week 
 they should be cut and destroyed, other 
 shoots being allowed to take their place, to 
 be similarly treated thereafter. If this prac- 
 tice is kept up for a month, no injury need 
 be anticipated later on, as the species will 
 be too much reduced in numbers to be- 
 come troublesome. No volunteer aspara- 
 gus should be permitted, as otherwise the insects will multiply 
 there. In young beds the beetles cannot be checked, because 
 spraying the feathery leaves is impracticable, but after the larvae 
 
 Asparagus-beetle, d lO- 
 ceris asparagi : larva, 
 adult, and shoot with eggs. 
 
212 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 develop, they may be readily brushed off with a stick in the 
 middle of a hot day and few of them ever get back, a short 
 period on the hot soil proving fatal. The work can be done 
 very rapidly, and is needed two or three times only to secure 
 entire protection. Where a field of old shoots becomes badly 
 infested by larvae, much benefit may be derived by a thorough 
 dusting with fresh, dry- slacked lime early in the morning while 
 the plants are yet a little moist with dew. The lime, if properly 
 prepared, is sufficiently caustic to burn holes into and kill the 
 slimy larvae. As new specimens are constantly hatching, this 
 dusting must be done several times at short intervals, but is sure 
 to prove effective if thoroughly carried out. 
 
 The " 1 2-spotted asparagus beetle," C. 12-pimctatus, is some- 
 what larger and more robust, uniformly reddish in color, with 
 twelve black spots on the wing-covers. It is as yet less common 
 than its ally and not so widely distributed, but may be treated in 
 much the same way. 
 
 The species of Fidia are robust, rather long-legged creatures, 
 covered with short hair, giving them a more or less marked gray 
 appearance, and they feed largely upon grape. Fidia viticida 
 has proved locally injurious in Ohio, and, as the species occurs 
 over a large portion of our country, it may break out anywhere 
 at almost any time. The beetle feeds upon the foliage, eating 
 irregular holes on the upper surface in June. Eggs are laid on 
 the trunk of the vine or on the branches in any available crevice, 
 and the larvae drop to the ground when hatched, making their 
 way beneath it as best they may, to the rootlets upon which they 
 feed. Remedial measures have not as yet proved very ^tisfac- 
 tory, but spraying with a strong arsenical mixture, using lime to 
 avoid burning the foliage, will kill many of the beetles. Culti- 
 vating the ground so as to have a loose powdery top soil without 
 crevices leading to the roots, which should also be covered as 
 deeply as possible, will prevent many of the larvae from reaching 
 their feeding place. 
 
 Strawberry plants are sometimes injured by whitish larvae 
 feeding upon the roots, and from these are produced small, shin- 
 ing, black or brownish beetles belonging to Paria aterrima, or 
 certain allied species popularly known as ' ' strawberry root- 
 borers. ' ' The best measures here are clean culture and frequent 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 213 
 
 change of location for the strawberry beds. The insects are 
 rarely troublesome in the Eastern, but often injurious in the 
 Central States. Old beds should be ploughed out and destroyed 
 as soon as they have been picked, and when new beds are set out 
 care should be used in selecting plants free from insect attack. 
 Where a two-year picking rotation is used and the old plants are 
 immediately destroyed, the species are not able to increase ex- 
 cessively. The arsenites may be satisfactorily used to kill tht 
 
 Fig. 205. 
 
 Grape-root-worm, Fidia viticida. — A, adult ; B^ pupa ; C, larva ; the other letters refer 
 to details of larval structure. 
 
 adults when they are noticed feeding upon the foliage. Using 
 commercial fertilizers instead of barn-yard manure is also to be 
 recommended. 
 
 Perhaps the best-known species of this family is the ' ' potato- 
 bug," or "potato-beetle," or " lo-lined beetle," or "Colorado 
 potato-beetle," Doryphora lo-lineata. No description of this 
 insect is necessary, the figures serving to illustrate all its stages 
 sufficiently well. The insects winter underground as adults or 
 pupae, and the beetles emerge early in spring, attacking the 
 young plants as soon as they show above ground, and laying 
 eggs for the livid-reddish larvae. About midsummer these have 
 matured a second brood of beetles, and a second brood of larvae 
 
214 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 follows shortly thereafter, resulting in a fall supply of beetles, 
 which, as a rule, hibernate. Sometimes a third partial brood of 
 larvae reaches the pupal state, and hibernates in that condition. 
 The arsenites are well-known and approved remedies, used at the 
 rate of one pound in from seventy-five to one hundred gallons 
 of water, and several machines especially intended for spraying 
 potato-fields are on the market. The insect maintains itself 
 unchecked, because, while active war is waged against the first 
 
 Fig. 206. 
 
 The Colorado potato-beetle, Doryphora lo-Uncata. — a, a, egg patches ; d, 6, d, larvae in 
 different stages of growth ; c, pupa; (f, beetle; <?, its elytra enlarged. 
 
 brood, little attention is paid to the second, and this is usually 
 allowed to mature and provide for a new crop the year following. 
 Spraying should be done first as soon as the beetles begin feed- 
 ing, to prevent oviposition if possible ; it should be done a sec- 
 ond time when larvae appear generally, and it should be done as 
 often thereafter as beetles or larvae are noticed infesting the 
 plants. 
 
 The species of Diabrotica are rather slender, with long an- 
 tennae ; of a green or yellow color, with black spots or stripes. 
 The adults feed on leaves, flowers, or pollen, but the larvae, which 
 are white and slender, usually feed in the roots or stems of plants. 
 One of our most common forms, D. vittata, is known as " the 
 striped cucumber-beetle, ' ' and is yellow with black stripes on the 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 215 
 
 wing-covers. It feeds on all kinds of cucurbit vines, and on 
 many other plants as well, doing injury by eating into the stem 
 of the young shoots at or below the surface, where it has a ten- 
 dency to hide during the middle of the day. The larvae live in 
 the main roots underground, making short galleries, which, if 
 numerous, weaken or even kill the plant. The beetles winter as 
 adults. A free use of tobacco dust around young vines or other 
 injured plants is usually protective, though in some localities the 
 farmers resort to ' ' driving. ' ' They do this before the middle of 
 the day, sowing air-slacked lime with the wind, and this seems 
 to be sufficiently offensive to the insects to induce them to leave 
 for fields to the leeward, where they, of course, become doubly 
 injurious unless also driven off". Planting an excess of seed to 
 distribute the injury is a common practice, and so is starting the 
 plants in baskets and setting them out when well established and 
 able to resist injury. Melon and other cucurbit vines should 
 always be plowed out, raked up, and destroyed as soon as pos- 
 sible after the crop is off", to destroy any larvae that may be then 
 in the roots. 
 
 An allied and equally common species, feeding as an adult 
 upon a great variety of plants, is the D. i2-piinctata, or "12- 
 spotted Diabrotica." This is somewhat larger than the preced- 
 ing, with a more oval body, and has twelve black spots on the 
 greenish-yellow wing-covers. The larva feeds on the roots of a 
 variety of plants and becomes injurious to corn in the Southern 
 States. There are two broods, and the beetles winter in the 
 adult stage. No direct remedy is known, but good cultivation 
 and a liberal application of stimulating fertilizers is advisable to 
 enable the corn-plant to resist and outgrow attack. Clean cul- 
 ture is the greatest essential, and this of itself will do much to 
 reduce injury. 
 
 The "corn-root Diabrotica" of the Western and Central 
 States is of a uniform, pale-green color, named D. longicornis, 
 from its long antennae, and its larva has proved a serious pest to 
 corn. The complete life history of the insect is known, and as it 
 winters in the e^^ state in corn-fields, simple rotation is all that 
 is necessary to destroy the species. It can never become injuri- 
 ous unless corn follows corn year after year, and even a single 
 year without corn serves to completely rid a field of the pest. 
 
b'iG. 209. 
 
 Fig. 210. 
 
 Fig. 207, Lenta iri/iuea/a. F"ig. 208, a, a, larva ; c, pupa ; d, eggs of Lema tnlineaia. 
 Fig. 209, Diabrotica 12-punctata : a, egg; b, larva; c, injury in corn-stalk; d, pupa; 
 e, beetle. Fig. 210, Diabrotica loiigicornis : a, adult; b, pupa; c, larva; d, same in its 
 case. Fig. -211, Diabrotica vittata. Fig. 212, larva of same. Fig. 213, its pupa. 
 2l6 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 217 
 
 The genus Galenica contains a series of rather small, oblong 
 species, mostly dirty clay-yellow in color, and more or less black 
 marked or spotted. Of these none is more troublesome than the 
 " elm-leaf beetle," Galeruca xanthome IcBna, which is another of 
 our undesirable importations from Europe. It is rather greenish 
 yellow when fresh, with two black stripes on the wing-covers. 
 It hibernates as a beetle wherever it can find shelter, and attacks 
 the leaves of elms in spring as soon as they are well grown, 
 eating irregular round holes, so they soon look as if loads of 
 shot had been fired through them in every direction. The yel- 
 low, bottle-shaped eggs are laid in double rows on the under 
 sides of the leaves, and from them hatch the yellow, black-spotted 
 larvae, covered with little bristly tufts of hair. In the northern 
 part of its range, including the red shale of New Jersey, a single 
 brood is normal, but south of this, and including an extension 
 into Long Island, the insect has two broods annually, and at 
 Washington or further south may have three or even more. As 
 against these insects the arsenites are effective, and the trees 
 should be sprayed, preferably with the arsenate of lead, just as 
 soon as the beetles begin feeding. The object is to destroy as 
 many of the hibernating forms as possible, and to prevent egg- 
 laying in large part. A second spraying should be given when 
 the eggs begin hatching, to destroy the young larvae, and in 
 serious cases a third spraying a week or ten days thereafter will 
 be beneficial. When the larvae are full grown they descend the 
 trunk to the ground, where they change to bright-yellow pupae 
 among the grass or rubbish on the surface. Here they may be 
 destroyed by hot water, kerosene, strong soap-suds, Hme, or 
 other suitable substances, and the second brood, where such 
 occurs, may thus be materially lessened. Where there are two 
 broods or more, repeated sprayings will be necessary, extending 
 throughout the summer. If these methods are generally adopted 
 the insect can be satisfactorily controlled. Protecting a few trees 
 only among many that are neglected will always be difficult and 
 can be at best only partly successful.* 
 
 * For detailed information concerning the treatment of trees in cities 
 or towns, or on a large scale, the publications of the United States De- 
 partment of Agriculture and of the New Jersey Experiment Station 
 should be consulted. 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 2ig 
 
 Distinct from all the forms hitherto mentioned are the "flea- 
 beetles," so called because of their greatly enlarged hind femora, 
 giving them the power of making sudden leaps ending in flight. 
 We have many species, and some of them are decidedly injurious 
 and troublesome to deal with. 
 
 The grape flea-beetle is a well-known species called Haltica 
 chalybea, from its steel-blue color, and it feeds both as adult and 
 larva on the leaves of the grape. The larvae are blackish and 
 slender, slug-like and somewhat viscid, feeding in company 
 during a great part of their growth. They are easily controlled 
 by any stomach poison, and the Bordeaux mixture, applied as a 
 fungicide, seems to be effective in keeping them in check. 
 
 The genera Crepidodcra and Epitrix contain a number of 
 small species, among which the "cucumber flea-beetle," or 
 "potato-flea," Epitrix auumeris, easily ranks first. As a small 
 black beetle, it eats little round holes into the leaves of potato, 
 tomato, egg-plant, and a variety of other solanaceous plants, as 
 well as into those of melon, cucumber, and other cucurbitaceous 
 vines. Potatoes seem rather the favorite food, and where the 
 beetles and their little holes are numerous the leaves turn brown 
 and die, checking the growth of the plant, and hence of the 
 crop. The larvae are leaf- and stem-miners, but do little or no 
 damage. Usually Paris-green and London-purple are satisfac- 
 tory remedies, and it has been observed that the Bordeaux mix- 
 ture acts as a deterrent when liberally used, serving thus the 
 double purpose of checking insect injury and plant disease. 
 Tobacco is also a very satisfactory material used as a decoc- 
 tion, but is scarcely economical except on a small scale or in 
 gardens. 
 
 The "sweet-potato flea," Chcetocnema confinis, is an inter- 
 esting, if troublesome, small, bronzed beetle, attacking the leaves 
 of the young plants just after they have been set out, and eating 
 little channels along the veins, finally making the net-work so 
 complete that the leaves shrivel and dry. If the vines get a fair 
 start, they outgrow the injury very rapidly, but cold, wet weather, 
 by retarding growth, sometimes enables the insects to kill them. 
 Dipping the plants before they are set out in the arsenate of lead 
 mixture, at the rate of fifteen ounces to fifty gallons of water, will 
 prove a satisfactory protection without danger of injury to the 
 
Fig. 217. 
 
 Fig. 219. 
 
 Fig. 217, grape flea-beetle, Haltica chalybea, in all its stages, on a grape shoot. Kig. 
 218, work of the sweet-potato flea on the leaves. Fig. 219, pale-striped flea-beetle, Sys- 
 tena blanda. Fig. 220, the rosy Hispa, Odontota rosea. 
 220 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 plants. Or they may be thoroughly sprayed with the Bordeaux 
 mixture immediately after being set out. 
 
 Of somewhat larger size and more slender, graceful form are 
 the species of Systena, and of these, S. blajida, the ' ' pale-striped 
 flea-beetle," has become best known by reason of its injury on a 
 great variety of plants, including sugar-beets. As with the other 
 "fleas" it is injurious in the beetle stage only, and, as a rule, in 
 early summer on young plants. I have seen it ruin an entire 
 field of carrots, and have found it on melons, potatoes, beets, and 
 pig-weed in equal abundance. Its life history has not been pub- 
 lished, but its larva is said to feed upon corn-roots. This is cer- 
 tainly not universally true, and its native food-plant in the early 
 stages remains to be ascertained. As with other leaf-feeding 
 forms, we are referred to the arsenites, or, as a means of protection 
 only, to air-slacked lime, which will drive the beetles to wild 
 plants, leaving the lime-dusted crop free. 
 
 In the genus Phyllotreta we find another series of small species 
 not exceeding one-eighth of an inch in length, ordinarily black in 
 color, with yellow stripes or 
 
 spots on the wing-covers. The Fig. 221. 
 
 most common species in the 
 East is the ' ' wavy-striped flea- 
 beetle," P. vittata, in which 
 there is a distinct yellow stripe 
 through the middle of each ely- 
 tron. The adults feed upon the 
 leaves of cabbage, radish, mus- 
 tard, and others of the cruciferae, 
 while the larvae live as miners 
 in the tissues of the same plants. 
 In dealing with this species 
 the important points are clean 
 culture and keeping down all 
 cruciferous weeds. If in addi- 
 tion all crop remnants are promptly gathered and destroyed, no 
 serious danger need be apprehended. 
 
 Following the flea-beetles is a series of very curious, somewhat 
 wedge-shaped insects, the Hispidce, in which the antennte are 
 thickened, and the elytra, or wing-covers, broaden to the tip, 
 
 striped flea-beetle, Phyllotreta vittata.- 
 a, larva ; b, adult. 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 where they are rather abruptly terminated. The larvae are leaf- 
 miners, and perhaps the most common species is the Odo?itota 
 dorsalis, or locust-beetle, which occurs abundantly on the leaves 
 in early summer, and is orange in color, with a broad black 
 stripe on the centre of each elytron. The eggs are covered with 
 a little mass of excrement, and are laid singly, few leaves con- 
 taining more than two or three. Not much real injury is done 
 by any of the species, and the suggestion that the adults feed 
 exposed and succumb readily to the arsenites is all that is neces- 
 sary on the subject of remedies. 
 
 The adult Cassidce are called "tortoise-beetles," or, by the 
 sweet-potato grower, "golden bugs." They are characterized 
 by their broad, almost quadrate form, flat under and convex 
 upper side, and by the more or less metallic-yellow or golden 
 color of the elytra and upper surface generally. Most of the 
 species feed upon Convolvulus, to which natural family the sweet- 
 potato belongs, and the 
 ^^^- ^^^- latter is about the only cul- 
 
 tivated crop suffering from 
 the attacks of insects of this 
 series. The beetles hiber- 
 nate and appear in the sweet- 
 potato fields as soon as the 
 crop is set out, eating irreg- 
 ular holes in the leaves, and 
 laying their eggs, encased in 
 a mass of excrement, on the 
 under surface. The larvae 
 are known as "peddlers," 
 because they have piled 
 upon a pair of anal forks all 
 the cast skins and a part of 
 their excrement, forming a 
 sort of shelter, umbrella, or 
 "pack," to which latter 
 resemblance they owe the 
 common name. The most abundant form is the Cassida bivittata, 
 or "two-striped tortoise-beetle," so named from the two black 
 stripes on each wing-cover. Following closely is the Coptocyda 
 
 Cuplucycla aurichalcea.—a, larvse, or ped- 
 dlers, with their packs ; b, larva with pack 
 removed ; c, pupa. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 223 
 
 mirichalcea, so named because of its resemblance to a drop of 
 molten gold. The injury is done by these species just after the 
 plants are set out and before they get a start. Where the season 
 is unfavorable to rapid growth, some plants may be killed, but 
 under ordinary conditions they are soon out of danger.. Good 
 practice is to set only large, well-developed plants, or to dip 
 e\erything before setting out in the arsenate of lead mixture 
 recommended against the flea-beetles. Finally, it has been found 
 that chickens are fond of the insects in all stages, and by turning 
 loose a sufficient number in the fields after the plants have been 
 set out practical exemption is secured. 
 
 The bean- ajid pea-weevils constitute a little family by them- 
 selves under the term Bruchidcg. They agree with the leaf- 
 beetles in general structure, but 
 have a small head, prolonged into ^^'^- ^^•3- 
 
 a blunt snout, a very obese abdo- 
 men, exposed at the tip by the 
 short, square wing-covers, and 
 much enlarged hind legs, which 
 are not used for leaping. They 
 are always small and usually more 
 or less ashen-gray in color, covered 
 
 with whitish hair or scales, which Bean-weevil, Bruchus /aba- much 
 
 enlarged ; o, an infested bean. 
 
 form variably evident markings on 
 
 the wing-covers. The beetles are often found in dried seeds of 
 leguminous plants, — peas, beans, lentils, or the like, — and are 
 sometimes seriously injurious in the stored product, lessening 
 also or destroying the germinating power. The beetles come 
 out normally in the spring, and after pairing the females lay 
 their eggs in the young pods of the plants affected by them. 
 The larvae work their way into the forming seed and grow very 
 slowly, the species varying somewhat in the details of their life 
 history. Our only method of controlling the insects is in the 
 stored product, or seed, and here by means of bisulphide of car- 
 bon we can kill larvae as well as adult beetles, in any moderately 
 tight receptacle. The rule should be, gather the entire crop and 
 allow nothing to remain in the field ; plant only sound seed, and 
 never under any circumstances throw away "weevilly" peas, 
 beans, lentils, etc. They should always be burnt, or otherwise 
 
224 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 completely destroyed. Wild as well as cultivated plants are 
 infested, though we do not know that insects infesting our garden 
 varieties are carried over by other wild species. 
 
 Fig. 224. 
 
 Fig. 225. 
 
 Pea-\vee\i\, Bruck7<s fiisi- — c, larva; d, pupa; /^, adult; all enlarged. 
 
 We now reach the series Hcteromera., or beetles in which the 
 fore and middle tarsi have five joints, while the posterior are 
 four-jointed only. We have rather a large number of families, 
 many with a few species only, and as a whole they are feeders 
 in or on decaying or dry vegetable tissue, whether herbaceous, 
 woody, or fungoid in character. There are exceptions, of course, 
 but that is the rule. 
 
 The TenebrionidcB, or "darkling-beetles," contain species 
 ranging from quite small to very large, found under all sorts of 
 conditions, but most frequently beneath 
 bark of trees, on fungi, or under stones, 
 among dry vegetable matter. There is 
 no uniformity in appearance, but in most 
 instances the antennae are more or less 
 moniliform, or bead-like. The majority 
 of our species are Western, occurring in 
 their greatest variety in the Rocky 
 Mountain region, but none, so far as I 
 know, trouble green vegetation. The 
 typical genus Te^iebrio contains black or 
 brownish, somewhat flattened species, 
 with a square thorax and deeply ridged 
 wing-covers. The larvae are known as " meal-worms," and feed 
 upon grain or meal remnants in barn, stable, or other sheltered 
 
 The meal-worm, Tenebrio 
 molitor.—a, larva ; b, pupa; 
 c, adult ; d Xo k, structural 
 details. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 225 
 
 spots. They are often bred by bird-fanciers in large numbers, 
 and only need plenty of food to multiply rapidly. They rarely 
 do serious injury, but are not pleasant to have around, and may 
 be easily controlled by cleanliness, supplemented in extreme 
 cases with bisulphide of carbon. A few other small, brown 
 forms, among which the species of Tribolium may be mentioned, 
 occur under like circumstances, but are amenable to the same 
 treatment. 
 
 Fig. 226. 
 
 Tyibolmm confusum. — a, adult; b, larva; c, pupa; e, head, with antenna; f, same of 
 
 T.feriugi>ieti»i. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting, and economically the most im- 
 portant of this series, are the "blister-beetles," or Mcloidcc. 
 The name " blister-beetles" is from a peculiar property possessed 
 by them of raising blisters on the human skin. This is due to a 
 substance called " cantharidin," found in the juices of all the 
 species to a greater or less extent. The species generally used 
 in medicine comes from Spain, hence the insects are also known 
 as "Spanish flies." The beetles are rather soft-bodied, with 
 broad heads, the antennae often knotted in the males, the thorax 
 narrow and cylindrical, the wing-covers extending well down the 
 sides. Some of the species are brightly colored and banded, 
 occasionally metallic bronze or coppery, and all of them are leaf- 
 feeders. Among the common eastern species several attack 
 potatoes, and of these a yellow and black-striped form, Epicauta 
 vittata, is known as the "old-fashioned potato-bug." Asters 
 
 15 
 
Fig. 227. 
 
 Meloidw, or " blister-beetles."— Fig. 227, Spanish fly, Lytta vesicatoria. Fig. 228, 
 Epicauta 7>ittata: a. second larva; c, d, coarctata larvai from back and side. Fig. 229, 
 a and b, true pupa of same, from side and front. Fig. 230, a, grasshopper egg-pod ; b. 
 a few eggs from same ; c, triungulin ; rf, carabidoid larva ; ^, scarabidoid larva. Fig. 
 231, adult Epicauta vittata. Fig. 232, Epicauta cinerea. Fig. 233, a, Macrobasis uni- 
 color ; b, Epicauta pentisylvanica. 
 226 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 227 
 
 and other flowers are injured by a black species with gray-edged 
 elytra, Epicauta cinerea, and among field-crops beets are, after 
 potatoes, the chief sufferers. The beetles appear quite suddenly 
 in large numbers, and some species disappear almost as quickly, 
 while others linger several days. A uniformly black form, 
 Epicauta pennsylvanica, is often found in considerable numbers 
 on the flowers of the golden-rod in August and September, while 
 a uniformly gray species, Macrobasis iinicoloi\ is common on the 
 false indigo. 
 
 The life history is interesting, and the species may be divided 
 into two series, those living in the nests of burrowing bees and 
 those living in grasshopper eggs. In the first series the eggs are 
 laid on flowers, and from each hatches an active little creature 
 with long legs, prominent jaws, and large head, which is known 
 as a " triungulin." It runs about the flowers until the proper 
 kind of bee comes along, gains a foothold on this, and, buried 
 among the hairy clothing, allows itself to be transported to the 
 bee nest. There it quits its unconscious host, makes its way 
 into one of the completed cells, devours first the o^g^ or young 
 larva, and then completes its own transformations, feeding upon 
 the stores now without another owner. This type is only 
 indirectly of economic interest, but is rather injurious than 
 otherwise. 
 
 In the second series the Q^g<g is laid either on a plant or on 
 the ground, but in either case a triungulin similar to that above 
 described results, and this has the power of existing without food 
 for several days, while hunting for a grasshopper egg-pod. When 
 such a one is found its wanderings are over, and it begins feed- 
 ing at once. When it moults its large head and long legs disap- 
 pear, and it resembles a Carabid larva, with ovate body, small 
 head and jaws, and short legs ; it is now in the ' ' carabidoid' ' 
 stage. Again it moults, and now the resemblance is to a 
 small "white grub," for which reason this has been termed 
 the " scarabidoid" stage. When all the grasshopper eggs are 
 devoured, our larva is full grown, ceases feeding, and shrinks 
 into its own hardened skin, forming a coarctate stage, or 
 pseudopupa, in which it winters. In spring it emerges from this 
 covering, is active a short time without feeding, and then enters 
 the true pupal stage, in which it resembles other Coleoptera. In 
 
2 28 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 this stage it remains until the proper conditions occur, and then 
 joins its companions in a seemingly concerted movement to arise 
 and assume the beetle stage. This uniformity of development 
 explains the sudden appearance of the insects in large numbers, 
 and their power to cause mischief is derived from it, since the 
 farmer does not often realize the nature of the invasion until con- 
 siderable injury has been done. In the larval stage they are 
 beneficial, in so far as they feed upon the eggs of grasshoppers, 
 but it is questionable whether this benefit overbalances the dam- 
 age they do as adults, and I never hesitate to advise prompt 
 measures for their destruction. The best of these is a thorough 
 application of one of the arsenites as soon as the insects appear, 
 adding milk of lime to make the poison stick better and to dis- 
 courage feeding. In small patches the beetles can be gathered 
 in pans early in the day, or they may be driven to a layer of 
 straw, the latter to be set on fire when the insects become en- 
 tangled among it. The last is the least desirable of the measures, 
 though under some circumstances very effective. In all cases, 
 promptness is essential. 
 
 The Rhynchophora, or "snout-beetles," are separated into a 
 number of fiimilies which need not be particularly described here, 
 but all agree in having a more or less evidently produced beak 
 or snout, at the end of which the small mouth parts are situated. 
 The terms " curculios" and "weevils," in addition to that above 
 given, are rather indiscriminately applied to species of this series. 
 All the snout-beetles are vegetable feeders in both larval and 
 adult stages, and, therefore, more or less injurious. Many of the 
 larvae are internal feeders, and, therefore, white or yellowish, 
 usually with short, bristly hair, a brown head, and no feet. As 
 a rule, they are somewhat curved and terminate rather bluntly, a 
 little Hke "white grubs," but without the peculiar, large, ter- 
 minal segment. It will be necessary to restrict our mention to 
 the most troublesome forms, and the first of these, in systematic 
 order, is " Fuller's rose-beetle," Aramigiis fiiUeri. 
 
 This beetle, which has a short, obtuse snout, and is of a dark, 
 smoky- brown color, lays its eggs in little masses under any sort 
 of shelter on rose-bushes, and the resulting white, grub-like 
 larvae feed on the tender roots of the plants. The insect is, 
 essentially, a green-house pest, and often weakens the plants, so 
 
THE INSECT' WORLD. 
 
 229 
 
 as to render unprofitable if it does not kill them. The beetles 
 are long-lived, and hide during the day on the under side of the 
 leaves on which they feed. Hence, collecting and destroying 
 them is the most satisfactory remedy, while the use of a tobacco 
 extract on the ground will act both as a fertilizer and to destroy 
 the subterranean larvae. 
 
 The clover-leaf beetle, Phytonomus piindatus, is another quite 
 large species, dull brown in color, with indefinitely striped wing- 
 
 FlG 
 
 p?^-^ 
 
 Clover-leaf beetle, Phytonomus punclatus. — a, egg; b, b, larvae feeding; c, very young 
 larva;/", cocoon, its net-like character shown at ,^ ,• /?, pupa; i, beetle, on clover-stalk; 
 k, same, enlarged ; other letters refer to structural details. 
 
 covers, and a short, stout beak. The larva is green, its form well 
 shown in the figure, and it feeds chiefly at night, eating irregular 
 holes in the leaves. When full grown it forms a peculiar net-like 
 cocoon at or a little beneath the surface of the ground and 
 pupates, becoming adult a few days thereafter. The insects 
 hibernate in the larval stage, and their injury becomes manifest 
 
230 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 235. 
 
 Diseased 
 larva of clover- 
 leaf beetle. 
 
 quite early in the season, often threatening entire destruction of 
 the crop when they are nearly full grown. Fortunately, nature 
 has provided a check for this insect in a fungous disease which in 
 most localities carries off the larvae annually, just 
 before they mature, leaving only a comparatively 
 small proportion to perpetuate the species. As 
 this disease seems to occur in seasons of all kinds, 
 and irrespective of climatic conditions, it can be 
 easily introduced into any locality in which the 
 insects become destructive. Affected larvae curl 
 themselves round a spear of grass or on the edge 
 of a leaf and die, first swelling somewhat and 
 becoming gray in color ; then they collapse and 
 become black, eventually forming a small, dried, 
 black mass, utterly indistinguishable in character. 
 The "white-pine weevil," Pissodes strobi, is one of the most 
 serious enemies to that tree, and in the more northern States 
 attacks the leading shoots, in young trees spoiling their shape 
 completely. The insect has been studied, and a full account 
 
 is given in the Fifth Report of 
 the United States Entomological 
 Commission, dealing with forest 
 insects, but no satisfactory reme- 
 dial measures are proposed. In 
 parks or gardens small orna- 
 mental trees can probably be 
 protected by keeping the leading 
 shoots sprayed during the spring 
 with a carbolated soap-wash, to 
 which Paris green has been 
 added at the rate of one pound in one hundred and fifty gallons 
 of water. Other infested shoots should be gathered and burnt. 
 The report above cited is so full on the subject of forest insects 
 belonging to this series that only those infesting cultivated crops 
 need be discussed here. 
 
 Early in the season we find on the leaves and stems of rhubarb 
 a rather long, cylindrical weevil, Lixus co?icavus, with a short 
 heavy snout, entirely covered by an easily rubbed ofif, rusty 
 powder. It is also remarkable for its exceedingly firm texture. 
 
 White-pine weevil, Pissodes strobi. 
 its larva; b, its pupa. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 231 
 
 Fig. 237. 
 
 making it difficult to pierce with any ordinary pin. It bores 
 little holes in the leaf and flower stems of the plant, laying an 
 0.^^ in each, from which hatches in 
 due time a white, grub-like larva, 
 which feeds in the plant tissue. 
 Where the leaves are regularly cut 
 for market, little trouble is experi- 
 enced. All old leaves not needed 
 by the plant should be removed and 
 destroyed, so that after midsummer 
 none of the early leaves should re- 
 main on the plants. If this practice 
 is constantly carried out no injury 
 need be apprehended. The natural 
 food-plant is said to be dock. 
 
 In the genus Anthonomiis small 
 species predominate, and the colors 
 are modest, but their powers of in- 
 jury are by no means in proportion 
 to their size. One of the most trou- 
 blesome is the "strawberry-weevil," 
 A. signatus, which appears as a small, blackish beetle, with gray 
 pubescence, when the buds are developing, and lays an Ggg in 
 each, afterward puncturing the flower-stalk be- 
 low the bud so as to check development. The 
 larva feeds upon the pollen in the unopened 
 bud, and finds it sufficient to attain its full 
 growth, changing to a beetle in midsummer. 
 The insect attacks a number of other flowers 
 in the same way, not even confining itself to 
 one natural family, and its injury to straw- 
 berries is of a somewhat intermittent character, 
 becoming worse for a number of years, then 
 stopping suddenly for no apparent reason. 
 Only staminate, or pollen-bearing, varieties are 
 attacked, and the Sharpless is, perhaps, the 
 most seriously infested. By planting chiefly 
 pistillate varieties, the staminate rows may be protected by cheap 
 coverings until the buds are ready to open, and even if a small 
 
 Rhubarb-beetle, Lixus concavus. 
 —a, its larva ; b, pupa. 
 
 Strawberry-weevil, 
 Anthonomus signatus- 
 
232 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 crop only is obtained on the pollenizers, the main crop will be 
 safe without protection. Insecticides have not proved markedly 
 useful in this case. 
 
 Other species of this genus hax'c proved more or less trouble- 
 some, notably A. quadri-gibbiis, on apple, but none of these 
 
 Fig. 239. 
 
 Work of the strawberry-weevil.— a, shoot of strawberry-plant bearing punctured 
 buds, b ; the egg at c ; larva at d; pupa at/; at ^ an open strawberry-flower showing 
 the holes eaten by the beetles. 
 
 require more attention here, and the next species in order is 
 Conotrachelus nemiphar, the redoubtable " plum-curculio." 
 Next to the "codling-moth," this is, perhaps, the most serious 
 of the orchard pests, and it ranks above it in the difficulty attend- 
 ing its control. The beetle itself is less than one-fourth of an 
 inch in length, chunky in appearance, brown, with black and 
 gray mottlings, and with four elevated excrescences on the wing- 
 covers. The beetle hibernates and appears in early spring, feed- 
 ing first upon the unopened buds and afterward upon the young 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 233 
 
 Fig. 240. 
 
 Plum-curculio, Conotrachelus tipini- 
 phar. — a, larva ; b, pupa ; c, adult ; rf, 
 beetle at work on a young plum, show- 
 ing a crescent mark. 
 
 leaved of plum, peach, apricot, cherry, apple, and pear. When 
 the fruit has set and become of the size of a marble, the insect 
 makes a crescent-shaped slit, elevating a small flap from the sur- 
 rounding tissue, and in this it lays an ^%^. The latter hatches 
 in a few days, and the whitish, grub-like larva bores at once to 
 the seed capsule, causing the 
 fruit to fall from the tree and rot 
 in the plum, peach, apricot, and 
 cherry, though, except in the 
 plum, this dropping is not uni- 
 versal. Apples and pears do not 
 drop as a result of curculio in- 
 jury, and, except in a few varie- 
 ties of apples, the larva is unable 
 to mature in the fruit remaining 
 on the tree. In apples and pears 
 that drop from other causes, the 
 larva develops freely. By mid 
 summer, growth is complete, the 
 larvae leave the now decayed 
 fruits and go underground to pupate, changing to the adult, or 
 beetle, form a short time thereafter. These go into hiding almost 
 immediately, and are not again seen until the spring following. 
 Remedial measures in this case have not proved entirely satisfac- 
 tory. The larva is beyond reach of all insecticides, and can be 
 destroyed only by persistent and thorough gathering of all fallen 
 fruit at intervals of a few days throughout the early part of the 
 summer. Chickens, turkeys, hogs, or sheep accomplish the same 
 purpose less completely and lessen if they do not prevent injury. 
 The beetles may be reached by spraying the trees before the buds 
 open with one of the arsenites, destroying them before they have 
 a chance to oviposit. Spraying may be continued after the fruit 
 has set, to kill the beetle while eating out its crescents. Some 
 part of the fruit is always injured, though a sufficiently large 
 percentage to pay for the insecticide application is usually saved. 
 Jarring the trees every day or two over a sheet or other recep- 
 tacle has been practised with good success, as the beetles drop 
 readily and lie quietly for some time, especially early in the day, 
 allowing themselves to be easily gathered up and destroyed. 
 
234 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 This is one of those cases where persistent and universal practice 
 is desirable to obtain the best results. 
 
 An allied but larger species of the same genus without the 
 elevations on the wing-covers is C. crataegi, which attacks the 
 quince and sometimes does considerable injury, much as the C. 
 nemiphar does on the fruits above enumerated. The same 
 measures are indicated here also. 
 
 The potato-stalk borer, Trichobaris j-iiotata, is a small ash- 
 gray weevil about one-sixth of an inch in length, with a black 
 
 Fig. 241. 
 
 Potato-stalk borer, Trichobaris trinotata. — Larva, pupa, and adult. 
 
 snout and three small black spots at the base of the wing-covers. 
 It lays its eggs into the stems and larger branches of the potato, 
 horse-nettle, Jimpson-weed (^Datura stranionium), and, perhaps, 
 other Solanaceae, and the white larvae feed there until after mid- 
 summer, changing to pup?e at about the time when the potato- 
 vines mature, and to adult beetles a short time thereafter. The 
 beetles remain in their larval burrows during the winter, and may 
 be easily destroyed by burning the vines immediately after the 
 potatoes are harvested. 
 
 The species of Balanmus are known as nut-weevils, are of 
 quite large size, clay-yellow in color, and with an exceedingly 
 long and slender, black beak or snout. By means of this they 
 puncture the burrs of young chestnuts, the husks of hickory and 
 walnuts, and the green coverings of young acorns, reaching near 
 the centre of the nut itself, and placing an egg in the hole so 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 235 
 
 made. The larva hatches and the Httle wound through which 
 the ^^'g was laid heals so completely that no trace of it is visible 
 
 Fig. 242. 
 
 Work of the potato-stalk borer, Trichobaris j-notata, in potato-vines. 
 
 in the fully developed fruit. When the nut is ripe and drops to 
 the ground the larva is full grown, and eats a round hole in the 
 
236 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Chestiuit-\vije\il, BalaiiiiiHs rectus. — a, from 
 above; b, in outline, from side; r, larva. 
 
 shell through which it makes its way and goes underground to 
 pupate. Thus it winters, and the beetles emerge in spring when 
 
 the nut-trees are in bloom, 
 '^' ^'*^^' Considerable injury is 
 
 sometimes caused in cul- 
 tivated chestnut groves, 
 and the only way to avoid 
 it is to gather the nuts 
 systematically as soon as 
 they fall, and either ship 
 them at once, or store 
 them in tight boxes or 
 barrels, from which the 
 larvae cannot escape when 
 they come out. They will then be found at the bottom when 
 the nuts are removed, and may be easily killed. 
 
 In many localities corn is attacked soon after it shows above 
 ground by insects known as " corn bill-bugs." These belong to 
 the genus Sphenophoncs, and are black or brown, rarely gray in 
 color, varying from one-fourth to half an inch in length, with 
 very thick and hard wing-covers, which are ridged and punc- 
 tured, as is also the thorax. They hide during the day in the 
 soil at the base of the corn-plants, and kill them by boring 
 little round holes in the stem. They are most frequent after 
 timothy, especially on old sod, or when corn follows sedges or 
 bulb-rooted grasses. It is in such places that the larvae live 
 naturally, pupating in fall or early spring, and the beetles, finding 
 on spring ploughed land that their natural food is gone, attack the 
 corn, which replaces and is nearly enough like it to be to their 
 taste. The period of injury is usually short, and by delaying 
 replanting a little, the new shoots escape attack. Fall ploughing 
 old timothy sod or sedge-land is always indicated, and will gen- 
 erally serve to reduce, if it does not entirely prevent, injury. 
 
 To this same series belongs the largest of our weevils, the Rhyn- 
 chophorus palmarum, or "palm-weevil," which often exceeds an 
 inch in length and whose fat, white larva, boring in palm, is said 
 to be quite a delicacy to the taste of the aborigines of Central 
 and South America. 
 
 Much resembling it in shape but hardly exceeding one-eighth 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 237 
 
 of an inch in length are the grain weevils, belonging to the genus 
 Calandra. These are almost cosmopolitan, and infest stored 
 grains of all kinds. They are black or brown-red in color, quite 
 slender, and on a very small scale resemble the ' ' corn bill-bugs' ' 
 in sculpture. They can be easily controlled by the use of bisul- 
 phide of carbon poured on the grain in bins or other receptacles, 
 
 Fig. 244. 
 
 Sphenophoriis ochrcus. — Adult, larva, and work in roots o( Scirpus. 
 
 covering with canvas or similar material to prevent the too 
 rapid escape of the fumes which gradually permeate the entire 
 mass of grain, killing everything in it. 
 
 Closing the series we have the bark-beetles, or Scolytids, some 
 of them called shot-hole borers from the little round holes with 
 blackened edges which they make in wood and bark. Many 
 species make prettily-figured burrows between the bark and sap- 
 wood, while others bore into the solid wood, making longer or 
 shorter galleries. Most of the species attack forest-trees, and for 
 them reference should be had to Dr. Packard's work already cited. 
 
238 
 
 AN ECO ATOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 These beetles differ from all the other weevils in their cylin- 
 drical form and very short snout, which is scarcely more than a 
 slight prolongation of the head, and they are usually of small 
 size, most of them not exceeding one-eighth of an inch in length. 
 
 Fig. 245. 
 
 Calandra granaria. — a, adult ; b, larva ; c, pupa ; d, C. ofvza, adult. 
 
 Scolytus rugulosus, the ' ' fruit-bark beetle, ' ' is, perhaps, the 
 best known, and certainly the most important economically, 
 attacking deciduous fruit-trees of almost all kinds. The black 
 parent beetles appear in early spring, and bore little round holes 
 through the bark to the sap-wood. They then make a central 
 burrow, on each side of which little notches are made to receive 
 the soft white eggs. The larvae hatch very soon, and at once 
 begin to make little burrows of their own, diverging as they 
 move from the parent channel, and gradually enlarging them as 
 they increase in size. When full grown they form a slightly 
 enlarged chamber, in which they pupate, and when they trans- 
 form to beetles, make their way out through little round holes 
 in the bark. The whole period of development does not exceed 
 a month, and there may be several broods during the summer 
 from the same tree, the numerous galleries eventually girdling 
 and killing it. 
 
Fig. 247. 
 
 
 t \ ' 
 
 
 
 ^'v; 
 
 > 5 < V , ^ . > 
 I 
 
 
 "^ Vvv • ','«' 
 
 ^);ollfe^i 
 
 
 A pi. 
 
 (o uul 1I-, 1 11 \ a 
 
 natural size. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 239 
 
 Fig. 246. 
 
 Fruit-bark beetle, Scolytus 
 rugulosus, much enlarged. 
 
 These insects rarely attack sound, healthy trees, and this is a 
 peculiarity of bark-beetles in general, though there are many 
 exceptions. But just as soon as a tree becomes a little weakened 
 through injury or from starvation, these 
 little creatures attack it, and then its 
 doom is sealed, unless vigorous meas- 
 ures are taken at once. Peach-trees are 
 especially susceptible to injury, and the 
 gummy oozings from the little holes 
 seem to vi^eaken them so rapidly that 
 they succumb in a short time. 
 
 It is good practice to keep orchard 
 trees in the best possible health and 
 vigor at all times to enable them to resist 
 naturally the attacks of these insects, 
 but if one does become seriously infested 
 it should be at once cut out and burnt. 
 It is certain to die in a short time, and 
 
 it is a constant menace to surrounding trees from the abundance 
 of specimens which will be produced, ready to attack others at 
 the least sign of weakness. Where a slight infestation is noticed 
 on a tolerably healthy tree, it should be closely examined to 
 ascertain the original source of weakness, and when this is re- 
 moved the tree should be stimulated by means of appropriate 
 fertilizers, and the trunk kept covered by whitewash to which 
 Paris green has been added. Strong whale-oil soap-suds will 
 answer the same purpose, and a little crude carbolic acid will 
 add to its effectiveness. In all cases the application should be 
 thorough, and should be kept intact until the tree has fully 
 recovered and is able to take care of itself. 
 
 The same line of treatment is adapted to other bark-beetles, 
 varied according to the differences in life history. 
 
 To recapitulate in a general way, beetles and their larvae are 
 mandibulate and chew their food ; therefore, whenever they feed 
 openly upon plant tissues, they may be killed by arsenical sprays. 
 Internal feeders must be dealt with as indicated by their life 
 habits, but we must look rather to preventive than to remedial 
 measures in such cases. 
 
a 40 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE LEPIDOPTERA. 
 
 Butterflies and Moths. 
 
 Under the term Lepidoptera are included those insects popu- 
 larly known as butterflies and moths, in which the wings and 
 body are more or less clothed with scales. These scales often 
 differ greatly in form and size even in the same insect, and yet 
 more in different groups, so that a certain family or series may 
 show types peculiar to it alone. Oddly enough, there is some- 
 
 FiG. 248. 
 
 Fig. 249. 
 
 Scales on wing of butterfly. 
 
 Head of a moth. — The 
 tongue uncoiled at a; seen 
 from side, partly coiled, at 
 b ; the appearance of tongue 
 under a lens at c. 
 
 times a difference even in the sexes, certain kinds of highly 
 developed scales occurring on the wings of the male only, 
 usually confined to limited areas and sometimes concealed by 
 folds. 
 
 In this order the adult insects are harmless throughout, capable 
 of feeding only upon liquid food by means of a tongue which 
 is usually colled like a watch-spring on the under side of the 
 head between the palpi. In some instances it is wanting, and 
 on the other hand sometimes becomes enormously developed, 
 reaching a length in some species of from five to nearly seven 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 241 
 
 Fig. 250. 
 
 inches. Many of the Lepidoptera are useful in pollenizing 
 flowers, some, indeed, depending entirely upon them for their 
 continued existence, but, on the other hand, the caterpillars, as 
 the larvae are usually called, are among the most troublesome 
 and injurious insects with which the agriculturist has to deal. 
 The transformation in this order is complete, and a greater 
 difference than that between caterpillar and butterfly can hardly 
 be imagined ; while in the chrysalis or pupa we have a quiescent 
 period where scarcely even the form of the future insect is indi- 
 cated, and when it is absolutely incapable of motion. 
 
 Broadly, the order is divided into butterflies and moths, or, 
 more accurately, the Rhopalocera and Heterocera. Rhopalocera 
 are those in which the antennae, or 
 feelers, terminate in a more or less 
 distinct knob or club at the tip, and 
 in which at least the front pair of 
 wings are elevated or vertical when 
 at rest, so that the upper surfaces 
 touch. The Heterocera, on the 
 other hand, have feelers, or anten- 
 nae, of many different kinds, but 
 never in our fauna distinctly 
 clubbed. The wings when the 
 insect is at rest are horizontal, 
 folded on the back or close to the 
 sides, oblique, roof-like, or spread 
 out flat, but never habitually ver- 
 tical. In general it may be said 
 that the butterflies are on the 
 wing during the day, and fly dur- 
 ing the night only in rare in- 
 stances ; moths, on the other hand, 
 are night flyers, as a rule, though there are many exceptions, 
 and a number of species occur commonly during the day. 
 
 The butterflies separate readily into groups based on the char- 
 acter of the feet and the situation of the antennae. What may 
 be called for convenience the " true butterflies " are distinguished 
 by having the feelers set close together on the top of the head, 
 the latter being proportionately rather narrow. The antennal 
 
 16 
 
 Antennae in Lepidoptera. — a, 
 clubbed antenna of butterfly ; b, c, 
 variations in form of club; rf, prismatic 
 and fusiform ; e, ciliated ; f, bristle- 
 tufted ; g, doubly bipectinated. 
 
242 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 club is abrupt at the tip and not drawn out into a hook or 
 recurved. In the skippers, or Hesperids, the head is broad, the 
 eyes are comparatively small, the feelers are widely separated, 
 set close to the eyes, and terminated by a pointed tip which is 
 often recurved or hooked. 
 
 A large series of the true butterflies is distinguished by having 
 the anterior pair of feet more or less aborted or imperfect, and 
 these, the " brush-footed " butterflies, are classed in two families. 
 
 Fig. 251. 
 kOoT^ Fig. 252. 
 
 (IP 
 
 a, head of Papilio, show- a, foreleg of a brush-footed butterfly entirely 
 
 ing where antennae are in- aborted ; b, oi Lyccsna, male, tarsus one-jointed, 
 serted ; b, same of an 
 Hesperid. 
 
 the Nyinphalidce ^ containing moderate-sized or large species, and 
 the LyccBuidcs, containing small species, in which the colors are 
 blue or coppery, or have the under sides marked with fine, 
 thread-like lines. They are the "blues," "coppers," and 
 " hair-streaks." 
 
 Among our most common species of the first family is the 
 "milk-weed butterfly," Danais arcliippus, quite a large red- 
 brown insect, with the wing-veins broadly black marked. It 
 becomes abundant in late summer and fall, and its caterpillar, 
 green in color, marked with black lines, and furnished with rather 
 long, black, hair-like tentacles, may be often seen feeding upon 
 milk-weeds. This species will serve to typify the family to which 
 it belongs, and is easily raised by any one curious to watch its 
 transformations. If the caterpillar be confined with a sufficient 
 supply of fresh leaves, it will grow to about an inch and a half in 
 length, will then fasten itself by means of its hind feet to a little 
 pad of silk, and will change to a chunky, bright-green chrysalis, 
 or pupa, marked with small golden spots, one of the prettiest 
 objects that can be imagined. In a few days the color will be- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 243 
 
 come darker, finally brown or blackish, and then the butterfly- 
 will emerge. This is not an injurious insect, and is only referred 
 
 Fig. 253. 
 
 Milk-weed butterfly, Danais a rc/iipp us, and its transformations. — A, a, egg enlarged 
 thirty diameters ; b, very young larva, showing how the tentacles are folded ; c. egg, 
 natural size, on a leaf; B, full-grown larva ; C, chrysalis ; D, male butterfly. 
 
 to here because it is easily raised and common throughout the 
 country, — in fact, has spread all over the globe. 
 
244 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 We have many species of considerable size belonging to the 
 genus Argynnis, which resemble each other more or less by 
 
 their tawny upper sides 
 Fig. 254. marked with black spots, 
 
 and by having the under 
 sides more or less marked 
 with silvery blotches, es- 
 pecially on the hind wings. 
 None of them are injurious, 
 the larvae feeding upon vio- 
 lets. In the genus Grapta 
 there are species with 
 6-ra/./a /.ra,?-«f.-vvingsof7ight side detached Strongly and irregularly 
 
 to show under side; this is almost like G. aUffulatcd and tOOthed 
 comma. . • 1 1 1 
 
 Wings, quite dark brown 
 in color, with irregular black or blackish blotches, spots, and 
 lines, and a little silvery mark resembling a comma or semicolon 
 on the hind wings beneath. Of these the caterpillar of G. comvia 
 feeds upon the hop-vine, although it rarely does any serious 
 injury. It is reddish or yellowish in color, with a black head 
 and black branched spines, and forms an angular chrysalis which 
 is suspended by the tail. The chrysalis is yellowish green in 
 color, with prominently marked segments, and has the thorax 
 produced into a somewhat acute process. 
 
 Another very common, almost cosmopolitan butterfly, is the 
 Vanessa antiopa, popularly known as the "mourning-cloak." 
 It is of a very dark, rich-brown color, with a broad yellowish 
 border on both wings. It winters in the butterfly stage, and 
 may often be seen on warm days in midwinter, fluttering about in 
 the woods, while it is the earliest of the butterflies to make its 
 appearance in spring. The caterpillars feed upon quite a variety 
 of plants, notably willow and poplar, and often in great colonies. 
 When full grown they are two inches or more in length and black, 
 with red-marked, branched spines. The chrysalis is suspended 
 by the tail, and of a somewhat mouse-gray color, the segments 
 marked with acute spines. This may under circumstances be- 
 come a troublesome insect, but it is easily controlled, either by 
 arsenical poisons, as the caterpillar feeds exposed, or by hand- 
 picking, which is easy because of the gregarious habit when 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 245 
 
 young-. A number of other common species belong in this 
 family, but, as they do not feed upon cultivated plants in suffi- 
 cient numbers to attract attention, they need not be further 
 considered. 
 
 Fig. 256. 
 
 Larva and chrysalis of I'aitt'ssa autiopa. 
 
 Quite early in spring we may see, fluttering along the road- 
 sides, little blue butterflies expanding less than an inch when the 
 wings are spread, and without prominent markings of any kind. 
 These belong to the family Lyacnidce, usually to the typical 
 genus Lyccrna, and from them the term "blues," as a popular 
 name, has been derived. Later in the summer we find com- 
 monly bright coppery butterflies, not much larger than the 
 "blues " already spoken of, and on the upper surface, especially 
 
 Fig. 258. 
 
 CInvsopluuiiis tlioe. — Male and female. 
 
 of the fore-wings, are black spots varying in size and arrange- 
 ment. To these the name "coppers" has been applied, and 
 they belong to the natural genus Chrysophanus. The genus 
 Thecla contains species that run larger than either of those pre- 
 viously mentioned, many of them sombre in color and marked 
 on the under side by fine, hair-like streaks, diflering in arrange- 
 ment and not always present. These are called "hair- streaks." 
 
246 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 The hind wings are often furnished with one or two pairs of 
 slender, thread-hke tails, easily broken off if the insects are care- 
 lessly handled. None of the members of this family are injurious, 
 and the somewhat slug-like caterpillars are not often seen, 
 Fenesica tarquinius looks like one of the " coppers," and is pe- 
 culiar in that its larva feeds on the woolly plant-lice often found 
 on beech and other trees. It is the only butterfly larva in our 
 country which is known to be predaceous. 
 
 The family Papilionidce contains six-footed butterflies, the 
 anterior feet being perfectly developed in both sexes, and here 
 the antennae are set rather close together at the base. It includes 
 our largest and brightest species, the most prominent of them 
 being known as " s\yallow-tails. " There are two groups, the 
 first containing smaller species, which are white or yellow in 
 color, the hind wings without tails, but furnished with a fold 
 along the inner margin, forming a groove, in which the abdomen 
 lies. These are arranged under the term Pierincz, and contain 
 as typical forms the common cabbage butterflies. The most 
 abundant and injurious of these is PierisrapcE, an insect imported 
 many years ago from Europe, and which has now spread over 
 the largest part of the United States and Canada. The wings 
 expand about an inch and a half, are white or with a creamy 
 tinge, with a single black spot in the fore-wings of the male, and 
 two similar spots in those of the female. There is also a little 
 black patch at the apex, and on the under side the wings are 
 usually darker and a little powdery. These butterflies appear 
 very early in spring, emerging from chrysalids that have hiber- 
 nated, and lay their eggs upon almost any of the cruciferous 
 weeds. They are not particularly choice, but perhaps the com- 
 mon Barbarca vulgaris is about as often selected as any in the 
 Middle States, because one of the first to make its appearance. 
 The first brood comes to maturity in less than a month, and then 
 eggs are laid on early cabbage-plants. Soon irregular holes 
 appear, first in the outer leaves, then in the head itself, and little 
 piles of dirty-yellow excrement may now be found everywhere 
 among the folds. The caterpillars themselves are velvety green 
 in color, almost like the cabbage-leaf, and, as they lie rather 
 closely to the plant tissue, are easily overlooked until a little 
 practice is gained in searching for them. They become more 
 
Fig. 260. 
 
 Fig. 265. 
 
 Fig. 261. 
 
 Fig. 264. 
 
 Fig. 259. 
 
 Fig. 262. 
 
 Fig. 259, Thecla strigosa. Fig. 260, Pieris rapcE, male. Fig. 261, Pieris rapcP, female. 
 Fig. 262, a, larva ; b, chrysalis of Pieris rapce. Fig. 263, Pieris protodice, male. Fig. 
 264, Pieris proludice, female. Fig. 265, larva and chrysalis of P. protodice. 
 
 247 
 
248 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 abundant as the season advances, and late cabbage often suffers 
 seriously in some localities. By all odds the best remedy is 
 spraying with the arsenites, at the rate of about one pound in 
 one hundred and fifty gallons of water. A great many other 
 remedies have been recommended, and some of them are un- 
 doubtedly useful, but nothing is so satisfactory and cheap as the 
 arsenite, and without gross carelessness there is not the slightest 
 danger in the application. The cabbage heads from within, — 
 that is to say, the leaves unfold from the centre of the head and 
 do not fold together to form it ; therefore, whatever poison is put 
 upon the plant can fall only upon the outer leaves, and not a 
 particle gets into the head itself The amount used to a single 
 cabbage-plant is so minute that in order really to poison a man it 
 would be necessary for him to eat about a dozen heads, outer 
 leaves and all, and if death then resulted I would be inclined to 
 attribute it rather to the cabbage itself than to the Paris green or 
 other arsenite employed. The larvae succumb to the poison very 
 readily, and by making the application early in the season the 
 later broods may be materially reduced in number. In ordinary 
 farm practice the heads are cut out and shipped, and in prepar- 
 ing the cabbage for food, the outer leaves of these heads are 
 generally taken off by the housewife because more or less bruised 
 or injured, before they are cooked. Chemical analysis has shown 
 that on a head so prepared, within a week after a heavy applica- 
 tion of Paris green, not a trace of arsenic remained. As a matter 
 of fact, the use of Paris green as against the insect is quite 
 common, although little is said of it, to avoid exciting prejudice, 
 and I have yet to learn of the first case of arsenical poisoning 
 from eating cabbage so treated. From New Jersey southward 
 and westward, one of our native species, P. protodice, becomes 
 more common and assists its imported relative in making havoc 
 among the cabbages, but this also may be easily controlled by the 
 measures above detailed. 
 
 We find flying abundantly in our fields, and more common 
 among clover, a bright, sulphur-yellow butterfly about as large 
 as the P. rapce, with a single black spot on the fore-wings, and a 
 broad black outer margin to both pairs. On the under side the 
 hind wings have a central orange spot, often with a slight silvery 
 tendency. These butterflies belong to the genus Colias, and the 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 Fig. 255. 
 
 249 
 
 Fig. 266. 
 
 Fig. 257. 
 
 I'iK- 25s, iiioiiriiiiiK-cloak buttcrll\ , / atiessa antiopa. Fig. 257, Lyciptia pseiidargiolus. Fig. 266, 
 Colias philodicc, male. Fig. 267, same, female. Fig. 272, Nisoniades juvenahs. 
 
250 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 common eastern species, extending westward to the Rocky- 
 Mountains, is C. philodice, whose larva feeds upon clover. It is 
 a green caterpillar somewhat similar to the " cabbage- worm," 
 but although it maybe quite abundant, rarely does injury enough 
 to be noticed. As a rule, the larva is rather difficult to find, even 
 where the butterflies are abundant, and practically no measures 
 need be taken against it. 
 
 In the sub-family PapilionincB we have in our country only the 
 typical genus Papilio, containing species abundant enough to 
 become of economic importance. The most common of these is 
 
 Fig. 268. 
 
 Papilio as/t'iias, male. 
 
 P. asterias, a black " swallow-tail," expanding between two and 
 three inches, the hind wings tailed and excavated on the inner 
 margin, so that the abdomen is free, not enfolded in a groove. 
 The male is somewhat smaller than the female, and has a diag- 
 onal row of yellow spots crossing the fore-wings outwardly and 
 the hind wings nearly across the centre. Near the outer margin 
 of both wings there is a row of yellow, lunate spots, and at the 
 inner angle of the hind wings is a peculiar, eye-like spot, just at 
 the margin. The female has the inner row of yellow spots very 
 much reduced, sometimes altogether wanting, but on the hind 
 wings the space between the faint series of yellow spots and the 
 outer lunules is beautifully powdered with metallic blue scales. 
 These butterflies lay their eggs on carrots, parsley, and other 
 plants of the same natural family, and from them hatch bright 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 251 
 
 green caterpillars with broken black bands. A peculiarity of 
 this kind of caterpillar is that when touched or irritated in any 
 way it shoots out from between the segments close to the head a 
 forked, orange-colored process, which emits a very disagreeable 
 odor, and this is its only means of defence. No trace of the pro- 
 cess is visible when the insect is at rest, and the horns are with- 
 drawn just as soon as irritation ceases. When the caterpillar is 
 full grown it leaves the plants upon which it has fed and travels 
 to any convenient point in the vicinity where it can pupate. This 
 pupa, or chrysalis, is fastened to a little silken pad by the tail. 
 
 Fig. 269. 
 
 Papilio asterias. — Mature larva and pupa. 
 
 but is also sustained by a silken band in front of the middle, so 
 that it is said to be girthed, and this same type we have in all the 
 members of this family. These caterpillars are rarely abundant 
 enough to become troublesome, but if they are, hand-picking is, 
 perhaps, as good a remedy as any. They are quite prominent, 
 and, therefore, easily and rapidly gathered, checking their injury 
 immediately and completely. When they are small, spraying 
 with the arsenites will answer, provided it be done thoroughly. 
 
 Another species is P. philenor, of about the same size, black, 
 without the yellow spots through the centre, but with the upper 
 surface overlaid with greenish, powdery scales, which give the 
 insect a metallic lustre in certain lights, and this varies according 
 to the angle at which the light strikes the wings. The cater- 
 pillars feed upon vines of Aristolochia, or " Dutchman's pipe, " 
 which they sometimes injure considerably. They are dull 
 brownish red in color, with long, fleshy filaments on the seg- 
 ments, and when irritated also extrude fleshy horns such as 
 
252 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 already described and for die same purpose. The measures 
 recommended for the parsley caterpillar may also be adopted 
 against this insect. 
 
 The largest of the common northern "swallow-tail" butterflies 
 is the P. tiu'Hiis^ which expands from three to six inches, and is 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 253 
 
 bright yellow in color, with transverse black bands. Towards 
 the South and West, occurring rarely, however, as far north as 
 Canada, we have a form of the female which is black, but maybe 
 distinguished by its large size from our normally black species. 
 The caterpillar is green, and distinguished by having two black, 
 eye-like spots on the anterior segments. It feeds on a number 
 of different plants, but does not become economically important. 
 In Florida, P. cresphontcs is abundant, and its caterpillar is 
 known as the ' ' orange dog, ' ' from its peculiar appearance and 
 
 Fig. 271. 
 
 The orange dog, caterpillar of Papilio cresphnntes, with osmateria, or scent-organs, 
 extended ; the detached figure shows the anterior segments normally retracted. 
 
 habit of feeding upon orange-leaves. The butterfly is even larger 
 than the hirmis, and is black, with a broad diagonal band of 
 contiguous yellow spots extending from the tip of the fore-wings 
 towards the base, reaching the inner margin very near to the base 
 of the hind wings. There is also a band of yellow spots near the 
 outer margin, which are especially prominent on the hind wings, 
 and a yellow spot occupies the centre of the broad, lobed tail. 
 The caterpillars are prominent, as already stated, and orange- 
 growers consider them among the greatest troubles of the young 
 trees, especially in the nurseries, where a single specimen may 
 defoliate a shoot in a little time. Hand-picking on small trees is 
 a feasible and satisfactory remedy, and another is to capture the 
 
254 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 butterflies on the flowers which they frequent during the middle 
 of the day. Mr. Hubbard has suggested shooting them with 
 cartridges loaded with sand, and that can easily be done during 
 mid-day from a veranda or other shelter when the butterflies 
 hover around the flowers near by. 
 
 The "skippers," or Hesperidce, differ from all the preceding 
 by the broad head, clothed with bristly hair, and by the widely 
 separated antennae, or feelers, the club being also terminated by 
 a more or less marked and recurved slender booklet. They are 
 small or moderate in size, and get the common name from their 
 jerky habits of flight, usually along roads, and practically con- 
 fined to low herbage. There are two rather well-marked, though 
 by no means sharply limited sections, distinguished by color, the 
 first containing dark, blackish or sombre brown types, and the 
 
 other tawny yellow forms. 
 Fig. 21%. The former is represented 
 
 by the species of Nison- 
 iades and its immediate 
 allies, and the latter by 
 the genus Pamphila and 
 allies. In this latter se- 
 ries the fore-wings are 
 much more pointed than 
 in the other, and the body 
 is proportionately more 
 robust. None of the species, so far as I am aware, are of eco- 
 nomic importance, though our largest species, Megathyvius 
 yiicccB, does some injury by occasionally boring into the roots of 
 the yucca plant. These insects have been considered intermedi- 
 ate between the butterflies and moths, and many species have 
 the habit of elevating the front wings only, the hind wings being 
 held horizontally. 
 
 The first of the Heterocera to be considered here are the 
 SphingidcB, or "hawk-moths," and these obtain the common 
 name from their habit of hovering about flowers, and their rapid, 
 darting motions. Most of them fly just about dusk, visiting 
 deep flowers like the "evening primrose," "petunia," or even 
 " Jimson weed," and they succeed in reaching the very bottom 
 of these by means of an unusually well-developed tongue. They 
 
 Pamphila ethliiis. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 255 
 
 gather their food while hovering, inserting the proboscis into the 
 
 nectaries, but rarely alighting. The antennae are prismatic and 
 
256 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 spindle-shaped, and terminate in a little, recurved hook. The 
 body is robust and well developed, supported in flight by means 
 of stout, though rather narrow, pointed wings. The caterpillars 
 are peculiar in having a curved horn on top of the last segment, 
 or in its place a hard, glossy, eye-like spot. When at rest, some 
 of them have the habit of elevating the front part of the body 
 and curling the head under a little, giving them a fancied resem- 
 blance to a Sphinx, and from this the scientific name has been 
 derived. A very good example of a typical sphinx caterpillar is 
 found in the large green species, the sides with oblique, lateral, 
 white stripes, which is often found upon potatoes and tomatoes, 
 occasionally doing considerable injury. The anal horn is quite 
 often believed to be venomous, and all sorts of stories are told of 
 people having been poisoned or stung ; it is even said sometimes 
 that a stream of poison is thrown from the end of the horn for 
 some distance. As a matter of fact, nothing can be more harm- 
 less than these caterpillars ; there is no poisonous secretion 
 connected with the horn, and they can be handled with absolute 
 safety. This same type of caterpillar also attacks tobacco and 
 other SolanacecB, and, when full grown, goes underground and 
 <changes to a mahogany-brown pupa an inch and a half to two 
 inches in length, with a peculiar handle-like process attached to 
 the head, which forms, a covering for the future tongue. This 
 has given them the name "jug-handle grubs" in some localities. 
 The adults, when they emerge, expand from three to five inches 
 or more, and are ashen-gray in color, the fore-wings with a 
 little white spot near the centre, and crossed by irregular darker 
 lines, the hind wings banded with black and white, while along 
 the sides of the abdomen are five large yellow spots. This is the 
 Sphinx (yProtoparce) Carolina, which may be accepted as typical 
 of the series to which it belongs. An allied species, Protoparce 
 celciis, feeds on the same kinds of plants, and resembles the 
 Carolina rather closely, except that the yellow of the abdomen 
 is paler, the lines on both wings are rather more distinct, and 
 the insect is a little larger ; but the differences are not great, and 
 need not be further detailed here. Other species of sphinx 
 caterpillars are found on a variety of other plants, but they do 
 not often appear in noticeable numbers, being much subject, from 
 their large size, to the attacks of birds and parasitic insects ; so. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 257 
 
 except for the species already mentioned, nature herself keeps 
 down the insects to a reasonable number. 
 
 Another series of this same family is more brightly colored, 
 with the wings angulate, dentate, or only a little sinuate at the 
 outer margin, and of these we have several species that attack 
 the vine. The caterpillars are rather more clumsy than those of 
 the preceding series, and the head is often retracted into the 
 enlarged thoracic segments. The horn is frequently wanting and 
 replaced by a shining, usually blackish, eye-spot. These are 
 known as "hog-caterpillars," and often appear in numbers 
 sufficient to cause more or less injury in vineyards. The adults 
 are brightly colored, either greenish with darker, blotchy mark- 
 ings, or reddish with brown markings, or a combination of olive 
 green and rusty brown and gray. The figures herewith given 
 illustrate the more common species, and as their habits are much 
 the same, no special description of each is needed. 
 
 On the elm-tree we sometimes find a green caterpillar, the skin 
 a little roughened, with the typical sphinx anal horn and, in addi- 
 tion, four little horns on the anterior segments. This is the larva 
 of Ceratomia aniyntor, or, as Dr. Harris called it, much more 
 appropriately, quadricoi-nis, which means four-horned. The 
 moths produced by this caterpillar may often be found in mid- 
 summer on the trunks, and are dirty yellowish gray, streaked 
 with blackish, and with white discal spots. 
 
 Sometimes we find, flying around flowers in bright sunlight, 
 exceedingly active little creatures that at first sight resemble 
 humming-birds, and are frequently considered such. If they be 
 captured, however, we see that they are brilliantly colored moths, 
 which have received the common name "humming-bird hawk- 
 moths. ' ' They usually have the fore-wings quite sparsely clothed, 
 sometimes nearly transparent, while the body is covered by rich 
 coppery or other metallic-colored scales. 
 
 The caterpillars in this family are all external feeders, and 
 usually so large and prominent that they can easily be seen. In 
 most cases, therefore, the simplest remedy is hand-picking, but 
 when this is done no caterpillar should be destroyed which is 
 covered with little, white, egg-like bodies, for these are the 
 cocoons of parasites which do much to keep the insects in check. 
 Where the larvae are abundant enough to make hand-picking 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 Fig. 275. 
 
 Fig. 275, Philampeltis pandorus. Fig. 276, Philampelus achemon, larva. Fig. 277, 
 Philampelus achemon. 
 
Fig. 278. 
 
 Fig. 280. 
 
 / 
 
 Fig. 278, Melittia ceto, the squash-borer : a, b, moth, the wings spread and at rest; 
 c, young larvae; d, cocoon with the empty pupa shell projecting. Fig. 279, squash- 
 borers, full grown, in a section of squash-vine. Fig. 280, imported currant-borer, Sesia 
 tipuliformis ; larva, adult, and pupa skin projecting from the cane. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 259 
 
 impracticable, any of the arsenites may be employed. The 
 attempt has been made, not without a fair degree of success, to 
 protect tobacco plants by killing off the moths while feeding in 
 the flowers of the "Jimson weed," a few drops of a poisonous 
 solution being placed in the bottom of each flower. It is perhaps 
 questionable whether the results obtained justify the method 
 from a practical stand-point, and the direct application of poison 
 to kill the larvae is, all things considered, the most satisfactory. 
 
 Following the hawk-moths in our lists, but not in the least 
 related to them structurally, are the clear-winged moths belong- 
 ing to the family Sesiidce. They are slender bodied, with quite 
 long antennae, the wings narrow, often without scales, the colors 
 metallic or at least glistening, and usually bright and contrasting. 
 They often resemble and are considered wasps or hornets from 
 their appearance, the more so because it is quite usual for them 
 to have the abdomen banded with yellow. These creatures are 
 the parents of borers that are among the most injurious to culti- 
 vated plants. 
 
 First in the series is the ' ' squash-borer, Melittia ceto. This is 
 readily recognized in the adult stage by the opaque, greenish 
 fore-wings, and by the unusually large, thickened hind legs, 
 tufted with black and orange, giving the insect a characteristic 
 appearance, different from any other common species. It may 
 be found during late spring or early summer hovering about the 
 squash or other cucurbit plants during the day, but in the even- 
 ing and during the night resting exposed upon the leaves. It 
 lays its eggs preferably on the vine just at the surface of the 
 ground, if the soil is light even a little below, but it is by no 
 means confined to this point, and may lay them anywhere, even 
 on a leaf or leaf-stalk. They are brown in color, disk-like, and 
 have a very brittle shell. The larvae when hatched are white or 
 nearly so, with a small brown head, a full complement of legs, 
 and at once bore into the stem of the vine. Preferably they live 
 just at the surface of the ground, really eating very little of the 
 plant, but rather they suck the juices, causing its enfeeblement 
 and ultimate death. When full grown in midsummer the larva 
 goes a short distance underground and forms a very tough, 
 parchjnent-like cocoon in which it rests until the year following. 
 In spring the pupa, by means of its chisel-like head-case, cuts a 
 
26o 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 circular lid from the cocoon, wriggles its way to the surface, and 
 through it into the open air. This has long been a pest to 
 squash-growers, and the usual remedy is cutting them out when 
 the wilting vines denote their presence. This is quite practical, 
 but has the disadvantage of being very slow, besides having a 
 tendency to injure the vines if the cutting is unskilfully done. 
 Care must be taken to cut only longitudinally, while the wounds 
 should be rubbed with dry soil and covered with earth to facilitate 
 healing. Covering the joints to induce rooting is advantageous, 
 because it gives new sources of supply for plant food ; so that even 
 if the vine be entirely severed at the original root, it may mature 
 fruit from the suckers. Where squashes are raised on a large 
 scale, the best method is to trap the insects by a first crop of 
 some summer variety, preferably crook-necks. Thc^e grow 
 rapidly, and the moths readily lay their eggs upon them, the 
 plants continuing to do well even when infested by the larvae, 
 and maturing an early crop of fruit. The late squashes, Hub- 
 bard or marrowfat, may be planted when the summer varieties 
 are well under way, and by the time they are large enough to 
 be attractive to the moths, most if not all the eggs will have 
 been laid, and they will be practically exempt. As soon as the 
 late varieties need the ground the sum- 
 mer variety should be carefully removed, 
 the plants being taken out entire and 
 destroyed, and with them the brood of 
 contained larvae. In other words, the 
 summer squashes are to be used as a 
 trap crop to protect the Hubbard, mar- 
 rowfat, or other main, late variety. It 
 should be said that in the Central and 
 Southern States there are two broods 
 of these insects, and even on Long 
 Island, New York, a few specimens are 
 occasionally found in September. Vigor- 
 ous war on the first brood, however, by 
 means of traps will prevent injury from 
 the second. 
 
 Blackberries are often attacked by a similar larva at the surface 
 of the ground or a little below it, boring sometimes a little dis- 
 
 marginata . — a , 
 ; d, female. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 261 
 
 Fig 
 
 tance up or down the cane or completely around it, for which 
 reason it has been called the ' ' blackberry crown-borer. ' ' Signs 
 of its presence are the sudden wilting and rapid death of new 
 shoots, and it comes to maturity in early September of the 
 second year of its life, forming a pupa in the stalk itself. The 
 resulting moth, Bembecia viarginata, is black, very little marked 
 with yellow, and the only satisfactory remedy is cutting out and 
 destroying the larva as soon as its presence is indicated by the 
 wilting leaves. 
 
 Perhaps the best known of all belonging to this series is the 
 "peach-borer," Sayinina exitiosa. This is the pest of peach- 
 growers all over the country, and the larvae live between bark and 
 wood a little below the 
 surface of the ground in 
 a mass of gum and woody 
 material. They first 
 make their appearance 
 after midsummer, and 
 become about three- 
 fourths of an inch long 
 before winter sets in. In 
 spring they resume feed- 
 ing, attaining a length of 
 a little more than an inch, 
 then spin a cocoon of 
 silk and bits of chips 
 covered with gum, and 
 change to a pupa. In 
 this stage they remain a 
 few days and then emerge 
 as moths. The sexes are 
 very unlike, the males 
 black, with narrowly yel- 
 low-banded abdomen, 
 and entirely transparent wings ; the females much larger, the 
 fore-wings almost blackish brown and entirely covered with scales, 
 the abdomen black, with a broad orange band at about the 
 middle. The eggs are laid on the bark near the surface of the 
 ground, and the larvae hatch after midsummer in time to do con- 
 
 The peach-borer, Sanrmia exitiosa; male above, 
 female below ; both enlarged. 
 
262 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 siderable feeding before winter arrives. "Worming" peach- 
 trees, or cutting out the larvae, is a recognized method of getting 
 rid of these insects, and has the advantage of being effective, if 
 thoroughly done. It has the disadvantage of gashing the trees, 
 and sometimes causing a considerable amount of injury before 
 the insect is found. If carelessly done a few will escape, and 
 sooner or later the tree becomes girdled at the base, or so 
 weakened that it proves attractive to bark-beetles, who complete 
 the work begun by the borers. Our task is to keep the insects 
 out if possible, and the best method is to cover the bark with 
 some material upon which the insect cannot lay its eggs or through 
 which the young larvae cannot penetrate. On old trees white- 
 lead paint in boiled linseed oil is about as good as anything, but 
 it should not be used on young trees, nor should turpentine be 
 used to thin out the lead in any case. On younger trees white- 
 wash thoroughly applied and kept on from quite early in the 
 spring until after midsummer will answer the same purpose, but 
 as this washes off readily, it must be renewed as often as the 
 coating becomes imperfect. Quite a satisfactory method is to 
 wrap newspapers or tarred paper around the lower two feet of 
 the trunk, hilling up against it at the base and tying at the top. 
 This must be replaced yearly, but is an effective protection when 
 well put on. Fine wire netting will answer the same purpose, 
 and has the advantage of being more lasting ; or an application 
 of cement mixed with skim-milk, applied early in the season 
 and maintained until midsummer, will serve. Anything, in fact, 
 that forms a mechanical protection to the tree will answer, 
 and this is the most satisfactory method of keeping out borers 
 generally. 
 
 There are other species of this family boring in maple, and 
 their empty pupa shells may often be seen sticking out of the 
 bark ; and so plum, pear, and a great variety of other trees are 
 sometimes attacked. Where maples are to be protected, the 
 whitewash affords the best hope of success, unless wire netting 
 much finer than the ordinary mosquito screening is employed. 
 Sesia acerni, the "maple clear-wing," is a slender-bodied little 
 creature, prettily marked with red and yellow, and would be 
 able to oviposit through the meshes of an ordinary mosquito 
 screen without trouble. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 263 
 
 Currants and lilacs are frequently attacked by borers of this 
 family, and on currants considerable injury is sometimes done by 
 Sesia tipulifonnis. Here the best remedy is to cut out the dead 
 stalks in spring, just as soon as leafing out shows where the 
 attack is located, and every wilted shoot seen at any time should 
 be cut off at once below the point affected. The cut stems must, 
 of course, be burnt immediately. An occasional liberal pruning 
 back will prove useful in keeping down the insects, and is some 
 times a benefit to the plants as well. 
 
 As a whole, we may say that our methods of treatment of this 
 family are in the nature of prevention where the species attack 
 trees, and cutting out where they attack shrubs or herbaceous 
 plants. 
 
 Grape-vines, especially in city gardens or in villages, are often 
 attacked by light-brownish caterpillars with black dottings, 
 which are sometimes so abundant as actually to defoliate them. 
 They become nearly an inch 
 
 and a half in length when full ^'^- '^3. 
 
 grown, then bore into any soft, 
 rotten, or even comparatively 
 sound wood, where they pupate 
 and eventually emerge as active 
 little moths, expanding rather 
 more than an inch, with black 
 fore- wings having two pale yel- 
 low blotches, and black hind 
 wings with two white spots, of 
 which that near the base is 
 much the largest. The shoul- 
 der tippets are yellow, and the 
 insect is active during mid-day, 
 hovering about the vines in the 
 brightest sunshine. It is the Alypia octo-maculata, or 8-spotted 
 forester, common throughout the Eastern and Central United 
 States on wild as well as cultivated vines and Virginia creeper, but 
 rarely troublesome, except near or in cities or towns. The cater- 
 pillars feed quite exposed, and may be easily destroyed by means 
 of the arsenites. In city gardens, pyrethrum in the form of a 
 spray, two ounces to a gallon of water, will prove sufficiently 
 
 Alypia octo-maculata, 8-spotted forester. 
 — a, larva ; b, an enlarged segment ; c, 
 the moth. 
 
264 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 effective, especially if applied while the caterpillars are still quite 
 small. 
 
 Arranged in the same family, Agaristidce, are several similar 
 caterpillars, producing quite different moths, but amenable to the 
 same methods of treatment. One species, the larva of Psycho- 
 morpha epimeyiis^ folds the edges of the leaves and lives in the 
 little pocket so formed ; but they are usually so rare that they can 
 hardly be termed injurious. 
 
 In that part of the Southern States where the "moon-vine," 
 Ipomcsa, flourishes, it is often attacked and sometimes defoliated 
 by a yellow, hairy caterpillar, which appears in considerable 
 
 Fig. 284. Fig. 285. 
 
 Psychomorpha epitnenis. — Male insect Euchromia ipomcm. 
 
 and larva. 
 
 numbers. When this is full grown it denudes itself of hair, and 
 with it and a few threads of silk forms a bright yellow cocoon, 
 from which issues in due time a wasp-like moth expanding 
 nearly an inch, with narrow, white-spotted black wings, and a 
 black, bright red or yellow banded abdomen. This is Eiichro 
 mia ipom(£CB, which flies rather heavily and clumsily during the 
 middle of the day in bright sunlight. As against this insect the 
 arsenites are indicated, or, where only a few plants are to be 
 protected, hand-picking may be resorted to. 
 
 In vineyards there may be often seen feeding on the under 
 sides of the leaves little, black-spotted, yellow, somewhat hairy 
 larvae, less than half an inch in length, ranged side by side as 
 closely as possible, and retreating as they eat until a leaf is com- 
 pletely skeletonized. When this kind of larva is full grown it 
 spins a white, flattened cocoon, in which it changes to a pupa 
 and from which it emerges in due time as a little, narrow- 
 winged, black moth wearing a red collar. This is the Harrisina 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 265 
 
 americana, and certain varieties of grapes are occasionally in- 
 jured by its larva. Feeding in colonies, as it does, the insect is 
 easily checked by local applications of the arsenites. 
 
 Fig. 286. 
 
 Grape-leaf on which larva- of Hai lisina arnevicana are feeding. 
 
 We now enter into a series of species the caterpillars of which 
 are known as "woolly bears," from the fact that they are all 
 clothed with long hair. In some cases this hair is so dense that 
 the body of the caterpillar itself cannot be seen at all, and all 
 these are of the Ardiid series. They spin a small quantity of 
 silk only, and use the hair with which they are clothed in con- 
 junction with it to form the cocoon. Under the microscope it 
 may be seen that it is furnished with small spurs or branches, by 
 means of which the insect is able to produce a felt-like material, 
 needing only a small quantity of silk to hold it together in a 
 tissue sufficiently firm for its purpose. Perhaps the majority of 
 the caterpillars of this series feed upon low plants, and frequently 
 it does not matter much what. Plantain seems to be a common 
 food for many species, but they eat grasses as well, and, indeed, 
 almost anything. They are often found in gardens attacking 
 lettuce and cabbage, and on cabbages they are sometimes trouble- 
 some in the field. Some are almost white or yellowish, and vary 
 
266 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 to brown or reddish, sometimes even to blackish, the hair being 
 of the colors indicated, and the surface of the body hardly visible. 
 The commonest of all, perhaps, is the Spilosoma virghiica, or 
 "white ermine moth," and this is whitish or yellowish, produc- 
 ing a snow-white moth, the wings a little black dotted, the sides 
 of the abdomen and front legs yellow. Another species often 
 seen crawling about during late fall is Pyrrhardia Isabella^ and 
 
 Fig. 287. 
 
 spilosoma virginica, the white ermine moth. — a, larva ; b, pupa ; c, adult. 
 
 this caterpillar may be recognized by having the central portions 
 of the body red-brown, while the anterior and posterior segments 
 are black. This produces a uniformly brownish-yellow moth. 
 All the moths fly at night, and are but rarely seen during the 
 day, and all the caterpillars, where they become troublesome, 
 are within reach of the arsenites. 
 
 An exception to the general feeding habit we find in Hyphayi- 
 tria cnnca, the caterpillar of which is known as the " fall web- 
 worm." The moth is white, sometimes without spot or mark 
 of any kind, usually with only a few black dots, but occasionally 
 with the spots forming more or less evident bands across the 
 wing. The eggs are laid in masses on trees, and the larvae, as 
 soon as they hatch, form a little web in which they remain so- 
 cially, except when feeding. They eat first the leaves within, 
 then those close to their nest, gradually separating until some- 
 times an entire tree becomes defoliated from a single point. This 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 267 
 
 species often becomes a serious pest in cities on shade-trees. 
 There are two broods, the second being usually the one most 
 
 Fig. 288. 
 
 The fall web-worm, Hyphantria cunea. — a, b, c, varieties of larva ; d, e, pupa ; /", moth of 
 the normal white form. 
 
 noticeable, whence the name " fall" web- worm, to distinguish it 
 from the common orchard tent-caterpillar, which appears only in 
 
 Fig. 289. 
 
 Hyphantria cunea: variations in the markings of the wings. 
 
 spring. A large variety of trees and shrubs is attacked by this 
 insect, and where abundant it becomes a great nuisance. Usu- 
 
268 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 ally its natural enemies keep it in check, but sometimes it seems 
 to outrun them, and then for a series of years in succession it 
 becomes increasingly abundant until, as suddenly as it increased, 
 it disappears so nearly that nothing will be seen of it for a few 
 years. If the insect is taken in hand as soon as noticed, cutting 
 down and destroying the newly formed nests with all the cater- 
 pillars they contain will prove the most satisfactory remedy, or 
 the foliage just surrounding them may be sprayed with an arsen- 
 ical mixture. 
 
 There are other species in this series, like those belonging to 
 the genus Halisidota, which sometimes infest shade-trees, but 
 rarely in numbers sufficient to be troublesome. The caterpillars 
 may be distinguished by having slender pencils of hair, and some- 
 times a series of dorsal tufts. The moths are brownish yellow, 
 with rows of semi-transparent and irregular, light-brown spots 
 arranged almost in bands. Economically none others of the 
 Ardians are troublesome, though we have many species that are 
 common enough when sought for. 
 
 In the family Lymantriidcc we have what are known as the 
 "vaporer, " or "tussock moths." Of these the Notolophiis 
 {Orgyia) Iciicostigma, or "white-spotted tussock-moth," is 
 the most common. It feeds on a great variety of trees in the 
 
 larval stage, and is 
 ._ seriously troublesome 
 
 ■ in cities and towns. 
 ^^ "AT^An J^^J^ '^^^ caterpillars are 
 
 l^'^.-Xl'rf^^^^^^^^r^t^^ rather pretty creat- 
 \ ^^ J J ures, with bright red 
 >/ heads resembling 
 / ^ Z' ^^^^ sealing-wax in ap- 
 
 pearance, and yel- 
 low bodies bearine a 
 
 Caterpillar of Notolophus leucostigma. 
 
 series of dense, abruptly cut off brushes on the middle of the 
 back, and two pencils of black hair anteriorly. They are rather 
 more than an inch in length, when full grown crawl down the 
 trees, and, either on the trunk or somewhere in the vicinity, under 
 any projecting point on fence-rail or the like, make their dirty- 
 whitish cocoon of mixed silk and hair. In due time the adults 
 emerge, the male bearing fully developed wings, while the 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 269 
 
 female has no trace of them whatever. The wings of the male 
 are dusty gray in color, crossed by rather distinct, blackish lines, 
 and with a little white spot near the outer lower angle, which 
 gi\-es the insect its name, leucostignia. The antennae are prom- 
 inently feathered or pectinated, and the forelegs are long, very 
 prettily tufted, and held when at rest projecting some distance 
 forward. The insect is not often seen during the day, and usu- 
 ally rests concealed until nightfall, when it seeks its mate. The 
 female can be distinguished in the pupal stage by its larger size 
 and the absence of wing pads. When it crawls out upon the 
 surface of its cocoon it is a grub-like creature with a very heavy 
 
 Fig. 291. 
 
 The vaporer moth, Nololophus leucosti,zma.—a, wingless female on her egg-mass; b, 
 young larva ; c, female, (/, male pupa ; e, male moth. 
 
 body, rather short legs, small head, and very short aiitcMinae. 
 Neither of the sexes are capable of feeding, and as soon as the 
 male has found the female, oviposition begins. The eggs are 
 deposited upon the cocoon from which the female emerged, and 
 as laid they are covered with a snow-white, frothy mass which 
 hardens almost immediately into a brittle material that serves as 
 a protection. The first brood of moths appears about midsum- 
 mer, and from the eggs then laid the little caterpillars hatch in a 
 few days ; these in turn become adult in fall, and eggs then laid 
 remain throughout the winter, the prominent white masses soon 
 turning gray and dirty, and hardly conspicuous on the trees or 
 other surroundings to which they are attached. In the more 
 northern States there is a single brood only. These insects when 
 troublesome to shade-trees are easily dealt with : if all the egg- 
 masses are removed and destroyed during the winter, the tree 
 will remain clean during the ensuing summer, provided caterpillars 
 
270 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 are prevented from crawling up the trunk from the surrounding 
 points. A band of " dendrolene" six inches in width and half an 
 inch thick on a sheet of heavy wrapping-paper will serve as a 
 complete protection if the tree has been cleared of eggs during the 
 preceding winter. It is easy to see how this is done ; the female 
 is absolutely incapable of flight, and no eggs can be laid upon a 
 tree until a caterpillar has first made its way upon it and has 
 changed to a female moth. Instead of " dendrolene " a broad 
 band of fluffy cotton will answer for a time, as the caterpillars 
 become entangled in and are unable to cross it. This sort of 
 protection must be carefully watched, however, because other- 
 wise the wet and dirt will harden and cause its failure to act as a 
 bar. A trough of oil or an inverted tin cone tightly fixed to the 
 tree may also serve, as will anything else that prevents the cater- 
 pillars from crawling upon the tree. 
 
 Belonging about here in the series comes the European 
 "gypsy moth," Ocneria dispar, which, imported into Massa- 
 chusetts in 1868, has caused enormous damage in that State, and 
 has cost annually many thousands of dollars to keep it in check. 
 The caterpillar when full grown is about one and one-half inches 
 in length, of a creamy white, so thickly sprinkled with black that 
 it seems dark brown, the ground color appearing in the broken 
 dorsal and lateral lines. It is furnished with distinct dorsal and 
 lateral tubercles, blue anteriorly and crimson behind the fifth 
 segment, from each of which arise tufts of long black and yel- 
 lowish hair. It changes to a chocolate-brown pupa, held in place 
 by a few threads forming the merest apology for a cocoon, from 
 July to September, and a few days thereafter the moths emerge. 
 The males expand from one and one-half to two inches, are 
 brownish yellow in color, the secondaries paler with a darker 
 outer margin, the primaries smoky with darker, irregular, trans- 
 verse lines. The females are much larger and more heavily 
 built, the wings often expanding two and one-half inches. They 
 are creamy white id color, the irregular, transverse lines gray or 
 blackish. They lay their eggs in masses of from four hundred to 
 five hundred in all conceivable localities, and cover them with 
 yellow hair and scales from the end of the abdomen. They are 
 deposited from July to late in September, and the larvae hatch 
 early the following year, ranging from April to June, according 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 271 
 
 to temperature and location. The fight against this insect is told 
 in the reports of the Gypsy Moth Commission of Massachusetts, 
 and these have been distributed wherever the insect has made its 
 appearance. It has not as yet extended beyond Massachusetts ; 
 hence details as to its destruction are not in place here. It is, 
 perhaps, the most dangerous pest ever introduced into the 
 United States, and should the State of Massachusetts abandon its 
 campaign against it, the annual charge upon the farmers of the 
 country would become enormous, if not ruinous. 
 
 To the family Eucleidce, or Limacodidce, belong a series of 
 rather modest green and brown moths, usually small in size, very 
 
 Fig. 296. 
 
 The saddle-back caterpillar and its moth, Emprclia stimulca. 
 
 densely clothed with scales and hair, the head much reduced, 
 and the tongue wanting. This, by the bye, is quite a general 
 character in the types now under consideration, and which are 
 termed "spinners," because most of the caterpillars make a 
 more or less complete cocoon of silk. The Limacodids are rarely 
 common, and only one species, Empretia stiuiulea, has become 
 troublesome in the caterpillar state. This is a very curious, slug- 
 like larva, somewhat flattened and oblong in shape, most of the 
 body green in color, but with a quadrate, red-brown patch 
 resembling a saddle on the middle of the back, and a brown 
 patch at each end of the body, from the outer edge of each of 
 which arises a long, fleshy process, set with stifl" spines in all 
 directions. Small warts or processes are found along the sides 
 of the body, set Ajvith stiff" hairs in the same way. It has no ap- 
 
272 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOG\. 
 
 Fig. 297. 
 
 A tubercle from a saddle-back moth, Empretia sthmdea, showing the poisonous spines, very- 
 much enlarged. The short pointed tips break off readily and remain in the wound. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 273 
 
 parent legs, but seems to crawl directly upon its belly, as do all 
 the other caterpillars of this family, most of which have similar, 
 though less developed, spinous processes. Another peculiarity 
 which this species shares with others in the family is, that when 
 handled, it causes a burning pain as if nettles had been touched. 
 The hollow spines are terminated with easily detachable, very 
 short, stiff tips, and at their base is a gland which secretes an 
 urticating liquid. Handling the caterpillars roughly results in 
 breaking off the little tips, which enter the skin and at the same 
 time release a little drop of liquid, which, entering the wound, 
 causes the burning sensation. With some persons this becomes 
 a serious matter ; first inflammation, then swelling sets in, and in 
 extreme cases a numbness or partial paralysis of the entire limb 
 ensues. As a rule, however, the irritation is local, and no worse 
 than would result from handling a nettle. The prompt applica- 
 tion of ammonia, bicarbonate of soda, or even strong brine 
 will generally act as an antidote. This saddle-back caterpillar 
 lives on a great variety of plants, including pear and rose, on 
 which it is sometimes found in numbers. When full grown it 
 spins an oval, brown, parchment-like cocoon, and in this remains 
 unchanged until spring ; then it transforms to a pupa, and from 
 this issues a brown moth, expanding less than an inch, and 
 known as Empretia stinmlea. A number of other caterpillars of 
 this family attack fruit-trees, but always in such small numbers 
 that they can hardly be considered injurious. 
 
 The family Psychida; is peculiar in that the larvae are encased 
 in sac-like structures which they carry about with them, and 
 from which they derive the common term "bag-worms." The 
 best known of these, "the" bag- worm, is Thyridopteryx ephcm- 
 erczformis. This is often common in orchards, and also attacks 
 shade-trees, but is perhaps most injurious on arbor-vitae hedges, 
 which it sometimes kills. On deciduous trees the insects are 
 usually noticed during the winter, when there may be found 
 hanging to the twigs and branches cone-shaped bags of silk 
 varying from a little less than an inch to an inch and a quarter in 
 length, and studded with bits of sticks and leaves. If the 
 smaller of these bags are cut open at this time there will be found 
 an empty pupa shell, but in the larger there will be found a mass 
 of yellow, fluffy material embedded in which is a great mass of eggs. 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 AlSr ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 In the spring these eggs hatch, and the little larvae make their 
 way out through the mouth of the bag and feed upon the leaves, 
 at once constructing for themselves a case made of leaf fragments 
 held together with silken threads. At this time the bags are 
 carried upright, and the insects feed on the upper surface of the 
 leaf As the larva grows it enlarges its habitation, which soon 
 becomes too heavy to be maintained in an upright position, and 
 
 Fig. 298. 
 
 The bag- worm, Thyrtdopteryx ephemer^/ormis. — a, larva; b, male pupa; c, female; 
 d, male moth ; e, bag of female cut open to show the mass of eggs ; /, caterpillar with 
 bag in normal position ; ^, young larvee with bags carried upright. 
 
 drops ; the insect continues to feed, attaching the bag by means 
 of silken threads to twigs when not moving about from place to 
 place. Late in summer the larvae become full grown, and 
 wander, sometimes leaving the trees altogether and fastening to 
 fences or other shelter in the vicinity, and it is this habit that 
 provides for the spread of the insects. When they have reached 
 a place that suits them, the bags are firmly fastened, the opening 
 is closed, and the caterpillars change to pupae. Shortly after the 
 male emerges, and this is a black moth with transparent wings, 
 short, feathered antennae, and an unusually long, tapering body. 
 It is quite active and seeks the female, which forms only an 
 imperfect sort of pupa, and even in the adult condition is a non- 
 descript without trace of wings and almost without antennae. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 275 
 
 It is, indeed, a helpless, grub-like creature that awaits the visit 
 of the male without making an attempt to emerge from its sac, 
 in which it remains even after impregnation. The eggs develop, 
 finally fill up the bag, and then 
 
 the female dies, the eggs rest- Fig. 299. 
 
 ing in the fluffy mass already 
 described until the spring fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 This species is best treated 
 by picking off and destroying 
 the bags during the winter, and 
 if this is thoroughly done no 
 caterpillars will appear on the 
 trees in the spring, unless they 
 crawl on from other points 
 where an egg-sac may happen 
 to be attached. The meas- 
 ures recommended against the 
 "white-marked tussock moth" 
 can be employed here as well, 
 and trees once cleared can be 
 kept free without much diffi- 
 culty. When arbor-vitae is at- 
 tacked, the picking should be 
 thoroughly and carefully done, because these hedges suffer very 
 rapidly, and once defoliated, usually die. In orchards where 
 spraying is done against the codling-moth, the "bag-worms" 
 are destroyed incidentally and no special measures need be taken 
 against them. 
 
 Next follows the family of " prominents," so called from the 
 fact that the moths frequently have a tooth at the inner margin 
 of the fore wings, and the caterpillars are sometimes a little 
 humped. They are technically termed Notodoyitidce. Most of 
 them have a small, retracted head, many of them a short or 
 obsolete tongue, and some are more or less troublesome on cul- 
 tivated plants. 
 
 One of the best known is the ' ' yellow-necked caterpillar' ' 
 often found feeding on apple-trees in colonies of from fifty to 
 more than one hundred. When full grown it is nearly two inches 
 
 The bag-worm. — a, sack of female cut 
 open to show the grub-like creature at its 
 mouth ; b, the female removed from the 
 bag, much enlarged. 
 
276 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 in length, with a black head, a yellow neck, and the rest of the 
 body yellow and black spotted. It has a peculiar habit of hold- 
 ing by the false legs only and dropping the head and anal seg- 
 ments when at rest. The insects feed very rapidly and often 
 defoliate large branches before their presence is realized. When 
 full grown they descend to the ground, burrow a short distance 
 beneath the surface, forming a conical pupa, and remain in that 
 condition during the winter. In spring the moths emerge, and 
 are of a brownish-yellow color, crossed by rather even, narrow, 
 
 Fig. 300. 
 
 The yellow-necked caterpillar, a ; its parent, Datana ministra, at b ; eggs, natural size 
 and enlarged, at c and d. 
 
 brown lines ; and this species is Datana ministra. It lays its 
 white eggs to the number of nearly one hundred on the under 
 side of apple and other leaves in a single layer. Similar cater- 
 pillars may be found on a variety of other plants. The sumach 
 is often defoliated, walnut- and oak-trees have their own species, 
 and in all cases the moths have the general appearance already 
 described. Insects that feed thus in company are controlled 
 without difficulty, if we attack them as soon as the colony has 
 hatched. They are then confined to a few leaves, and if these 
 be picked off and destroyed, injury is avoided for the season. If 
 this is not possible, or the colony has already spread too great a 
 distance, then spraying the infested branch with arsenites will 
 answer every purpose. 
 
 There are other caterpillars of this family that attack fruit-trees, 
 but as a rule in such small numbers as to be harmless. 
 
 Oak-trees are occasionally attacked and defoliated by cater- 
 pillars about an inch and a quarter in length, with a yellow head, 
 
Fig. 304. 
 
 Fig. 295. 
 
 |x:s^^ 
 
 Kig. 292, larva of gypsy mo^h. Figs. 294^ 295, gypsy moth, Ocneria dispar, male and 
 female. Fig. 304, Anisota senatoria, larva. Figs. 305, 306, Anisota senatoria, male and 
 female. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 277 
 
 the body striped with narrow black or reddish-brown lines, ex- 
 cept at the sides, where it is gray or yellowish. Near the pos- 
 terior extremity is a rather prominent, humped segment entirely 
 red in color. When full grown they go underground, and from 
 them come, in the spring 
 
 following, moths gray in Fig. 301. 
 
 color, mottled with brown, 
 but the front of the body 
 and a margin along the 
 anterior edge of the fore- 
 wings white or nearly so. 
 These are called Edema 
 albifrons. The body is 
 rather cylindrical, heavy, 
 extending somewhat be- 
 yond the hind wings 
 and obtusely terminated. 
 Feeding exposed as these insects do, they are readily destroyed 
 by the arsenites. 
 
 One other caterpillar sometimes occurs in swarms on a great 
 variety of plants, including some fruit-trees, and this is known 
 as the "red-humped prominent." It is yellowish brown in 
 color, pale along the sides and striped with slender black lines. 
 The fourth segment is humped and of a red color like that of the 
 
 Fig. 302. 
 
 lidtiiia albifions and its larva. 
 
 CEdemasia concinna and its larva, the " red-liumped prominent." 
 
 head. There are a number of short spinous processes along the 
 back, and some which are larger and more prominent on a hinder 
 segment. The moth that emerges from this larva is the CEdem- 
 asia concinna^ and is of a light-brown color, the wings expand- 
 ing a little more than an inch, the anterior pair dark brown along 
 the inner margin and more or less gray tinged before. The 
 
278 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 measures already recommended are applicable to this species, 
 and in fact none of the caterpillars belonging to this family need 
 ever cause serious trouble or difficulty in their control. 
 
 Next come the Ceratocampidce, containing only a few very 
 large species whose caterpillars are more or less furnished with 
 horns, spines, or similar processes. The moths are sometimes 
 contrastingly colored and distinguished by having the antennae 
 in the male feathered for only a portion of the distance ; the ter- 
 minal third of the stalk lacking the pectinations, while towards the 
 base there are two branches to every joint. 
 
 Occasionally we see a very large, green caterpillar, with black 
 and red blotches, and with four very long horns, yellow at the 
 base and black at the tip, on the first segments. This is an 
 insect much dreaded, and known by the attractive name of ' ' the 
 hickory horned devil." The first part of the name is from the 
 food plant upon which it is often found, the second from its prom- 
 inent horns, and the third from its supposed evil inclinations. 
 Yet the creature is absolutely harmless, incapable of inflicting the 
 slightest injury upon even the most delicate subject, and it de- 
 pends for protection entirely upon its formidable appearance. 
 The moth resulting from it, atheroma regalis, or " regal wal- 
 nut-moth," is rare and seldom seen, flying only at night and not 
 much then, because, having no tongue, it does not feed. It is, 
 however, rather handsome, tawny brown in color, the veins 
 streaked with red and with two series of more or less distinct 
 yellow blotches. It expands from three to nearly six inches, and 
 is one of the largest of our night-flying moths. 
 
 The species belonging to the genus Anisota are sometimes 
 much more abundant, and occasionally become troublesome on 
 oaks. I have seen acres of forest almost entirely defoliated by 
 large yellow and black-striped caterpillars, with black head, two 
 long, black filaments on the anterior, and numerous shorter 
 black processes on the other segments. These are the ' ' orange- 
 striped oak worms," which, when mature, go beneath the sur- 
 face of the ground, change to brown, roughened pupae, and in 
 spring appear as brown moths ; the Anisota senatoria. The males 
 are much the smaller, have the fore-wings somewhat triangular 
 and pointed, a little transparent towards the middle, and with 
 a clear white spot near the centre. The females are rather 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 279 
 
 lighter in color, the white spot is much smaller, and the wings 
 are not in the least transparent, but irrorated with darker, small 
 spots, which give them a powdered appearance. 
 
 On maples, especially in the more southern States, we often 
 find a smaller caterpillar, which is green, with black stripes, and 
 marked with little red dots. The resulting moth is known as 
 the ' ' rosy Dryocampa, ' ' and has the fore- wings rose colored, 
 
 Fig. 307. 
 
 Dryocampa rubicunda. — a, its larva; b, its pupa; c, female moth : the rosy 
 Dryocampa. 
 
 crossed by a broad pale-yellow band, while the hind wings are 
 pale yellow, with a short rosy band behind the middle. It is 
 rarely abundant enough to need attention, but when it does, the 
 external feeding habit indicates the remedy at once. 
 
 Next we reach the series of species that are silk-spinners par 
 excellence in the caterpillar state. They are known in a general 
 way as bombycids from the term Bombyx, which was for a long 
 time applied to the "silk-worm." Among the largest of our 
 Lepidoptera are the species of Attaciis, which expand from four 
 to eight inches, and are allied to the giants of the tropical region, 
 which have a spread of wing of sometimes fully twelve inches. 
 None of our species are ever numerous enough to be really 
 troublesome, and they are interesting rather from the habits of 
 the caterpillars, which, before changing to pupae, spin a very 
 
28o 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 large and dense cocoon of silk, in which they remain until ready 
 to transform into moths. The most common of these spinners 
 
 is the cecropia, Platysamia cecropia, the caterpillar occurring- on 
 a great variety of plants, including many of our fruit-trees and 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 281 
 
 certain small fruits. It is green, and has six rather prominent 
 warts on the thoracic segments, of which four are coral-red in 
 color and the hinder two are yellow, sometimes with a reddish 
 tinge. On the rest of the body are other tubercles which are 
 furnished with little clusters of spurs and spines. The cocoon is 
 sometimes spun in bushes, attached to a twig, sometimes at an 
 angle of a fence, or wherever the caterpillar happens to consider 
 it convenient. The resulting moth is dusky brown and powdery. 
 
 Fig. 309. 
 
 Caterpillar of the cecropia moth. 
 
 the hinder margins clay- colored, a kidney-shaped dull-red spot 
 with a white centre and a narrow black edging is near the 
 middle of each wing, and beyond the spot is a wavy dull- red 
 band, bordered internally with white. The primaries near the 
 base are dull red, and near the tip is an eye-like black spot within 
 a bluish-white crescent. Several other species occur, all more 
 or less resembling in general appearance the cecropia, and spin- 
 ning much the same kind of cocoon. 
 
 Of a somewhat different type is the polyphemus, Telea Poly- 
 phemus, which has a green caterpillar without prominent tuber- 
 cles, but with little, black, wart-Hke processes, giving rise to 
 small, stiff bristles. This feeds upon oak and a variety of other 
 trees, but is rarely abundant, and when forming its cocoon spins 
 up in a leaf, which later drops to the ground. This cocoon is 
 o^'al in shape and completely closed, differing from that of 
 cecropia and its nearest allies, in which it is open at one end. 
 
AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 310. 
 
 The moth is dull ochre-yellow in color, more or less clouded 
 with black in the middle of the wings, on each of which there 
 
 is a transparent eye-like spot, divided 
 transversely by a slender line and en- 
 circled by yellow and black rings. 
 Before and adjoining this spot in the 
 hind wings is a large blue patch 
 shading into black. 
 
 With a very similar caterpillar and 
 cocoon, the luna moth, Adias hma, 
 is entirely different from the poly- 
 phemus. It is of an even, bluish-green 
 color, sometimes verging into yellow- 
 ish, with a little eye-like spot on all 
 wings, the anterior border of the fore- 
 wings margined with scarlet, while the 
 hind wings are each furnished with a 
 long tail. 
 
 When these caterpillars are noticed 
 on a cultivated plant they can be 
 easily picked off and destroyed, but 
 as a rule their natural enemies serve 
 to keep them reduced to compara- 
 tively small numbers. These Ameri- 
 can species produce a much greater 
 quantity of silk, of a much stouter 
 texture than the Chinese silk-worm 
 proper ; but, unlike it, their thread 
 cannot be reeled. It is this that makes 
 it impossible to use our species suc- 
 cessfully for the production of a cheap 
 and strong silken fabric. 
 
 We sometimes find on corn, clover, 
 apple, and other plants or trees a 
 green caterpillar, with a brown stripe edged with white on each 
 side of the body, covered also with little processes, from which 
 arise clusters of prickly spines. These have urticating proper- 
 ties, so that if the larvae are carelessly handled a certain amount of 
 irritation may arise, though much less than is the case with the 
 
 Cocoon of the cecropia moth. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 283 
 
 slug-like caterpillars previously described. They become rather 
 more than two inches in length, spin a thin, irregular, and some- 
 
 what parchment-like cocoon, and emerge in due time as " io" 
 moths, — Aiitomcris (^Hypcrchirid) io. The male is deep yellow, 
 
284 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the primaries only a little banded with narrow lines, the wings 
 reddish on the interior margin, with a narrow band of the same 
 
 color outwardly. On the 
 b\G. 312. middle of the hind wing is a 
 
 large, round, blue spot, with 
 a broad black border and 
 a central white dash. In 
 the female the primaries are 
 purple-brown, the transverse 
 lines gray and much more 
 prominent, and there is a 
 somewhat dusky, pale-mar- 
 gined, nearly kidney-shaped 
 discal spot. The hind wings 
 are essentially like those of 
 the male, and altogether this 
 sex is larger than its com- 
 panion. 
 
 The only other of the silk- 
 spinners to which attention 
 need be called here are the 
 species of Clisiocampa, which are interesting from the fact that 
 most of them live in colonies and spin a tent of silk on the trees 
 
 Fig. 313. 
 
 Larva of io moth. 
 
 Automeris io, female. 
 
 attacked by them, whence they are called "tent-caterpillars." 
 Our common species in the East is C. americana, found in apple 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 285 
 
 orchards very early in the spring. During the winter we often 
 find on the small twigs of the apple an incomplete belt of a 
 very dark brown, wax- 
 like material. If we ^'^- 3i4- 
 examine this carefully 
 we find it to consist of 
 a very large number of 
 eggs soldered together, 
 from which caterpillars 
 hatch, sometimes be- 
 fore the leaves have 
 started, which at once 
 spin a little web or tent 
 in the nearest fork. 
 Here they live in com- 
 pany, moving out from 
 time to time to feed 
 upon the surrounding 
 leaves, and increasing 
 the size of their habita- 
 tion as they grow. The 
 "tents" form promi- 
 nent and unsightly 
 objects in neglected 
 orchards, and are some- 
 times rather unpleas- 
 antly conspicuous in 
 others that purport to 
 be well kept. When 
 full-grown the cater- 
 pillars abandon the 
 nest, crawl to some 
 convenient shelter in 
 the vicinity, and spin a 
 yellow, rather thin cocoon, which becomes covered with a fine 
 yellow powder. The moth is dull reddish in color, more or less 
 brown-tinged, and the fore-wings have two oblique, pale stripes. 
 The males are considerably smaller than the females, and as a 
 rule darker in color, tending to have the wing between the lines 
 
 The American tent-caterpillars, a and b, on the out- 
 side of their tent near the entrance; d, cocoon; c, 
 egg-mass of an allied species ; above all the female 
 moth, Clisiocanipa americana. 
 
286 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 paler, while in the female we have, on the whole, an opposite 
 tendency. In the West, other species replace the americayia, 
 but their habits remain essentially the same, and they may be all 
 treated in the same manner. During the winter the egg-masses 
 are easily seen after a little practice, and they can generally be 
 reached and cut down without trouble. Early in spring the 
 nests are prominent objects and easily destroyed, with the entire 
 colony. Where they are out of easy reach, simply spraying the 
 branches nearest to their nest will destroy them in a day or two. 
 In orchards in which spraying is systematically done for other 
 pests, these insects rarely get a foothold. 
 
 The true silk-worm, Sericaria mori, though economically im- 
 portant, is hardly a proper subject for this work. Its history is 
 so well known, and has so many special books devoted to it, 
 that it is unnecessary to go into details here. 
 
 In the family Cossidcs we have a series of very peculiar moths, 
 really low in the scale of development, but formerly placed about 
 here in the classification and conveniently so treated. The cater- 
 pillars are all wood-borers, living from two to four years in the 
 trunks or roots of trees. They are white, or with a faint red or 
 yellow tinge, more or less black spotted, and with short, bristly 
 hairs. The head is large and horny, usually black, and the jaws 
 are stout and prominent. When full-grown they are from two 
 to three inches in length, and change to a rather slender, cylin- 
 drical pupa an inch to an inch and a half in length, depending 
 
 upon the species and sex. 
 Fig. 319. This pupa is furnished with a 
 
 series of spines around the 
 edges of each segment and 
 sometimes also with a chisel- 
 
 „ .,, , ., like protuberance on the head- 
 
 Pupa of the goat-moth. i 
 
 case. When ready to trans- 
 form, it works itself by a twisting and wriggling motion through 
 the bark and for half its length out into the open, holding fast 
 by the spines on the abdominal segments. The adults, known as 
 "goat-moths," from a rank odor peculiar to them, have rather 
 narrow, pointed wings and a long conical abdomen. The 
 females are heavy fliers, and both sexes are attracted to light, 
 though rarely seen otherwise. The head is small, very much 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 287 
 
 retracted, and the tongue is obsolete, so that the insect is in- 
 capable of feeding. None of our American species attack culti- 
 vated plants or trees so as to become injurious, though in forests 
 
 Fig. 320. 
 
 Goat-moths, Priono.xystus robinics, female and male, and their larva. 
 
 young oak timber is sometimes badly injured by the Prionoxys- 
 tus r obi nice. 
 
 There has been recently introduced into the Eastern United 
 States a European species known as the leopard-moth, Zeuzera 
 pyrina, and this has become a pest on the shade-trees in several 
 of our Eastern cities. The male moths expand a little more than 
 an inch, the female over two inches, and both are white, spotted 
 with black, whence the common name " leopard-moth." There 
 is great difficulty in dealing with insects of this character, owing 
 to their food habits. Fortunately, even in this imported form, 
 the natural checks seem to prevent its doing much injury to 
 orchards or country trees ; but in the cities and towns it threat- 
 ens the life of the shade-trees. The only recommendation to 
 
288 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 be made is constant watching by some man especially employed, 
 who will destroy the borers just as soon as their presence is 
 noticed, and who will gather the moths beneath the electric lights 
 now found in most cities. Pans in which oil or some other sub- 
 stance is kept to kill the insects falling into them, properly 
 arranged just beneath the lights, will prove of considerable 
 
 Fig. 321. 
 
 The wood " leopard-moth," Zeuzera pyrina. — a, b, larva, from above and side, about 
 half grown; c, male, d, female; e, larval burrow, showing the tendency of the full- 
 grown caterpillar to girdle its food plant. 
 
 benefit ; but it will take years of steady work to lessen the insects 
 in some of our cities, and to remove them as a source of danger 
 to the shade-trees. 
 
 In the idimWy Noctzcidce, or "owlet-moths," we have a large 
 number of species, and among them many that are troublesome 
 to the agriculturist. The moths are, as a rule, sombre gray or 
 brown, expanding when the wings are spread between one and 
 three inches, averaging perhaps an inch and a half in the majority 
 of cases. The fore-wings are comparatively narrow, rather short 
 
Fig. 323. 
 
 Fig. 315. 
 
 Fig. 293, pupa of Gypsy moth: Figs. 315, 316, 317, larva, cocoon, and male moth 
 °1. !^''"':"' """■'' '^^ silk-worm. Fig. 318, moth, and Fig. 323, larva of Acro,o'cia 
 
 americana. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 289 
 
 and stout, crossed by a series of more or less marked cremilated 
 or wavy lines, and with two usually darker or paler spots in the 
 discal part of the wing. Of these, that nearest to the base of 
 the wing is round or nearly so, and is called the orbicular ; the 
 other and larger, nearest to the outer part of the wing, is kidney- 
 
 FiG. 322. 
 
 Wing of an owlet-moth, with all the markings defined and named. — Right wings: 
 3, basal line; ^.a., transverse anterior line; m., median line or shade; t.p., transverse 
 posterior line; st., sub-terminal line; t., terminal line; sm., sub-median vein; apex 
 of hind wing ; o.mA, outer margin ; ?'.»;. 1, inner margin. Left wings : b.d., basal dash ; 
 cl., claviform ; or., orbicular spot ; ren., reniform spot ; ap., apical spot ; cm., costal mar- 
 gin ; o.m., outer margin; i.m., inner margin; h.a., hind angle; d.s., discal spot; e.i., 
 exterior line; a/i., anal angle. 
 
 shaped, or narrow-ovate, and is called the reniform. These 
 terms are frequently used in economic literature, and the spots 
 are in many cases characteristic. Taken as a whole, the species 
 of the Noctuid family are very much alike, and no attempt will 
 be made here to distinguish them, except in the most superficial 
 manner. The hind wings are usually without markings, and 
 when at rest are concealed by the fore-wings, which lie overlap- 
 ping and covering them, either flat on the back or roof-like, a 
 little oblique. In the early part of the series we have a number 
 of species with hairy caterpillars that sometimes feed on shade- 
 trees. We occasionally find a rather large yellow caterpillar, 
 densely clothed with soft yellowish hairs and interspersed here 
 and there a pencil of much longer, black hair. This is the cater- 
 pillar oi Acronyda americaiia, one of the " dagger- moths," so 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 called from the fact that on the fore-wings there are a number of 
 short black streaks crossing the transverse lines in such a way 
 that the marks have a remote resemblance to a dagger, or to the 
 Greek letter />^/, 4'- They are all of some shade of gray, varying 
 from very light ashen or nearly white to almost black ; but none 
 of them are seriously injurious. 
 
 The more typical Noctuids are rarely seen during the day. 
 They hide under bark or stones, in out-houses, or wherever they 
 can find shelter. Occasionally they sit brazenly upon the trunks 
 of trees or branches, or openly upon stones, their colors and 
 markings blending so perfectly with their surroundings that they 
 are invisible, except to the trained eye ; but at night they are active 
 and fly readily, many of the species being attracted to light, and 
 nearly all of them to sweets : for these insects are furnished with a 
 well-developed tongue and require food. When the moths are 
 examined in the dark, their eyes are seen to glow with a deep 
 phosphorescence that is quite startling at first sight. The ento- 
 mologist makes use of their sweet tooth by what is known as 
 "baiting" or " sugaring," placing a mixture of molasses, beer, 
 and rum in patches upon trees, fence-posts, or even stones, and 
 visiting them after dark with a lantern. The moths are often 
 attracted in great numbers to these lures, and many species not 
 otherwise obtainable are thus added to our collections. Many of 
 their caterpillars are known as "cut- worms," and when full- 
 grown average from an inch to an inch and a half, sometimes 
 reaching, but rarely exceeding, two inches in length. They are 
 naked, obscurely colored, usually varying from dirty gray to 
 dirty yellow-brown, generally with feebly-marked longitudinal 
 lines, and rarely with well-marked black spots. They hide 
 during the day a little below the surfice of the ground at the 
 base of the plants upon which they feed, and during the night 
 come out to feed upon whatever vegetation they can find. Nor- 
 mally, the female moth lays her eggs in grass land after mid- 
 summer, but sometimes weedy fields are selected, or partly 
 overgrown orchards, or, in fact, any location with a sufficient 
 quantity of low vegetation to support the caterpillars. They are 
 rarely laid directly on or in the ground, but may be deposited on 
 trees, stones, or leaves. When the larvae hatch, late in summer 
 or early in fall, they feed upon whatever vegetation is in the 
 
Fig. 331. 
 
 Cut-worms and owlet-moths. — Fig. 324, Agrotis ypsilon and its larva, the "greasy 
 cut-worm." Fig. 325, larva oi Noctua clandestina, the clandestine cut-worm. Fig. 326, 
 Peridroma saucia. Fig. 327, eggs of the same, a single example enlarged at a. Fig. 
 328, its larva, the variegated cut-worm. Fig. 329, Carneades messoria and its larva, the 
 dark-sided cut-worm. Fig. 330, the climbing cut-worm, larva of Carneades scandens. 
 Fig- 33I1 Hadena devastatrix and its larva, the glassy cut-worm. 
 
 291 
 
292 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 fields, being by no means nice in tlieir choice, and only requiring 
 that it be juicy and that there be plenty of it. They become 
 about half-grown before winter sets in, and hibernate among the 
 roots of the plants upon which they have been feeding, or under 
 stones, logs, or other cover. In this condition they remain until 
 the spring following, and then manifest quite a variety of habits. 
 In orchards some of the species develop a climbing tendency, 
 and make their way upon trees or shrubs to cut off the young 
 shoots and buds. These have been termed "climbing cut- 
 worms," but as a matter of fact a number of species develop 
 this habit when the larvae are in the proper location. Where 
 there is an abundance of low plants, these are eaten off at about 
 the surface of the ground, and the cut-worms fill themselves 
 until they seem almost ready to burst with the juicy tissue. 
 Where sod land has become badly infested by them, and is 
 ploughed and planted in spring, very frequently everything is 
 eaten off as fast as it shows above the surface. In some cases, 
 where they are very numerous, it is absolutely impossible to 
 obtain a stand of corn, and the crop must be abandoned in favor 
 of some other which the insects do not attack, although this 
 apparent exemption is frequently due to the fact that the insects 
 have wandered off, or have become full-grown and changed tQ 
 pupcX. This change usually occurs some time during the latter 
 part of June, or in July, and little complaint of injury from cut- 
 worms is heard after that period. The moths do not make their 
 appearance until late in August or September, and lay their eggs 
 during the latter month. Some species are double-brooded, and 
 may be found even later than this, until November or even 
 December. This, be it understood, is only a very generalized 
 history of one group, and is not intended to apply even to all of 
 the genera whose larvae are cut-worms ; but for all practical pur- 
 poses the injurious species may be assumed to have habits 
 similar to those just described. The reason cut-worms are so 
 injurious is that the abundance of plants in an overgrown field 
 where the eggs are laid is replaced by a very small quantity set 
 out by the farmer for his purposes. The result is that the cut- 
 worms, comparatively moderate in number in the first place, 
 become exceedingly plentiful, and destroy the cultivated plants 
 about as fast as they make their appearance or are set out. In 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 293 
 
 regions where cut-worms are known to be troublesome it is a 
 good plan to fall-plough sod-land as early in the season as conven- 
 ient. This will avoid egg-laying by the late moths, and cater- 
 pillars that have already hatched will be compelled to make their 
 way to points where food is more plentiful, leaving the ploughed 
 field free. It is a good plan also to put on at this time all the 
 potash that is to be used on the crop in the form of kainit. 
 The insects do not like this material on account of the chloride 
 it contains, and many of them will be killed, while most of the 
 others will be driven off. The potash is not lost, but will be 
 as effective as if applied the season following. The field can be 
 treated in spring as needed by the special crop, and will then be 
 practically free from cut worms. If this method is not feasible 
 for any reason, the cut-worms can be trapped by spreading on 
 the surface of the ground, after it has been prepared, little heaps 
 of poisoned vegetation, — for instance, clover; but any succulent 
 plant will answer the purpose as well. The best way is to thor- 
 oughly spray a patch of clover or other vegetation with one of 
 the arsenites, one pound to fifty gallons of water, then mow it 
 close to the ground, and spread in little heaps all over the field. 
 The cut-worms, finding nothing else to feed upon, will eat this 
 poisonous bait, and long before the corn or potatoes come up the- 
 field will be entirely cleared. On plants like sweet potatoes, 
 cabbages, or tomatoes, that are set out, protection can be secured 
 by putting at the base of each plant a tablespoonful of poisoned 
 bran, using bran at the rate of fifty pounds to one pound of 
 Paris green. This should be thoroughly mixed dry, then water, 
 just a little sweetened with sugar, should be added until the 
 whole is thoroughly wet but not sloppy. This mixture is ex- 
 ceedingly attractive to cut-worms, being preferred to plants in 
 all the instances that have come under my notice. It will take 
 about ten pounds to an acre of potatoes as ordinarily planted, 
 and perfect protection can thus be secured. For one or two 
 nights, perhaps, a few plants may be cut, but after that, except 
 in rare instances, no further trace of the insects will be no- 
 ticed. As against the climbing cut-worms a band of gas-tar 
 or coal-tar will in most cases afTord protection, especially if 
 reinforced by a little mass of the poisoned bran at the base of 
 each tree. A broad layer of fluffy cotton batting, tied at the 
 
294 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 bottom and folded over to form a cone, is a good substitute for 
 the tar. 
 
 Further on in the family we have a series of species which, 
 with similar habits in the adult, have quite different larval char- 
 acteristics. The moths themselves are different in appearance, 
 becoming white or yellowish, without obvious markings, except 
 irregular streak ings on the veins and a series of more or less 
 marked black dots. These are usually members of the genus 
 Leiica7iia, and the caterpillars have been called in general " army- 
 worms, ' ' though to only one of the species can this term be prop- 
 erly applied. The "army-worm," Leucania unipunda, has the 
 fore-wings of a rather even, dull-reddish fawn, powdered with 
 fine black speckles, some of which form a transverse row of dots 
 
 on the veins beyond 
 Fig. zy- the middle. There 
 
 is also a fine, ob- 
 1 i q u e, blackish 
 streak just below 
 the apex, and at the 
 end of the median 
 vein is a small white 
 dot, which gives 
 the wing a rather 
 characteristic ap- 
 pearance and the 
 insect its specific name iinipiincta. The moths fly at night, and 
 are attracted to both light and sugar, forming in some seasons 
 the most common of all the insects taken by the collector. The 
 eggs are laid on the leaves or stems of grasses, using that term 
 in its widest sense, and usually concealed. The moths favor 
 rank vegetation, and the caterpillars, when they hatch, attack 
 whatever is nearest at hand. When full-grown they are from 
 one and a half to two inches in length, striped with yellowish on 
 a dark-gray ground. The head is yellow, with fine dark lines, 
 and the insect is easily recognized when it appears in numbers. 
 In ordinary seasons, though the larvce may be quite abundant, 
 they are little noticed and do no particular injury ; but sometimes, 
 by a combination of circumstances, the number of eggs deposited 
 early becomes very great and the resulting army of larvae so 
 
 Moth of army-worm, Leucania unipuncta, at a ; tip of ab 
 domen of female at d ,■ c, d, e, structural details. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 295 
 
 Fig. 333. 
 
 The army-worm. 
 
 large that they make ha\'oc where they hatch. In this stage they 
 are noticed in wheat where it is heaviest, and thence the cater- 
 pillars spread in every direction. They soon become full-grown, 
 go a short distance underground to change 
 to mahogany-brown pupae about three-fourths 
 of an inch in length, and shortly thereafter 
 the moths appear. They mate at once and 
 lay another batch of eggs, from which we 
 have about midsummer a second army much 
 larger than the first. These soon eat every- 
 thing on the ground first occupied by them, 
 and are then forced by hunger to begin those 
 marches which have given them their com- 
 mon name, "army-worm." It is an inter- 
 esting, though to a farmer not a pleasant, 
 sight to see the march of these insects from 
 a stripped field to one that is still green and 
 flourishing, and to note how quickly every- 
 thing becomes covered and disappears, a sin- 
 gle day suflicing to clear a large plot of every trace of vegetation. 
 When full-grown these larvae in turn go underground, and now 
 there is a divergence in development. Some of the pupae remain 
 unchanged all winter ; some of them produce moths, and of 
 these some will go into winter-quarters and hibernate, while 
 others mate and lay eggs for a late brood of caterpillars, which 
 becomes only partially grown. The insects may, therefore, 
 winter in either the larval, pupal, or adult condition, though it is 
 probable that the pupa stands the best chance of surviving. At 
 all events, this explains how it is that caterpillars of all sizes may 
 be found at all times, and that during the entire season moths 
 may be found. In my own experience, there has not been a 
 week in the collecting year when I have not taken this insect, 
 while seeking better species. The remedies to be adopted are 
 almost entirely mechanical. Where the larvae are noticed at the 
 first start in grain-fields or grass lands, the patches infested by 
 them should be at once cut down and utterly destroyed by 
 fire, and with them, of course, the larvae. The work must be 
 done thoroughly, because otherwise the caterpillars will simply 
 crawl to adjacent plots, and the labor is wasted. The thorough 
 
296 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 application of an arsenical spray in the infested patch and imme- 
 diately surrounding it is beneficial in some cases, but there is the 
 practical difficulty that grasses do not hold a water spray easily. 
 Using soapsuds instead of pure water will overcome this, how- 
 ever. If the insects become abundant enough to start on a 
 march, a narrow strip can be ploughed in its line, harrowed and 
 rolled, and then the roller can be kept going, crushing the insects 
 as they come upon it. Or a very strong kerosene emulsion may 
 be sprayed upon the caterpillars as they advance, and upon the 
 fields that they are leaving. There will be no vegetation that 
 need be considered, and therefore the mixture need be diluted 
 five times only, which will be effective even against the nearly 
 full-grown larvae. It would seem that following one army of 
 caterpillars we would have next year a still more destructive in- 
 vasion, but such is not usually the case. Fungus and other dis- 
 eases appear and decimate their ranks, their enemies increase 
 rapidly after the first large brood, and the result is that normal 
 numbers only survive, unless the conditions which favor their 
 increase one year continue also the next. As the land becomes 
 more cut up and cultivated, the danger from this insect is 
 correspondingly lessened, and where a reasonable amount of 
 promptness is displayed on its first appearance no wide-spread 
 injury need be anticipated. Everything depends upon the 
 promptness and thoroughness with which early measures are 
 adopted and carried out, and all delays will prove costly. 
 
 A near relative of the true " army-worm" is the insect known 
 as the "wheat-head army-worm," Leucania albilinea. This is 
 a rather brighter larva, also striped with yellow, never becoming 
 quite as large as its ally, and peculiar in the habit of eating the 
 grain or seed of wheat, rye, and other grasses. There are two 
 broods of this insect also during the year, but that which does 
 the injury makes its appearance in the nearly full-grown larval 
 condition just when the grain is ready to ripen. At this time, 
 when sufficiently numerous, their injuries to the crop are severe, 
 because a single caterpillar may in a few minutes practically de- 
 stroy the value of an entire head of wheat. The ears become 
 ragged and the surface of the soil becomes littered like a barn 
 floor after threshing. The moths from which these insects are 
 derived expand a little more than an inch, and are of a rather 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 297 
 
 Fig. 334. 
 
 pale clay-yellow, with a narrow, silver-gray margin to the outer 
 edge of the fore-wing. There is also a dusky stripe through 
 its centre, surmounted by a white 
 streak, which gives the specific 
 name albili7iea, or "white lined." 
 Practical measures against this in- 
 sect are difficult. Where the stage 
 of the grain warrants it in any way, 
 the best thing is to cut it at once. 
 This will save further injury, and the 
 insects will distribute themselves to 
 localities where their mischief will 
 not count so heavily. As with the 
 previous species, increase is depend- 
 ent upon conditions which we do 
 not entirely understand, and here 
 also the parasites ordinarily obtain 
 control before the year is out. 
 
 The wandering habit is somewhat 
 developed in this species as well, 
 and frequently they start in grass 
 lands and emigrate to adjacent 
 grain-fields when the wheat-heads 
 are well advanced. 
 
 An insect somewhat similar in 
 appearance in the caterpillar stage is 
 the "fall army- worm," Laphygma 
 frtcgiperda. It is smaller, however, 
 the head dark with a prominent, 
 white, V-mark, while the lines are 
 different and the body is covered 
 with rather well marked black tuber- 
 cles, giving rise to short, stiff, black 
 hair. The creature is a general 
 feeder, and appears in greatest num- 
 bers late in the season in fields of 
 dense vegetation of almost any kind. In general habits it does 
 not difter much from the species already described, and, like 
 them, it goes underground to pupate. There are always two, 
 
 The wheat-head army-worm. — 
 a, a, eating out a head of grain ; b, 
 eggs under a leaf sheath ; enlarged 
 at c, d ; the moth, Leucania albilinea, 
 surmounting all. 
 
298 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and sometimes three or more broods in the course of the year, 
 and in favorable seasons these become successively more numer- 
 ous, so that the fall brood proves the most troublesome. These 
 favorable seasons, however, do not often occur, particularly in 
 the Eastern United States, and here climatic influences or other 
 natural conditions reach the insects during the winter, so that in 
 the spring following only a normal number survive. Cultivating 
 land in crops which admit of fall ploughing is best adapted to 
 
 Fig. 335. 
 
 riG. 336. 
 
 The fall army-worm.— 6, its 
 head ; c, d^ its body segments 
 enlarged. 
 
 Laphygma friigiperda and its 
 variations. 
 
 avoid injury, and a frequent rotation will prevent them from be- 
 coming numerous enough to be destructive at any time. The 
 arsenites can be employed, of course, for the protection of crops 
 that admit of being sprayed. Wheat-fields badly infested in fall 
 are not necessarily ruined or even much injured, because wheat 
 will stand cutting down almost to the ground during the latter 
 part of the season, and will yet come up vigorous and in good 
 condition the spring following. The moth that produces this 
 caterpillar is a modest, gray creature, expanding hardly more 
 than an inch, and the hind wings are pure white and semi-trans- 
 parent. It is a variable species, and ranges from an almost uni- 
 form gray to forms in which there is a considerable admixture of 
 bluish white, the ordinary lines and spots of the owlet-moths 
 being also well marked. 
 
The insect world. 
 
 299 
 
 We sometimes find boring in the stems of wheat, corn, pota- 
 toes, and a great variety of other plants a yellowish-white cater- 
 pillar with rather prominent black spots, furnished with little 
 soft hairs and with a black head. This is the larva of another 
 Noctuid moth, the Achatodes zece. It sometimes does consid- 
 erable, though usually temporary, injury to the infested plants, 
 and is kept in check, as a rule, by its natural limitations. The 
 moth which produces this caterpillar is broader winged than the 
 species previously mentioned, and the primaries are of a deep, 
 somewhat mottled, red-brown. The outer margin is rusty red, 
 especially towards the tip of the wing, and none of the other 
 markings are well defined. The species has not, in my experi- 
 ence, appeared in numbers large enough to make it necessary to 
 adopt remedial meas- 
 ures, and this is fortu- ^^^- 337- 
 nate, because from its 
 method of feeding it is 
 somewhat beyond our 
 reach. 
 
 Occasionally we note 
 upon grape-vines a 
 smooth, greenish cat- 
 erpillar with broken, 
 rather inconspicuous, 
 lateral lines. It attains a 
 length of from one and 
 one-half to two inches, 
 and differs from the 
 other greenish cater- 
 pillars of the vine by lacking all trace of either horn or eye-spot 
 on the last segment. It pupates a little below the surface, and in 
 due time appears as a moth which is distinctly flattened, has the 
 fore-wings of a mottled, dull, smoky brown, and the hind wings 
 of a dull coppery hue. It is the Pyropliila pyramidoides, and 
 may be occasionally found during the day hiding in crevices, or 
 under bark, for which its flattened body adapts it unusually well. 
 At night it is attracted to light, and occasionally becomes rather 
 common, though rarely abundant enough to need remedial 
 measures. When it does occur in numbers it is easily controlled 
 
 Pyrophila pyraniidoides and its larva. 
 
300 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 by the application of a stomach poison, the caterpillar succumb- 
 ing readily to any of those in ordinary use. 
 
 There is a series of decidedly depressed or flattened moths with 
 narrow, long fore-wings, broad hind wings, a somewhat retracted 
 head clothed with stiff", projecting vestiture, and a neat little tuft 
 on the anterior part of the thoracic collar. These belong to the 
 genus Xylina, or its near allies, and they appear late in fall, to 
 hibernate as adults. In spring they reappear as soon as the 
 weather becomes in the least warm, and moths of this kind are 
 
 Fig. 338. 
 
 Xylina antennata : a, its larva in peach ; d, adult moth. 
 
 often found in maple groves while sugaring is going on. Some- 
 times sap-pails are found in the morning with the surface of the 
 liquid completely covered with these insects, which, taken as a 
 whole, are northern, though some extend south and southwest, 
 and even to the Pacific coast. One of the most common is the 
 X. antennata, the caterpillar of which has been described by 
 Riley as boring into fruits ; but it is a rare species, comparatively, 
 and no marked injury is ever done. 
 
 Now we reach a group of moths in which the caterpillars 
 usually lack one pair of the false or abdominal legs, and for this 
 reason are known as " semi-loopers," having somewhat the 
 methods of motion found in the "span-worm," but not to so 
 marked an extent. Of this series we have several more or less 
 troublesome species, and the most important are the "cotton- 
 worms" belonging to the genera Anomis and Aletia, all of them 
 feeding upon the leaves. The larvae are similar in appearance, 
 green, more or less narrowly banded at the sides, and spotted. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 301 
 
 Fig. 339. 
 
 The ' ' cotton-worm' ' is the larva of Aletia argillacea, about which 
 many volumes have been written, and whose life history has 
 been thoroughly investigated under the direction of the United 
 States Entomological Commission 
 and the entomologists of the United 
 States Department of Agriculture. 
 To one especially interested in this 
 insect these elaborate reports will be 
 useful and must be consulted. It 
 will suffice here to say that the 
 caterpillars pupate in a loose co- 
 coon spun on the leaves of the 
 plants, and from the dark-brown 
 pupa comes a dull, tawny or clay- 
 colored moth, with indistinct, dark, 
 wavy, transverse lines, and a rather 
 prominent leaden-white spot, more 
 or less margined with black, near 
 the middle of the fore-wings. There 
 are several broods in the course of 
 the year, but only the later ones be- 
 come seriously injurious, the plant 
 then being sometimes entirely de- 
 foliated. A curious feature is that 
 the insects probably do not spend 
 the winter in our territory, but adults immigrate each year from 
 more southern regions. The migrating habit is marked in the 
 later broods maturing on cotton in our country, and the moths 
 have been often seen in great numbers as far north as Canada. 
 As the wings are closely scaled, they do not readily show the 
 wear and tear of long flight, and specimens have been taken 
 in the far north as fresh and bright as if hatched there. It is 
 possible that under favorable circumstances the caterpillars may 
 support themselves on plants other than the cotton, but we 
 have no positive information of their having done so. Of late 
 years the insects are much less injurious than in times past, 
 largely as the result of a diversified agriculture, which has made 
 it less easy for them to increase in abnormal numbers. Planters 
 have also learnt that a prompt application of the arsenites when 
 
 Cotton-worms, from 
 above. 
 
 side and 
 
302 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the larvae first appear is apt to lessen subsequent injury, if it does 
 not prevent it entirely. The method of application now adopted 
 is exceedingly simple, consisting of a moderately stout, rather 
 elastic, pole, to the ends of which are attached sacks of a coarse 
 ducking material containing Paris green. This pole is carried 
 by a man on muleback, who rides between the rows, continually 
 jarring it so that the poison sifts through the sacks upon the 
 
 Fig. 340. 
 
 Aletia argillacea at rest and with wings expanded. 
 
 plants. It has been found that undiluted Paris green used in 
 this way does not injure the foliage, while it is absolutely effective 
 as against the larvae. Sometimes the pole is made long enough 
 to hold four sacks, so that four rows are dusted at one time. This 
 is exceedingly simple and practical, and has the advantage of re- 
 quiring no expensive outfit. 
 
 We have belonging to this series of semiloopers a number of 
 moths belonging to the genus Pliisia, and most of these have 
 somewhere in the middle of the fore-wing a dash, line, circlet, or 
 other marking of silver or gold. Sometimes the entire surface is 
 metallic or golden, and the species, as a whole, are very hand- 
 some, with the ground color in most cases velvety gray or 
 brown. Bright colors or contrasting markings are rare. Several 
 of the larvae attack cultivated plants, but none as frequently as 
 that of P. brassiccB, the cabbage Plusia. The caterpillar is 
 green, with rather indistinct lateral lines, and is readily sepa- 
 rated from the butterfly larva of Pieris rapes, because it lacks 
 one pair of abdominal legs and is not at all velvety in appear- 
 ance. Its fashion of " humping itself" also separates it from the 
 other larva, which always rests fully extended. This may be 
 dealt with as has been already recommended foi the other ' ' cab- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 Z'^Z 
 
 bage-worm," and as they infest the plants at about the same time 
 in midsummer, one appHcation of Paris green or London purple 
 will answer for both insects. 
 
 Fig 
 
 The cabbage Plusia, P. byassiccB.~a, larva ; b, pupa in its thin cocoon ; 
 c, male adult. 
 
 Another series of usually bright-colored, active moths that fly 
 during the day, sometimes in the hottest sunshine, is the Helio- 
 thini, which are usually white or yellow in color, and not infre- 
 quently have a glossy or metallic lustre. Taken altogether, the 
 species are not common, and are much more abundant both in 
 specimens and species in the West and Southwest. But we have 
 one form, abundant throughout the Eastern United States, which 
 is at once the lacgest, least conspicuous, and most destructive of 
 those belonging here, yielding little, in the injury it does, to any 
 other Noctuid. It is the Heliothis armiger, whose caterpillar is 
 locally known as the " boll-worm" in the South, where it bores 
 into cotton-bolls ; the " corn-worm" in the North, from its habit 
 of eating into ears of corn, and the "tomato-worm" in some of 
 the Eastern States, from its habit of boring into tomatoes during 
 the early part of the season. The species is one of the most 
 difficult to deal with directly, from its habit of feeding concealed 
 in such a way that in most cases the application of arsenites is 
 a practical impossibility. It has been found by experience that 
 
304 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 corn is the favorite food, and they will attack it in preference to 
 everything else. This preference is utilized by planting corn in 
 cotton-fields in such a way that the ears are in attractive condi- 
 tion at the time when the moths would otherwise oviposit in the 
 bolls. Before the caterpillars come to maturity they can be de- 
 stroyed by hand in the ears, or the corn can be cut and fed to 
 stock, together with the caterpillars. This is really the most 
 
 Fig. 342. 
 
 Heliothis armiger in all stages.— a, b, egg, enlarged ; c, larva ; d, pupa in its under- 
 ground cell ; e,f, moths. 
 
 satisfactory way of dealing with this insect in cotton- fields. By 
 providing early corn for the early broods of larvae, and destroying 
 it before they mature, the species can be kept down to harmless 
 numbers later in the season. The adoption of a more diversified 
 agriculture will have a tendency to lessen injury to the cotton, 
 and if systematic fall ploughing of corn-fields be practised, it 
 will soon become insignificant. There are two or three broods 
 in the latitude of New Jersey and even more southwardly, while 
 in its most northern range a single brood only is normal. In 
 September or early October the caterpillars that mature in corn 
 go underground and change to pupae, passing the winter in this. 
 
Fig. 343. 
 
 Work of the larva of Heliothis armiger in corn and in tomatoes. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 305 
 
 condition. Early in spring, if the ground remains undisturbed, 
 the moths, which are of a dull clay-yellow, with indistinct mark- 
 ings on the fore-wings, and expand from one and one-half to two 
 inches, make their appearance and lay eggs upon such plants as 
 they can find. Early tomatoes are favorites, and, following them, 
 peas are infested. The caterpillars bore at first into the stems 
 of the tomatoes, but always attack the fruit as soon as it has set. 
 The earliest tomatoes are thus frequently ruined, and as these 
 usually have the greatest market value, the actual money injury 
 is out of all proportion to the quantity of fruit destroyed. Sweet 
 corn is next attacked, and the earlier it is the more abundant will 
 the insects be found in it. Last of all field corn is taken, and 
 this remains infested until it becomes hard and glazed, the cater- 
 pillars being able to make their way through and feed upon the 
 perfectly ripe kernel. Fortunately, they are great cannibals, and 
 where several infest a single ear of corn they fight until one alone 
 remains. On tomatoes the insects cannot be satisfactorily treated, 
 except by picking and destroying the infested fruit as soon as it 
 is noticed, and the only practical means of keeping them in 
 check is fall ploughing all corn-fields. It has been found by ex- 
 periment and by practical experience that ploughing in the fall 
 and breaking up the earthen cells in which the pupae rest will in 
 almost every instance result in their death, and this process alone 
 offers a fair opportunity for controlling the pest. 
 
 There follow in the natural series a great number of small spe- 
 cies, some of them very bright and pretty, many with interesting 
 life histories, but none of practical importance from the economic 
 stand-point. They are in turn followed by a series of larger 
 species with broad wings and dull colors, the secondaries fre- 
 quently crossed with lines much as in the primaries. The cater- 
 pillars are half-loopers in most cases, and bear a very strong 
 resemblance to the "span-worms." The most common of the 
 species belonging here are the clover moths, Drasteria erechtea 
 and D. crassmsaila, which are so nearly alike that they have 
 been confused in collections, and we need not trouble to separate 
 them. Both are broad-winged, dirty gray or brown in color, 
 with two more or less marked blackish or brown bands on the 
 fore- wings, and a series of little black dots before the apex. The 
 female is much more modest in color than the male, and the 
 
 20 
 
3o6 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 black markings are so reduced as to be scarcely visible, except 
 on careful inspection. The caterpillar, which is green and nar- 
 rowly striped, feeds on clovers, and, while abundant, is not prac- 
 tically harmful. 
 
 Among the pets of the lepidopterist are the species of Catocala, 
 a series of large moths with the hind wings black, or yellow and 
 
 red banded with 
 f'^f^" 347- black. We have a 
 
 great number of 
 species, and while 
 the hind wings are 
 so prominently col- 
 ored and marked, 
 the fore-wings are 
 mottled gray, 
 brown, and black. 
 They rest exposed 
 during the day up- 
 on the bark of trees, 
 entirely invisible 
 because so closely 
 resembling their surroundings, the gaudy hind wings being com- 
 pletely covered by the modest fore-wings. While some of the 
 caterpillars feed upon cultivated plants, especially the plum, they 
 are never abundant enough to attract attention. 
 
 Last in the Noctuids we have the " snout-moths," or deltoids, 
 the latter term applied from the fact that when the insects are at 
 rest the outline bears somewhat a re- 
 semblance to the Greek letter delta J. 
 The species are recognizable without 
 much trouble by the unusually long 
 palpi, which in many cases point directly 
 forward and form a decided snout. The 
 only species that has occurred in num- 
 bers justifying the term injurious is the 
 Hypena humiili, the caterpillar of which 
 — a slender green creature — feeds upon 
 hops. Within my experience it has never been sufficiently 
 troublesome to make insecticides necessary ; but should it ever 
 
 Catocala ultronia and its larva. 
 
 Fig 
 
 Hypena humuli, 
 moth. 
 
 hop-vine 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 307 
 
 become so, there would be no trouble in protectI::g the plants 
 by means of the arsenites. 
 
 Now we reach the family Geometridtz , in which the larvae lack 
 all save one or at most two pair of false or abdominal legs. In 
 moving they first extend the body to its full length, then bring 
 tiie posterior end close to the front legs, looping the body in 
 the centre, then stretch out again and repeat the procedure, 
 whereby they have gained the names ' ' span-worms, " " loopers, ' ' 
 or "measuring-worms," and, indirectly, the scientific term 
 Geometridae. There is never any difficulty in recognizing the 
 caterpillars, and the moths are easily known in most instances by 
 their slender bodies, small heads, and very broad wings, which 
 are also, as a rule, frail and thin. The hind wings are here orna- 
 mented much as are the fore-wings, so that the lines of the one 
 pair are often continued across the other. When at rest, the in- 
 sects keep the wings extended and flat, much as specimens are 
 pinned in the cabinet. We have a large number of species, but 
 comparatively few of them become troublesome. 
 
 Perhaps the best known of all are the " canker-worms," larvae 
 of the species of Anisop- 
 teryx and Paleacrita. 
 These attack a consider- 
 able variety of trees, and 
 are especially fond of 
 apple and pear, which 
 are sometimes completely 
 defoliated. They are 
 much more troublesome 
 in the New England and 
 Northern States, and I 
 have often seen, in Mas- 
 sachusetts, orchards com- 
 pletely defoliated by 
 them. In New Jersey 
 and southward they 
 rarely become trouble- 
 some. Here, as in some 
 of the Bombycids, the sexes are unlike, the males being winged, 
 while the females are wingless. The caterpillars, when full- 
 
 X^^ 
 
 VW 
 
 Fig. 350. 
 
 F'g- 349) Paleacrita veriiata. — a, male ; b, fe- 
 male ; c, d, structural details. Fig. 350, Anisop- 
 teryx pometaria.—a, male ; b, female ; c, d, e, 
 structural details. 
 
3o8 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 grown, descend to the ground to pupate ; when the females 
 emerge they crawl up the trunks of the trees, where they are 
 fertiUzed by the males, and then continue their journey to the 
 leaves, upon which they lay their eggs. This habit gives us 
 control of the insects, for if we simply band the tree in such away 
 as to prevent either the female or the young caterpillars from as- 
 cending to the branches, it will be protected completely. Unless 
 the female can get upon the leaves, the eggs are laid upon the 
 
 Fig. 351. 
 
 Fig. 352. 
 
 Canker-worm, larva of Anisoptcryx pometaria. 
 — a, i5, egg, enlarged ; e, patch of eggs ; c, d, body 
 segments of /", larva ; g-, pupa of female. 
 
 a, larva of Paleacrita vernata; 
 b, an ^zZy niuch enlarged ; c, d, 
 body segments of larva. 
 
 trunk below any obstruction that it cannot pass. The young 
 larvae will attempt to get to the leaves, and will, if they find an 
 impassable barrier, starve to death. The best materials, all 
 things considered, are " raupenleim," or " dendrolene," prefer- 
 ably the latter, as it remains viscid for the full period during 
 which the insects hatch, and forms a perfect barrier beneath or 
 through which no creature can crawl and live. A band six 
 inches in width and a quarter of an inch or more in thickness 
 over thick wrapping-paper will prove a perfect protection. Fluffy 
 wool or cotton may also be employed, and the former is the most 
 lasting, but less certain than the " dendrolene." 
 
 A near relative of these canker-worms is the ' ' lime-tree moth, ' ' 
 Hybernia tiliaria, which also attacks a variety of trees, and has 
 at times been decidedly troublesome. The application of the 
 arsenites will prove a complete protection in this case ; indeed, we 
 may say of all the caterpillars belonging to this family, including 
 the "canker-worms," that they can be controlled by the thor- 
 ough application of stomach poisons to the plants upon which 
 they feed. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 309 
 
 One curious feature is that nearly all these span-worms closely 
 resemble little dried twigs, branches, or even the stems of the 
 leaves upon which they feed. Many of them when at rest hold 
 to the twig by the hind feet only and keep the body rigidly ex- 
 tended, seeming for all the world like a small process from the 
 
 Fig. 353- 
 
 The lime-tree vao\.\\, Hybernia ii/iaria.—ha.TvSi all sizes; winged male and wingless 
 
 female. 
 
 [)lant itself I well remember one occasion when Cymatophora 
 pampiyiaria was excessively abundant on certain cranberry bogs 
 on Cape Cod. I saw the spaces that had been defoliated and saw 
 the edge of the spaces unaffected, but, look as I would, I could 
 not at first see the caterpillars. It was not until a little smoke 
 was started over the edge of the attacked portion that larvae were 
 observed, and then it seemed as if all the little twigs and branches 
 obtained life in an instant and started travelling. The insects so 
 
3IO 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 closely resembled the cranberry stems and twigs that even to an 
 entomologist they were at first invisible. 
 
 The balance of the Lepidoptera are classed in a general way as 
 " micro," or small, although as a matter of fact many of them 
 are larger than some of the " macros." Yet, as a rule, the fam- 
 ilies contain small, and sometimes very small, forms. 
 
 At the head of this aggregation is placed the superfamily 
 PyralididiB , which contains species of moderate size, varying 
 greatly in appearance. We have one series, the Pyi'atistidce, 
 with slender bodies and rather thinly scaled wings. The pri- 
 maries are banded, the secondaries are moderate in. size, never 
 larger than the fore-wings, and the colors are, as a rule, pale, 
 usually a light clay-yellow, while the markings, which are wavy, 
 are yellowish brown or black. The caterpillars in this series are 
 nearly always green, with pale stripes and spots ; sometimes 
 without any markings at all. The head is either black or yellow, 
 hard and shining, and there is a hard shield of the same color as 
 the head on the first thoracic segment. Most of them have the 
 abdominal legs crowned with a complete circlet of spines, and by 
 this character, which is an easy one to see, we can tell with al- 
 most absolute certainty the caterpillar of a micro from that of 
 a macro, in which the circlet of hooks is never complete, if we 
 except the Hepialidce and Cossida, which will not confuse us, on 
 account of their great size and wood-boring habits. The pro- 
 legs are complete, — that is to say, there are four pairs, — and the 
 
 Fig. 354. 
 
 The pickle-motli, Margaronia nitidalis, and its larva ; the latter shown on a small 
 cucumber which had been eaten into at b. 
 
 insects have, therefore, no appearance of or relation to the 
 loopers, or Geometridce. Many, perhaps most, of the caterpillars 
 are silk- spinners, and often live more or less concealed in folded 
 leaves held together by a few threads, or in tubes above or under 
 
^ 
 
 _ ■ 
 
 ^.— ^ 
 
 p 
 
 «- 
 
 
 %%, 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 3" 
 
 ground. Occasionally quite large nests are built, and the cater- 
 pillars are more or less gregarious, or live together in colonies. 
 One of the injurious species is Margaronia nitidalis, quite a 
 pretty brown-and yellow insect called the "pickle-moth," be- 
 cause the caterpillar has the habit of feeding on the cucumber, 
 boring into and destroying it when about half-grown. It is more 
 common in the Western States, and no satisfactory recommenda- 
 tions for its control have yet been made. 
 
 The great majority of the caterpillars live upon low herbage 
 generally, rarely in numbers sufficient to cause perceptible injury, 
 and most of the species are classified under the genus Pyrausta. 
 We frequently notice, in passing through patches of ferns, that the 
 leaves, before they become entirely unfolded, are spun up and 
 held undeveloped. If we look closely we find a typical Pyralid 
 caterpillar, which is easily observed and bred, pupating in the 
 web itself, while the resulting moth is typical of this genus. 
 
 The most troublesome species is the "garden web- worm," 
 Loxostege similalis, or, as it used to be called, Eurycreon ran- 
 talis, and this is a great pest on vegetables of all kinds, seeming 
 indifferent to the character of its food and spinning its small web 
 everywhere on the plants. 
 It extends over most of 
 the United States, and 
 has been more or less 
 injurious in almost every 
 section ; but, like many 
 others, it seems to be 
 troublesome a year or 
 two and then escapes 
 notice for several years 
 thereafter. So far we 
 have not been able to 
 make out a regular peri- 
 odicity, and the remedy is Paris green or one of the other arse- 
 nites where it can be practically applied. The insecticide is 
 sometimes a little slow to act because the insects are more or 
 less sheltered, and it is only when they feed outside their web 
 that they risk being poisoned. In some cases the kerosene emul- 
 sion is useful, and acts more promptly because of its ability 
 
 Fig 
 
 The " garden web- worm, " Loxostege similalis; 
 — a, larva; b, c, single segments of same; d, 
 pupa ; e, its tip ; f, moth. 
 
312 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 to penetrate the webs and come into direct contact with the 
 larvae. 
 
 Sometimes insects of this series are not confined to green 
 vegetation, as in the case of the "clover-hay worm," Asopia 
 costa/is, which attacks the dry or partially dry product, webbing 
 
 it up and causing more or 
 Fic. 356. less injury. Its near ally, 
 
 Pyralis fari7ialis, may be 
 found in barns or bins 
 where grain is carelessly 
 stored, and the caterpil- 
 lars make little tubes, 
 formed partially of silk, 
 partially of fragments of 
 the grain and even of en- 
 tire kernels, upon which 
 they feed. Rarely, how- 
 ever, are they abundant 
 enough to do serious in- 
 jury, and as against both 
 cleanliness will go far, 
 while bisulphide of carbon 
 will readily destroy the larvae. As against the "clover-hay 
 worm," nothing is better than to feed up clean from year to year. 
 Never put new hay upon old, and if stacked outside, lay upon 
 rails so as to get ventilation underneath. Salting the first two or 
 three feet has also been recommended, and will probably be 
 effective. 
 
 In the PhycitincB there are many sombre-colored little moths, 
 usually of some gray tint, with rather narrow fore and broad 
 hind wings. The insects rest with the wings closely folded 
 around the body, the head a little elevated, and the palpi project- 
 ing forward, giving them rather an impertinent appearance. The 
 caterpillars are largely internal feeders, attacking fruits in many 
 cases, sometimes living in the stems of plants, sometimes spin- 
 ning up among leaves, in rare cases feeding openly. Occasion- 
 ally they make a case or sac which they carry about with them, 
 and in which they are more or less protected. 
 
 We have several more or less troublesome species that are 
 
 The clover-hay worm, i and 2 ; its cocoon at 3 ; 
 the pupa at 4 ; the moths, Asopia costalis, at 5 and 
 6 ; at 7 the tubes made by the larvae. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 313 
 
 Cranberry-fruit worm, Mineola vacchiii. — 
 a, cranberry on which {b, c) the eggs are laid ; 
 d, larva ; e,/, pupa and its tip ; g, cocoon ; h, 
 moth. 
 
 rather difficult to deal with. One of these is the Mineola vacdnii, 
 or "cranberry-fruit worm," which lives in the berry itself, feed- 
 ing in the seed-capsule, causing the fruit to redden up prema- 
 turely, and then to dry and shrivel on the vine. A single 
 caterpillar may eat into every berry upon a fruit stem in the 
 course of its existence, then 
 
 descends to the ground, and Fig. 357. 
 
 among the leaves and rub- 
 bish spins a tough little co- 
 coon in which the pupa 
 winters safely, even if cov- 
 ered by water. The eggs 
 are laid about the middle of 
 July, singly, on the berries 
 where the blossoms have 
 dropped off, under one of 
 the little triangular flaps. 
 Once the larvae are in the 
 berries there is no way of 
 getting at them, and, practi- 
 cally, the only method of reducing their numbers is to pick the 
 berries as early as may be, being careful to get in all that are 
 infested. By sorting promptly these can be destroyed before 
 the larvae leave them, lessening greatly the number of moths for 
 the following year. The insect is much more troublesome in 
 New England than in New Jersey or in the northwestern marshes. 
 
 Nearly allied, but with totally different habits, is the Mineola 
 ifidiginella, or-" rascal apple-leaf crumpler," so called from its 
 habit of making irregular, crumpled cases on the apple leaves 
 upon which the insect feeds. It is rather easily reached, where it 
 becomes troublesome, by the arsenical sprays, and in orchards 
 where spraying is generally practised it is incidentally destroyed. 
 Many other of these little species are found on our cultivated 
 crops, but, as a rule, in such small numbers as to be hardly no- 
 ticeable, and only occasionally a species becomes locally injurious. 
 
 One of the largest of our Eastern species is the Melitara pro- 
 denialis, which feeds inside the leaves of the prickly pear or 
 common cactus of the sandy regions south of Long Island, while 
 its near ally, M. de^itata, is found in an allied cactus in Kansas 
 
SH 
 
 AN ECO ATOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 Fig. 360. 
 
 Fig. 361. 
 
 Fig. 358. 
 
 Fig. 360, the Mediterranean flour-moth, Ephestia kiihnieUa.—a, larva; b, pupa; <.,/, ailult 
 with wings spread and at rest ; g, wing of a variety ; d, e, li, i, structural details. Fig. 358, 
 Melitara prodenialis.-a, larva ; h, r, d, details of same ; e, cocoon ; /, pupa ; g, moth. Fig. 
 361, the bee-moth, Galleria melonella.—a, larva ; b, cocoon ; c, pupa ; d, e, moths. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 315 
 
 and the Western plains generally. This caterpillar, at first sight, 
 resembles one of the Noctuids very closely, and is of a beautiful, 
 quite unusual, bluish tint. The moth expands nearly two inches, 
 and is, perhaps, the largest of those belonging here. It has the 
 peculiar habit of laying its eggs one upon the other in a pile 
 which mimics the spines on the cactus leaves ; so, unless carefully 
 sought for, they are easily overlooked. We find also in this 
 group of variable habits a species that is carnivorous, Lcstilia 
 
 Fig. 359. 
 
 An egg-stack oi Melitai a prudenialis. — Single eggs shown at a. 
 
 cocddivora, which, as its name indicates, feeds upon scale insects. 
 Unfortunately, it is altogether too rare to be of any practical use, 
 and is simply a curiosity, the carnivorous tendency in the Lepi- 
 doptera being extremely rare. 
 
 Ephestia kuhnieUa is another troublesome species, commonly 
 known as the "Mediterranean flour-moth." It is sometimes 
 abundant in barns and mills, and, especially in the latter, may do 
 much injur)^ Great complaint has been made during the few 
 years last past, the insects seeming to become more abundant 
 and to cover an increasing portion of our territory. Cleanliness, 
 of course, is primarily to be enforced ; but where they are 
 abundant enough to make it important, the insects can be cleared 
 out by using bisulphide of carbon. All the rooms should be 
 tightly closed overnight, and enough bisulphide evaporated to 
 fill every nook and cranny with the poisonous fumes. In a 
 badly infested establishment a second application may be neces- 
 sary in some cases, but in most instances one has proved effectual. 
 
3i6 
 
 A/V ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 A very curious species is the Gallcria melonella^ or ' ' bee- 
 moth," which infests beehives and feeds upon wax. A brood 
 of these caterpillars sometimes invade a hive and bore into the 
 wax out of sight of the bees, frequently demoralizing them to 
 such an extent that they abandon their home, seeming unable to 
 find a way of dealing with this kind of enemy. In the recent 
 types of hives there is little opportunity for these pests to estab- 
 lish themselves, and if the bee-keeper is on the alert, he will at 
 once perceive any such invasion. It is easy then, by transferring 
 and cleaning out the infested frames, to save the swarm. The 
 moths are rather curious creatures, mottled and streaked on the 
 fore-wings, the outer margins of which are also a little excavated. 
 
 Under the general term Cra??ibids we may describe a series of 
 species with slender body, narrow, rather squarely cut off fore- 
 wings, and broad hind wings. When at rest the wings are rolled 
 
 Fig. 362. 
 
 Crambus vulvivagellus. — a, larva ; b, over-, and c, underground tube and cocoon ; rf, e, 
 f, moths with wings spread and at rest ; g, an egg much enlarged. 
 
 up or folded closely, giving the insect a little the appearance of a 
 tiny cylinder. The head is small, not at all retracted, and usually 
 furnished with very long palpi that project straight out like a 
 snout ; as a whole, resembling somewhat one of the groups of the 
 deltoid Noctuids. The fore-wings are generally white or yellow- 
 ish, quite frequently streaked or spotted with silver and gold ; 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 317 
 
 but, of course, as in other groups, we have modest species in 
 which gray predominates, and where the longitudinal markings 
 are rather in the form of black lines or streaks. The majority of 
 the species belong to the old genus Crambus, and a number ot 
 them are injurious in grass lands, where the caterpillars are 
 known as " root web-worms." As in many other cases, it is not 
 so much the grass that is injured as the corn crop which follows 
 it, and, therefore, we usually find them injurious in proportion 
 to the length of time that a field has been in grass before being 
 ploughed for corn. Usually the moths appear quite early in spring, 
 and the eggs are laid in grass some time in May, loosely attached 
 to blade or stem, or sometimes simply dropped on the ground. 
 The larvae, when they begin feeding, make a loose web or tube 
 of silk, sometimes on the surface, sometimes a little below it. 
 Occasionally they feed upon the roots, sometimes on the stalk, 
 and often they enter and bore into the plant itself If an infested 
 grass-plot is ploughed after eggs have been laid or after the cater- 
 pillars have hatched, such of them as survive attack the corn, if 
 that is the crop planted. Occasionally entire fields are destroyed, 
 while quite frequently much damage is done. The moths make 
 their second appearance a little after midsummer, and are never 
 troublesome then, because the eggs are laid in grass lands, where 
 the caterpillars, though abundant, are not noticed. From this 
 general life history it will be seen that fields can be kept clear by 
 fall ploughing, or by turning the sod very early in spring before the 
 moths have made their appearance or had an opportunity to de- 
 posit eggs. Bare ground will not become infested, nor, usually, 
 will a corn-field if there is any grass in the vicinity. Where' 
 injury is caused on lands ploughed late, I have found that certain 
 commercial fertilizers exercise a beneficial efi"ect ; in fields fertil- 
 ized with potash in the form of kainit or muriate, the exemption 
 may be complete, while in adjacent plots fertilized with barn- 
 yard manure, injury may be serious. It is also possible to pre- 
 vent trouble by planting some other crop between sod and corn, 
 where such rotation can be profitably adopted. 
 
 In the genera Diatma and Chilo we have insects resembling 
 those already described, but rather larger, with often more slen- 
 der pointed wings and longer palpi and abdomen. Here the 
 larvae are usually borers, some in corn, some in sugar-cane, and 
 
3i8 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 366. 
 
 some in other plants. As with all other borers, there is difficulty 
 in reaching them directly, and besides destroying infested plants, 
 nothing really satisfactory has been proposed. Diatrcea saccha- 
 ralis bores into sugar-cane and into corn, often doing much in- 
 jury to the latter crop in the States south of the Potomac. 
 There are two or more broods, depending on latitude, the last 
 remaining through the winter in the larval stage in the corn- 
 stalks. We have thus an obvious remedy in removing and 
 destroying or using these up completely before the spring follow- 
 ing. In sugar-cane the matter is not so simple ; but by burning 
 tops, cutting close to the surface, and planting in fall from sound 
 canes only, the injury can be at least much reduced if not en- 
 tirely avoided. It is another in- 
 stance where an intelligent farm 
 practice will answer every pur- 
 pose, without a resort to insecti- 
 cides of any kind. Mats, both 
 flat and round, are especially to be 
 avoided for affected canes. 
 
 An interesting little family is 
 the PtcrophoridcB, peculiar in 
 having the wings split into feath- 
 ers or plumes. Occasionally the 
 primaries have only a cleft that 
 does not extend beyond the mid- 
 dle, but sometimes they are split 
 for the full length. The hind 
 wings may be divided into from 
 four to six feathers, the insects 
 being therefore termed "plume 
 moths, " or " feather-wing moths. ' ' 
 As a whole, few of the species are 
 common, and I am acquainted 
 with only one that is in any way 
 injurious, — the "grape plume," 
 The caterpillar of this is pale yel- 
 lowish or nearly white, with little tubercles, from which rise tufts 
 of pale hair similar to those of some Arctiids, or " woolly bears." 
 It lives in the tips of young shoots of grape, webbing up the 
 
 The grape plume, Oxyptilus peris- 
 celidactylus. — a, larvte in a spun-up 
 tip ; b, pupa ; c, its breast projection ; 
 d, moth ; e, a single segment of larva. 
 
 Oxyptihis periscelidadylus. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 319 
 
 terminal leaves soon after growth has started, and eating out the 
 heart. It would seem thus as if considerable injury might be 
 caused, but really this is not so, because in most cases they do 
 not attack the shoots until the buds have become freed, — that 
 is to say, the shoots are attacked above the flower cluster, so 
 that no injury is done to the resulting crop. When the insects 
 disappear, which they do quite early, the shoot simply sends out 
 a new spur from the last leaf, and the effect of their presence is 
 scarcely noticed. Practically, there is no method of checking 
 their increase, except by picking off the infested tips or crushing 
 the caterpillars within the webbed leaves. 
 
 We have another series of families grouped under the Tortri- 
 cids, sometimes called "bell-moths," from their peculiar appear- 
 ance when at rest, but more commonly " leaf- rollers," from the 
 quite usual larval habit of folding or rolling up the edges of 
 leaves. We have a number of troublesome insects in this series, 
 and some of them are not easy to deal with. The moths are 
 quite easily recognized by their broad, short fore-wings, forming a 
 
 Fig. 367. 
 
 Teras minuta. — a, larva ; b, pupa ; c, 
 moth ; d, case made on apple-leaf. 
 
 Fig. 368. 
 
 Rhopobota Tacciniana. 
 
 more or less obvious shoulder on the front margin. These wings 
 are held roof-like, the edges overlapping only a little at the 
 middle of the back, and completely conceal the moderate or 
 small hind wings. Their colors are frequently bright and con- 
 trasting, while in other cases they are uniform and sombre, the 
 entire insect inconspicuous and unattractive. One of the com- 
 mon species is Teras minuta^ whose larva attacks, among others, 
 
320 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 apples and cranberries : in apples simply feeding upon the leaves 
 in a little case, but on cranberries often becoming seriously injuri- 
 ous by spinning up and eating the tips of the growing shoots. It 
 also feeds on huckleberry and allied plants, and from them goes 
 to cultivated cranberry bogs. It is there known as the " fire- 
 worm," and it is distinguished from Rhopobota vacciniayia, 
 another caterpillar with the same habits, by having a yellow in- 
 stead of a black head. Both these insects have similar larval 
 habits, but the Rhopobota has only two broods, and hibernates m 
 the &^^ stage, while the Teras has three, and hibernates as an 
 adult. There is a curious alternation of generations in this in- 
 sect, the summer broods being yellow or orange, while the moths 
 that hatch in the fall and hibernate are uniformly slate-gray. 
 Cultivated cranberry bogs are covered with water during the 
 winter, and the moths cannot hibernate on them ; so, as they lay 
 their eggs quite early in spring, if the bogs are kept covered 
 until all other vegetation has started, they oviposit elsewhere, 
 leaving the bogs free. Therefore, holding the water late, say 
 until at least the middle of May, is usually a fairly ^complete pro- 
 tection. The Rhopobota lays 
 its eggs upon the cranberry 
 plants late in summer. They 
 remain unaffected by the 
 water with which the bog is 
 covered until spring, then 
 hatch, and the larvae spin up 
 the tips precisely as in the case 
 of the Teras, the moths com- 
 ing to maturity early in July. 
 Eggs for a second brood are 
 then laid, and these are some- 
 times sufficient in number to 
 sweep entire bogs, giving them the appearance of having been 
 burned over, wherefore this insect has also been called "fire- 
 worm." As against this species, late holding the water is not so 
 effectual, because it must be kept on until sufficiently warm to 
 induce the eggs to hatch, the young larvae dying as soon as they 
 break the egg-shell, or stifling before they are really born. The 
 method is feasible on a flat bog- where water can be drawn down 
 
 Fig. 369. 
 
 Cranberry leaf with eggs of Rhopobota, SinA 
 a spray spun up at tip by the larva. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 321 
 
 SO as to warm up rapidly, but there is danger in holding too long, 
 because if the plants start under water, as they sometimes do, the 
 crop is ruined. Occasionally, however, it pays to lose a crop 
 in whole or in part, to free the bogs completely of this insect, as 
 they will then remain practically safe for several years in succes- 
 sion. Where water is abundant and the bogs can be readily 
 reflowed, the practice of the present day is to draw the water 
 early to induce an early hatching of the insects, and as soon as 
 the larvae generally appear, reflow, leaving on the water at 
 least twenty-four hours. This will not hurt the plants at that 
 period of their growth, and will kill every caterpillar upon the 
 bog. The effect depends largely upon the care with which it has 
 been done and upon the judgment exercised as to the proper 
 time. It should be de- 
 layed until the great ma- Fig, 370. 
 jority of the eggs have 
 hatched, but should not 
 be delayed so as to run the 
 risk of injuring the plants. 
 
 In the genus Cacoecia 
 we have several injurious 
 species, and none more an- 
 noying than C. rosaceana. 
 
 This attacks a great va- pupa, and adult, 
 
 riety of plants, but it is 
 
 most troublesome on roses, spinning and folding leaves and buds 
 and so destroying the flowers. These larvae are not easily dealt 
 with, but spraying the plants with pyrethrum or kerosene emul- 
 sion as soon as the first signs of injury are observed will generally 
 serve to keep them down. On a small scale they may be con- 
 trolled by compressing the spun-up leaves and killing the cater- 
 pillar in its home. 
 
 Some of the species live in communities, making a nest or 
 web, and such is the Cacoecia fervidana, the caterpillar of which 
 lives on oak, and spins up the shoots of young trees or the tips 
 of the branches of older ones. In some cases the nests become 
 from three to six inches in diameter, and when the caterpillars 
 have reached their full growth they pupate within it, wriggling 
 out through the silken covering when ready to emerge as moths, 
 
 2: 
 
 Rose leaf-roller, Caccecia rosaceana. — Larva, 
 
322 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 and leaving the empty pupa cases projecting all around. Some 
 species are occasionally so numerous that the nests constructed 
 by them become enormous, — four or five feet in height, and 
 covering young trees entirely. This and other species having 
 the same habit can be dealt with by early spraying, or, when 
 feasible, by picking off the webbed leaves or shoots. 
 
 The best known of all belonging to this family is the " codhng 
 moth," Carpocapsa pomonella, and there is no insect, except possi- 
 bly the " plum curculio, ' ' that has done more injury to our orchard- 
 ists. The moth appears at about the time the apple-trees are in 
 
 blossom, and lays a single 
 ^^' ^'^' e^g upon the young fruit at 
 
 the point where the blossom 
 has dropped off. In a few 
 days the caterpillar hatches, 
 eats a little on the outside 
 for a day or two, and then 
 makes its way into the fruit 
 itself, feeding around the 
 seed-capsule or core, and 
 making the well-known 
 ' ' worm' ' in the apple. Oc- 
 casionally two or more 
 moths may oviposit on the 
 same fruit, and this ac- 
 counts for the two or more 
 larvae sometimes found in 
 one apple. Except in the 
 northern part of the country, 
 there are two broods, the 
 first caterpillars becoming full-grown and leaving the apples about 
 midsummer, changing very soon thereafter to moths, which lay 
 the eggs for the larvae found in the ripe apples. The second 
 brood does not so usually oviposit at the blossom end, but seems 
 to have a preference for the point where two fruits touch, for we 
 often notice that in a little bunch of apples every one is infested, 
 the entrance in all cases being just at the point of contact. In any 
 event, whether there is one brood or two, the caterpillars of the 
 last, when full-grown, leave the apples, find a hiding-place under 
 
 The codling moth, Carpocapsa pomonella. — a, 
 apple cut to show borings of the larva ; b, place 
 where the egg was laid and the larva started ; 
 rf, pupa; e, larva ; f, g, moths at rest and with 
 wings spread ; h, head of larva ; i, cocoon. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 323 
 
 a scale of bark or in a little depression, and there spin a cocoon, 
 in which they remain unchanged during the winter. The change 
 to the pupa takes place very early in spring, and the moths appear 
 as already stated. It has been found that we are able to protect 
 our trees by spraying them with one of the arsenites as soon as 
 the blossoms have all dropped and the fruit is well set. At that 
 time the young apples are upright, affording a favorable oppor- 
 tunity for lodging the poison in the calyx cup, and here it remains 
 until the larva makes its first and, if the spraying is properly done, 
 its last meal. Under favorable circumstances a single spraying is 
 sufficient to prevent injury, but practically two sprayings are re- 
 quired at intervals of about a week, and a third if rain interferes 
 to shorten this period, — that is to say, one just as soon as the 
 blossoms are all off, and the second about a week or, if the 
 weather remains dry, at most, ten days thereafter. This is to 
 allow for the irregular hatching of the larvae, the rapid growth of 
 the young fruit, and to make certain that all may be reached. It 
 is here that promptness and thoroughness will tell. To be ef- 
 fective the spraying must be done before the larvae hatch, and 
 the mixture vitist be on every fruit to be protected. In dry 
 weather ten days between sprayings is not too much ; in wet or 
 showery weather three days may be too long. The young larva 
 feeds externally for a day or two only, and unless it is then killed, 
 is beyond our reach. Success is the result of keeping an un- 
 broken film of poison on the flower end of each fruit until all 
 eggs are hatched. One pound of Paris green or London purple 
 in one hundred and fifty gallons of water is a good strength, or 
 fifteen ounces of arsenate of lead in one hundred gallons. Some 
 growers, however, use a mixture of double thjs strength and find 
 it advantageous ; they spray carefully, use just enough to cover, 
 and risk a little burning of the foliage. 
 
 The last series in the order is the Tineina, or the " Tineid 
 moths," comprising the smallest of the Lepidopterous insects. 
 There is an enormous number of species, and we know very 
 little about the great majority of them. With few exceptions, the 
 insects have long, narrow wings, the primaries pointed, the sec- 
 ondaries lanceolate, but their surface increased by enormously 
 long fringes, which are in many cases broader than the wings 
 themselves. They often have on the head a clothing of upright 
 
324 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 divergent scales, all of one height, giving somewhat the appear- 
 ance of a little plush cap. In their life habits they vary much. 
 Some are leaf-miners, living between the upper and under sur- 
 faces, and each species eating out characteristic galleries that are 
 visible as irregular brown lines or blotches. Others are case- 
 bearers, making little houses of various shapes and texture, 
 which they carry about with them, and. in which they live, pro- 
 jecting the head and anterior segments just far enough to feed, 
 
 Fig. 373. 
 
 Apple case-bearer, Coleophora malivorella. — a, larval cases; b, larva; c, pupa; 
 d, adult moth. 
 
 but retreating at the first signs of disturbance. A few feed openly, 
 while others are borers in fruits, seeds, or even twigs. 
 
 Among the best known are the "clothes moths," — little, yel- 
 lowish creatures often seen flying in houses early in the evening, 
 and which generally arouse excitement and resentment in the 
 breastof the careful housekeeper, for she knows that her woollens 
 and furs are in danger. The caterpillars feed upon animal tex- 
 tiles of all kinds, and upon furs and feathers. They do not often 
 attack vegetable fibre like cotton or linen. Their habit is to 
 form a little flattened case of fibres from the material upon which 
 they are feeding, and this Is lined on the inner side with silk. In 
 about three weeks the larva Is full fed, changes to a pupa within 
 its case, and the moth, when It emerges, leaves the empty shell 
 protruding for half Its length. There are several species engaged 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 325 
 
 ^ 
 
326 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 in this pleasant occupation, but they have habits so nearly sim- 
 ilar that there is no necessity for differentiating them here. As 
 to remedies, plenty of air, sunshine, and beating will keep cloth- 
 ing free, or, having been made free, it can be wrapped in stout 
 paper in such a way as to make it impossible for the moths to 
 enter and to lay eggs, or for the young caterpillar to find a crev- 
 ice through which to crawl. A cotton or linen sack, if the material 
 is sufficiently dense, will afford almost equal protection. A 
 closet or trunk in which plenty of naphthaline crystals have been 
 strewn is also a safe place, and will be avoided by the moths, who 
 cannot live in such an atmosphere. Where the insects get into 
 carpets, they can be destroyed by saturating the infested spots 
 with gasoline, as this is exceedingly penetrating and fatal to the 
 insects wherever it touches them. 
 
 Another troublesome species is the Gelechia cereallella, or ' ' An- 
 goumois grain moth." Its larva bores into the kernels of wheat, 
 rye, or corn, a single grain of wheat sufficing to bring one to 
 maturity, while in a grain of corn two or three, or sometimes 
 even four, larvae find sufficient nourishment, though two is, per- 
 haps, the rule. The insects sometimes lay their eggs upon the 
 grain in the fields, and when it is cut and brought into the barn 
 they continue breeding in the mow so long as it remains there. 
 Corn-cribs frequently become infested, and the insects breed as 
 long as the temperature remains mild. Where grain is threshed 
 and bulked the upper layers may be infested, but the insects are 
 not able to get in very far, because the moth is unable to escape 
 through any heavy layer, becoming worn out and dying before 
 reaching the surface. The insect is much more troublesome 
 southward than it is in the north, where the cold weather checks 
 breeding before it has an opportunity to do much damage ; but 
 in regions where the temperature in the barns is moderate 
 throughout the winter it frequently does great injury. The 
 best remedy is threshing and bulking the grain as soon as pos- 
 sible, covering the bins to keep out the insects. If infection is 
 noticed, it can be easily checked by evaporating bisulphide of 
 carbon in a dish upon the surface. The vapor is heavy and 
 sinks through it to the bottom, effectually clearing out any in- 
 sects that may be present. In corn-cribs the bisulphide can also 
 \)e used, but the crib must be temporarily closed by canvas or 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 327 
 
 sheeting, so that the vapor may become effective before it escapes. 
 It has been found by experiment that grain can be exposed to 
 this vapor for a considerable time without losing in germinating 
 qualities, but seed wheat should be, if possible, kept free from 
 such insects. It should be selected early and kept in insect-tight 
 vessels until needed for use. Open corn-cribs should be placed 
 in such a way as to get the benefit of all the cold weather there 
 is, and thus the multiplication of the insects will be checked so 
 early that no serious damage will be done, 
 
 There are other species of Tineids infesting cultivated plants, 
 but few are widely distributed and at the same time injurious. 
 In most cases the application of arsenites to those forms feeding 
 openly upon plant tissue proves more or less satisfactory, while 
 against those feeding upon stored products we can use the 
 bisulphide of carbon. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DIPTERA, OR FLIES. 
 
 The term Diptera means two-winged, and members of this 
 order are separable from all other insects by possessing, nor- 
 mally, only a single pair of wings. These are borne by the 
 middle segment of the thorax, and are, therefore, the first pair ; 
 the second or hind pair are reduced to little club-like processes 
 called " halteres," "poisers," or " balancers." Their function 
 is supposed to be indicated by the last of these terms, — i.e., to 
 aid the insect in directing its flight and maintaining its position in 
 the air. The members of the order are, therefore, easily recog- 
 nizable in most instances, but the reference of individual speci- 
 mens to the proper place in the system is a matter of greater 
 difficulty. They are mostly of moderate or small size, sometimes 
 quite fragile, and the character of the wing venation, upon which 
 much reliance is placed in scientific classification, is not readily 
 made out, except by the special student. Yet a little patience 
 will generally lead to the proper group, and the habits or life his- 
 tory may then be used to determine more closely. 
 
32{ 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Before taking up the more typical forms, we may briefly con- 
 sider the Aphaniptera, or fleas, which are usually considered as 
 flies that have lost their wings as a result of parasitic habits. 
 They are small, transversely flattened creatures, usually brown 
 in color, with small heads, piercing mouth parts, and the merest 
 rudiments of wing-pads. To replace wings, they are furnished 
 with greatly developed posterior legs fitted for jumping, and in 
 
 Fig. 377. 
 
 Rabbit flea, much enlarged. 
 
 proportion to their size their leaps are wonderful. They live in 
 the adult stage among the hair of warm-blooded animals, sucking 
 blood, their form enabling them to move about easily in even the 
 thickest fur. So also the position of the spines clothing the 
 body is such that every effort of the insect pushes it forward, 
 which accounts for the difficulty in holding a specimen when 
 captured. 
 
 The larvae are whitish, small, worm-like creatures, almost cylin- 
 drical in form and with small brownish heads which bear fairly 
 well developed mouth parts. They live upon partly decayed 
 matter in or near the lairs of the animals upon which the adults 
 feed, and the eggs are probably dropped at hap-hazard by the 
 females while the host is at rest. A rug used as a bed for a dog 
 or cat may be found full of eggs at almost any time during spring 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 329 
 
 or summer, the larvae finding food in any dust or dirt near by. 
 The spaces between the boards of floors are often filled with them, 
 and a little pile of moist sawdust or shavings may harbor 
 myriads. This led to a quite wide-spread and at one time popu- 
 lar belief that under such circumstances the insects were sponta- 
 neously generated. The period of development is very brief, 
 and under favorable conditions a building may swarm with fleas 
 in a month or two. No species of flea specifically infests man 
 in this country, though the Ceratopsylhis serraticeps oi the house- 
 hold dog and cat often bothers him a little. In tropical and 
 subtropical countries several species attack him as readily as 
 they do any other warm-blooded animal. 
 
 Where a house becomes infested, the dogs or cats, if any, 
 should be washed with carbolic soap every other day to kill the 
 adults on them, and if the animals be allowed to run throughout 
 the house they will in a few days attract all the fleas to them- 
 selves, where they can be dealt with. The sleeping rugs of the 
 animals should be thoroughly beaten or shaken out-doors every 
 day, and the most rigid cleanliness should be everywhere 
 observed. 
 
 Where dogs or cats are not available as traps, a liberal applica- 
 tion of gasoline, following a thorough cleaning up, is the best 
 remedy. It should be poured into every crevice in the floor and 
 along the base-boards, and it will kill every larva and adult with 
 which it comes into contact. The liquid is exceedingly inflam- 
 mable, and must be used with that fact borne in mind. Pet 
 animals can be cleaned by a free and frequent use of carbolated 
 soaps or vaseline. 
 
 In hot countries fleas are often serious pests, not only to man 
 and his pets, but to fowls as well, young chickens being fre- 
 quently killed by the great numbers clustering around their 
 heads. Here the free use of carbolated vaseline is indicated to 
 keep off" the insects and to act as an effective healing agent. 
 Cleanliness in its strictest form in the coops and houses is always 
 indicated. 
 
 Rather more serious pests are the so-called "jigger" fleas, 
 species oi Sarcopsylla, or Verniipsylla^ the females of which work 
 their way under the skin, often of the feet of man, causing an ul- 
 ceration in which the eggs and larvae develop. If the case is 
 
33° 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 neglected, amputation sometimes becomes necessary. Where 
 shoes are worn, the insects do not often succeed in reaching their 
 favorite points of attack ; but if they do, a prompt use of the 
 needle or knife or a mercurial ointment will prevent trouble. A 
 
 Fig. 378. 
 
 " Jigger" fiea, Sarcopsylla penetrans. — Female distended with eggs, from side and front. 
 
 Fig. 379. 
 
 moist quid of tobacco bound over the infested spot usually re- 
 sults in killing the insects, so that the wound can be cleaned and 
 left free to heal. 
 
 The metamorphosis of the fleas is complete, like that of the 
 
 true flies. 
 
 The most obvious division among 
 the true flies, for our purpose, is 
 based upon the character of the an- 
 tennae, or feelers. There are two 
 series, those with long horns or feel- 
 ers much exceeding the head, and 
 those with short horns, having usu- 
 ally only two or three visible seg- 
 ments, one of which is often fur- 
 nished with a specialized bristle, or 
 "arista." The divisions are by no 
 means sharply limited scientifically, 
 but are sufficiently distinct for the 
 species of economic importance. 
 
 The Tiptdidce, or "crane-flies," 
 is the first family of economic inter- 
 est, and its members are recognizable by their resemblance to 
 exaggerated mosquitoes. They are usually quite large, with 
 many-jointed, slender, thread-like antennae and scarcely shorter 
 maxillary palpi. The legs are abnormally long and ungainly, 
 
 Antennse in flies. — a, tip of plu- 
 mose antenna ; b, joints verticil- 
 late ; c, aristate, the arista bare; 
 d, arista plumose at base; e, arista 
 plumose to the tip. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 331 
 
 and the wings are narrow, so that the insect is awkward in ap- 
 pearance, as well at rest as in its flight, which is slow and heavy. 
 The flies are most frequently seen in low, rank meadows, or 
 along ditches or sluggish streams, flying preferably during the 
 morning and late afternoon hours. The larvae are slender, cylin- 
 
 FiG. 380. 
 
 A crane-fly, Pachyrrhina species. 
 
 drical, somewhat worm-like, of an extremely tough, leathery 
 texture, and live underground on the roots of grasses, or in de- 
 caying wood. In Europe they are known as "wire-worms," 
 and are often seriously injurious ; but in North America none of 
 the species have as yet proved very troublesome. It is probable 
 that intelligent farm practice will be sufficient to control any of 
 the species likely to become injurious with us. 
 
332 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 381. 
 
 To the family Ctdicida; belong the mosquitoes, characterized 
 by a slender body, long legs, long antennae, and a small head 
 
 with mouth parts usually ex- 
 tended to form a beak or pro- 
 boscis. In the male the probos- 
 cis contains a single lancet only, 
 not fitted for puncturing animal 
 tissues, and the antennre are plu- 
 mose ; in the female a series of 
 five slender, bristle-like lancets 
 forms an effective piercing struct- 
 ure, and the antennae have the 
 joints furnished with a few bristles 
 only. The wings are slender and 
 scaly along the veins. 
 
 The species are quite numerous, 
 and while most of them are pests 
 of the first order, a few seem to 
 feed on other than animal juices. 
 The more common species be- 
 long to the genus Culcx, in which 
 the wings are unspotted, the palpi of the female are shorter than 
 the beak, and the body is held parallel with the surface upon 
 which the insects rest. The species of Anopheles are fewer in 
 number, but are of relatively greater economic importance, 
 because they have been proved to be intermediate hosts for the 
 parasites causing ' ' malarial' ' fevers. They are larger, as a rule, 
 than C7ilex, the wings are more or less spotted, the palpi in 
 both sexes are as long as the beak, the body is more linear and 
 is held at an angle to the surface upon which it rests, the beak 
 directed to a point almost midway between the fore and middle 
 legs. 
 
 Some of the species of Odex fly or allow themselves to be 
 carried by the wind for long distances, so that they occasionally 
 appear as pests many miles from any possible breeding-place. 
 The mode of hibernation varies : in Anopheles and some Cidex 
 the female adult survives ; in other species of Odex the eggs lie 
 over in suitable localities, and in one instance at least the partly- 
 grown larva lives through the winter. 
 
 Larva and pupa of the Culex pungens, 
 enlarged ; with anal flaps of pupa yet 
 more enlarged. (From Howard, Bull. 25, 
 n. s., U. S. Dept. Agl., Div. Ent.) 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 333 
 
 The larvae are commonly known as ' ' wrigglers, ' ' and are of 
 two general types, — one usual in Cidex and its allies in which the 
 head is held down in the water and the tail or anal siphon is kept 
 at the surface ; the other peculiar to Anopheles, in which the body 
 rests for its full length on the surface. 
 
 All the larvae breathe through a single spiracle at the end of 
 the anal tube or siphon, and most of them must come to the 
 surface at rather short intervals to secure the necessary supply of 
 air. When startled they make their way through the water by a 
 peculiar jerky or wriggling motion, which gives them their com- 
 mon name. 
 
 Eggs are laid in various ways : sometimes singly on water or 
 on vegetation in water, or in damp places where water is likely 
 to come ; sometimes they are laid in masses, forming ' ' boats, ' ' 
 which float on the surface of the water, and this is the habit of 
 our most common species. Under proper conditions the eggs 
 hatch quickly and the larvae develop in accordance with the 
 temperature ; a week or ten days being sufficient to carry the 
 insects from &^^ to adult in midsummer. 
 
 The larva must have water for its development, but there is 
 none so foul and none so salt that some species does not breed in 
 it. There is no space here for methods of dealing with these 
 pests ; but measurable exemption from annoyance may be secured 
 by a free use of the oil of citronella on exposed parts of the body. 
 
 Mosquitoes occur all over the world, and they are quite as 
 numerous and troublesome in the arctics as they are in the tropics. 
 In fact, the climatic peculiarities of parts of the frigid zone, giving 
 a short hot summer over a surface soaked with water from melting 
 snow, produce condition's which favor their development in great 
 numbers. In permanent ponds or streams their natural enemies, 
 of which there are many, keep them down to insignificant numbers. 
 
 Closely resembling mosquitoes in appearance are the Chiro- 
 nomidcSy which may be recognized by the naked wings and by 
 having the thorax produced so as to hide the small head from 
 above. The antennae are feathered in both sexes, those of the 
 male strikingly plumose. To this family belong the gnats or 
 midges which may sometimes be seen dancing in swarms in the 
 evening only a few feet above ground, generally early in the 
 year and in damp places. The larvae are mostly aquatic, and 
 
334 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 never economically important. The minute species of Ceratopo- 
 gon are furnished with piercing mouth parts, and are often ex- 
 tremely irritating, but otherwise the adults are harmless, unfitted 
 for blood-sucking. They are known as ' ' sand-flies, " " punkies, ' ' 
 
 "gnats," "midges," and by 
 Fig. 382. other names, some of which 
 
 are applied indifferently to spe- 
 cies of diverse families. 
 
 The "fungus gnats" of the 
 family MycetophilidcB are also 
 small, mosquito-like creatures, 
 but more compactly built, with 
 shorter abdomen, stouter body 
 and legs, and antennae that are 
 not plumose or feathered in 
 either sex. They are smoky 
 or blackish in color, as a rule, 
 and frequent decaying vegeta- 
 ble matter or fungi, in which 
 the larvae feed. The latter are 
 slender, white, worm-like creat- 
 ures, with a distinct black head, and usually feed together in 
 considerable numbers. They sometimes develop a curious wan- 
 dering habit when full-grown, marching in rope- or ribbon-like 
 aggregations an inch or two wide and from six to ten inches 
 in length. Some bands have been observed from four to five 
 inches wide and twelve feet in length, piled up from four to six 
 deep ! Ordinarily no injury is done by these insects, which are 
 rather scavengers than otherwise ; but one species of Sciara 
 becomes a serious pest to mushroom growers, eating into the 
 plants and utterly ruining them. In fact, in many localities it 
 is simply impossible to grow mushrooms after warm weather 
 sets in. Measurable exemption may be secured by keeping the 
 houses or cellars tightly closed and fumigating frequently with 
 tobacco or pyrethrum to kill the flies. In a cellar the flies al- 
 ways get to any window or other source of light, and great masses 
 can be killed in such situations by a fine spray of kerosene emul- 
 sion diluted ten times. 
 
 Quite recently Mr. Hopkins, of the West Virginia Experiment 
 
 Chirunumus species, male, enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 335 
 
 Station, has found a species of this family concerned in producing 
 a form of potato scab in that State. He has named it Epidapus 
 
 Fig. 383. 
 
 Sciara tritici. — a, larva; b, c, pupa from below and side; d, female fly; e,f, tips of 
 female and male abdomen. 
 
 scabei, and beheves it to be responsible for much of the injury 
 usually ascribed to the germ disease. This may be locally true, 
 
 Fig. 384. 
 
 Epidapus scabei. — Wingless female and structural details. 
 
 but I have never found any trace of the insect in New Jersey, 
 though I have examined many hundreds of scabby potatoes for 
 
336 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Eggs and larva of Epidapus 
 scabei, much enlarged. 
 
 that especial purpose. Fortunately, the measures used to prevent 
 the scab due to the fungous disease seem to destroy the insects as 
 well ; hence the method of distinguishing 
 between the two is not important. 
 
 In the family Cecidornyidcs, containing 
 the midges, or "gall-gnats," we find the 
 most injurious species of the order. They 
 are also mosquito-like in appearance, but 
 usually very small, with very long an- 
 tennae, which in the males are clothed on 
 each joint with whorls of fine hair. The 
 larvae are ovate, quite broad, and a little 
 flattened, the segments well marked, and 
 the apparent mouth parts formed in 
 many species by a peculiar horny pro- 
 cess which is known as the "breast- 
 bone," from its situation. The species 
 are numerous, and the larval habits and 
 life histories are very diverse. In most 
 cases growing vegetable tissue is the 
 food, and, as a rule, a more or less marked gall-like swelling 
 indicates the location of the larva. 
 
 The most widely known species is the "Hessian-fly," Cecid- 
 oinyia destructor, one of the most serious enemies of wheat, 
 actually inhibiting its cultivation in some localities. The adult 
 is rather large for this family, smoky brown in color, and appears 
 late in the season, usually after the wheat is well above ground. 
 Eggs are laid on the young plants, and the larvae work their way 
 into the stem at or near the surface, causing a slight gall or swell- 
 ing and a deformity in plant growth. When winter sets in full 
 size has been reached, and the "flaxseed" stage is entered 
 upon, — so called because of its superficial appearance, though it 
 is really the brown, dry, and hardened larval skin itself In 
 spring the pupa is formed, and soon afterwards the adult appears, 
 ready to oviposit again in the now rapidly growing wheat. The 
 flaxseed stage is again formed low down in the stalk before har- 
 vest, so that it usually remains in the stubble when the grain is 
 cut. There it rests until the new wheat sprouts in fall, though 
 flies may be found all summer, and it is more than likely that 
 
Fig. 386. 
 
 The Hessian-fly, Cecidomyia destructor.— Ox\ the left a healthy stalk of wheat, and on the 
 right one infested at h by Hessian-fly, showing the galls, a, egg ; b, larva ; c, " flaxseed ;" 
 d, pupa, all very much enlarged ; e, fly ovipositing on leaf, natural size ; /, female, and g, 
 male Hessian-fly, much enlarged ; i, the parasite, Mcrisus destructor, much enlarged. 
 
 22 Ji7 
 
338 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 certain grasses also sustain the species in the interval between 
 harvest and seeding. 
 
 The injury is done by stunting and aborting the wheat plants 
 in the fall, and in dwarfing stalks in the spring or so weaken- 
 ing them that they fall or ' ' lodge' ' readily, preventing thereby 
 the development of the ' ' ear' ' or of the grain in it. 
 
 Insecticide applications are hopeless, and modified farm practice 
 is the only satisfactory measure within our power. Very late sow- 
 ing in the fall — as late as it is safe to do so — will force the insects to 
 oviposit in volunteer shoots or grasses, and the later germinating 
 crop remains exempt. As far as possible, infested stubble should 
 be ploughed under deeply immediately after harvest to destroy a 
 large percentage of the " flaxseeds," or it should be burnt. 
 
 Another, related pest, is the "wheat-midge," Diplosis tritid, 
 which in the larval stage feeds upon the kernel of the grain, 
 dwarfing it or causing its entire abortion. This larva is quite 
 red in color, and the parent midges are about in June, oviposit- 
 ing in the blossoms or on very young kernels. In this case 
 also deep ploughing after harvest is advisable, and after threshing 
 all chaff should be disposed of so as to destroy all chance of life 
 for such insects as may yet be in it. 
 
 The "clover-seed-midge," Cecidomyia leguniinicola, is also a 
 dangerous enemy in some localities where seed rather than hay 
 or fodder is desired. The midges lay their eggs in the flowers, 
 and the resulting larvae feed upon the forming seed, utterly de- 
 stroying it. Where the insects are known to occur, cutting an 
 early crop just when it is in full head and depending upon a sec- 
 ond crop for seed is good practice. The midges oviposit in the 
 flowers of the first crop, and those of later date will be practically 
 exempt. The cutting can be high, so as just to include all the 
 heads, which will be rapidly renewed from the vigorous stalks 
 remaining. Fall ploughing infested fields is good practice, or 
 ploughing under after cutting, and planting some cultivated crop 
 that involves frequent stirring of the soil. The insects winter 
 just below the surface among the roots, and the practice above 
 suggested looks towards winter killing them. A liberal use of 
 lime and kainit after the crop is off is also good practice, and 
 will kill many of the larvae then barely beneath the surface and 
 not yet in their cocoons. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 339 
 
 The ' ' pear-midge, ' ' Diplosis pyrivora, is an imported species 
 appearing- with the first buds of early spring and ovipositing in 
 them as soon as they begip to show white. The young larvae 
 make their way to the ovary or seed-capsule of the setting fruit, 
 and when this reaches the size of a nut, growth stops. The pears 
 are then irregular in shape, a little knotty, and filled in the centre 
 with a mass of orange-yellow larvse. In June these become full- 
 grown, leave the 
 
 pears, — which now ^'^- ^S^- 
 
 crack open and de- 
 cay, — and drop to 
 the ground, beneath 
 the surface of which 
 they pass the winter. 
 The insect is es- 
 pecially fond of the 
 ' ' Lawrence' ' va- 
 riety, and where 
 such can be found 
 in sufficient num- 
 bers, all others are 
 exempt. The way in 
 which this species 
 can be controlled 
 is by treating the 
 ground beneath in- 
 fested trees with a 
 heavy 'top-dressing 
 of kainit, — say one 
 ton to the acre, — applied between the middle and end of June. 
 Planting "Lawrence" trees as traps and applying the above 
 remedy to the soil beneath them will decidedly lessen the injury 
 to the balance of the orchard, or their fruit may be gathered 
 and destroyed in May, with all the contained larvae. 
 
 Not all the gall-midges are injurious, however. Many species 
 form galls or other distortions of growth on weeds or other plants 
 of no special economic interest, or in such a way as to cause no 
 real injury, and a few are actually predaceous and directly bene- 
 ficial. Such is the species that feeds in the Phylloxera leaf-galls 
 
 The pear-midge, Diplosis pyrivora. — a, female adult ; 
 pupa ; other references are to structural details. 
 
340 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig 
 
 on the grape, and not improbably other species occasionally 
 found in leaf-galls are predatory upon the original producer. As 
 a whole, the gall-midges are to be regarded as dangerous, and 
 the measures to be adopted against them are, in almost all im- 
 portant cases, modifications of farm practice, since they are usu- 
 ally beyond the reach of insecticide substances. 
 
 This closes the series of long-horned, mosquito-like flies, none 
 of which are of direct benefit to the farmer, while not a few are 
 among his most dangerous foes. As a whole, the species should 
 be looked upon with suspicion and closely investigated when 
 they occur in numbers great enough to attract attention. 
 
 Quite early in the season we may see large numbers of loose- 
 jointed, ungainly flies of moderate size, with long, stout legs, 
 heavy body, short, stout, though many-jointed antennae, and 
 
 often, in the female, a ridic- 
 ulously small head. In 
 color they are black, or 
 black and yellow, or red. 
 These belong to the family 
 Bibionidcz, sometimes 
 called ' ' March-flies, ' ' from 
 their early appearance ; and 
 while their larvae are some- 
 times feeders on grass roots, 
 they never become eco- 
 nomically important. They 
 are mentioned here because 
 their early appearance in 
 great numbers sometimes at- 
 tracts attention. They are 
 often plentiful in orchards 
 just when the blossoms 
 open, but seem not to be 
 of any service in poUen- 
 izing. 
 
 " Black flies," or "gnats," are in some localities serious pests 
 to man and domestic animals. The "black flies" of the North- 
 ern woods and the "buffalo-" and "turkey-gnats" of the South- 
 ern and Mississippi States are good examples. They are rather 
 
 Bibio albipennis. — a, male ; c, its head ; b, fe- 
 male ; d, her head ; e, /, g, other structural 
 details. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 341 
 
 undersized, chunky flies, dark in color, with the thorax well 
 developed and somewhat produced forward so as to partially 
 conceal the small head from above. Though the head is small 
 in proportion to the insect, the mouth parts are exceedingly 
 well developed and furnished 
 
 with a formidable array of ^^^- 389- 
 
 lancets for puncturing and 
 blood-sucking. They belong 
 to the natural family Simu- 
 liidce, and are distinguished, 
 in addition to the peculiari- 
 ties enumerated above, by 
 short, broad wings, in which 
 the venation is almost obso- 
 lete, except along the front 
 margin. 
 
 The larvae are curious little 
 creatures, living under water 
 in rather swiftly flowing 
 streams, clinging to rocks, 
 sticks, or logs, and feeding 
 upon vegetable matter. They 
 are furnished with sucker-like 
 structures at both extremities, 
 by means of which they cling 
 to their resting-place, and move from place to place, breathing 
 by means of tracheal gills. 
 
 In favorable localities these insects may develop in enormous 
 numbers, and, flying in the bright light of mid-day, attack any 
 warm-blooded animal that comes in their way. Such is their 
 number sometimes that they completely cover the animal at- 
 tacked, first rendering it frantic by the pain inflicted and soon 
 after weak from the loss of blood. Eventually death ensues, 
 whether the animal be a man or a mule, unless repellents are 
 employed or a rapid retreat out of the infested territory is 
 accomplished. 
 
 Where the insects breed in shallow streams, the larvae attached 
 to stones, nothing can be done to check development, and the 
 mixture already recommended for mosquitoes — viz., oil of tar, 
 
 Buffalo-gnat. 
 
342 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 390. 
 
 oil of pennyroyal, and sweet oil— must be resorted to for man, 
 while fish oil, with an admixture of crude carbolic acid or creo- 
 sote, will be found effective for animals. Smudges are often 
 used where buffalo-gnats are abundant, and the 
 stock soon learn that in or near the smoke ex- 
 emption from attack may be secured. Where 
 
 ^ the water of infested streams 
 
 Fig. 391. 
 
 is deep, undue multiplication 
 is frequently chargeable to an 
 accumulation of logs or other 
 material at certain points, af- 
 fording suitable locations for 
 the development of the gnat 
 larvae. In such cases much 
 good may be accomplished 
 and sometimes practical ex- 
 emption may be secured by 
 cleaning out the streams and 
 thus destroying the breeding- 
 places. Stationary rafts of logs 
 should not be allowed, and the 
 surface should be kept as free as possible of anything to which 
 the larvae can attach themselves. 
 
 The "horse-flies," or TabanidcE, comprise another set of 
 troublesome creatures, of medium or large size. They have 
 short, broad heads, enormous eyes, and short, though many- 
 jointed, feelers. The abdomen is oval, a little flattened, and the 
 body is convex and powerful. The mouth parts are well 
 developed, consisting of a series of five sharp-pointed lancets so 
 rigid that they readily pierce the skin and draw blood almost as 
 soon as they touch. These flies frequent woods or the edges of 
 woodland, sometimes low meadows or marshy places, and occa- 
 sionally prove serious pests to stock. They are often trouble- 
 some in woody roads, because with three or four of the large 
 black flies buzzing about, horses may be driven almost frantic. 
 Similar species occur in great numbers along the sea-shore, 
 where they are known as "green-heads." In some localities 
 they are known as "deer-flies," and some are called "golden- 
 eyed flies," having the eyes more or less banded or striped 
 
 Larva of buffalo- 
 gnat. 
 
 Pupa of buffalo-gnat. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 343 
 
 with metallic yellow or brown. The female only has the blood- 
 sucking habit, the males feeding usually upon pollen, and being, 
 therefore, rarely noticed, except by the collector. The larvae 
 are elongated, somewhat flattened creatures, some living in the 
 soil, some in water, and some in marshes, preying upon what- 
 ever comes in their way. In this stage they might possibly be 
 
 Fig. 
 
 392. 
 
 iJL 6 
 
 Horse-fly, Tabamts atratus.— a, larva.; d, pupa; c, adult. 
 
 reckoned of some benefit, did they inhabit places frequented by 
 injurious insects ; but at best they are harmless, — unlike their 
 parents in this as in all other respects. 
 
 Horses driven through districts badly infested by these insects 
 should be furnished with a netting, and, if it is necessary to keep 
 the animals for any time exposed to attack, the fish oil and car- 
 bolic acid mixture already recommended can be used to repel 
 the flies. It need be applied only in such places as the animal 
 cannot conveniently reach with its tail, or which is not sheltered 
 by a netting. 
 
 Somewhat resembling "horse-flies" in appearance are the 
 members of the family Stratiomyiidce, or "soldier-flies," so called 
 because of their often bright bandings of green and yellow. 
 They have the same general shape but rather longer antennae, 
 with broader, much more flattened, abdomen. They are not 
 troublesome in any stage, and are referred to simply because of 
 
344 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 393. 
 
 An Asilid fly. — Era.v bastardi 
 larva, pupa, and adult. 
 
 their resemblance to, and to distinguish them from, the " horse- 
 flies." 
 
 Another series of large species we find among the "robber- 
 flies" belonging to the family Asilida, and these are quite 
 different in appearance from any heretofore treated. The head is 
 prominent, very hairy, with rather short, several-jointed antennae, 
 
 and with a short, stout proboscis, 
 which is formed for piercing. The 
 body is robust, also covered with hair, 
 and the abdomen is long, slender, and 
 cylindrical, tapering very gradually to 
 the tip. The wings are long and nar- 
 row, the legs moderately long and very 
 powerful, densely clothed with spines, 
 while the tips of the tarsi are supplied 
 with unusually long and stout claws. 
 The insects are called "robber-flies" 
 from their habit of pouncing upon, 
 piercing, and sucking the juices of 
 other insects in mid-air, while holding 
 them with their powerful legs. We have a great variety of 
 species, some of them large and brightly colored, though the 
 majority are of a sober gray, varying sometimes to reddish, 
 sometimes to yellow, and only rarely becoming black, except in 
 the genus Laphria. Though predaceous, the insects can hardly 
 be called beneficial, because they rarely attack injurious species, 
 and in some cases become themselves injurious by attacking 
 bees. The late Dr. C. V. Riley records having observed a single 
 species kill forty bees in one afternoon. Professor Comstock 
 notes their feeding upon the cotton-worm, and undoubtedly 
 they do occasionally kill injurious insects, but can scarcely be 
 credited with being a factor of much importance in keeping down 
 troublesome forms. They never attack man or animals, although, 
 if carelessly handled, they are ready to sink their lancets into the 
 flesh of their captor. The larvae are also carnivorous, so far as 
 known, and live in the ground or in decaying wood. 
 
 Yet larger in size and of the same general shape are the mem- 
 bers of the family Midaid(Z. They are often contrastingly col- 
 ored, sometimes uniformly dead black or blue, though usually 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 345 
 
 relieved by a bright red or yellow band or similar marking. 
 The wings are quite generally blackish and the antennae are 
 clubbed at the tip, differing thus from the previous family. In 
 fact, the species are so peculiar that, having been once seen, they 
 can scarcely be mistaken. They are also predaceous in habit, 
 but not nearly so ravenous as the " robber-flies," besides being 
 much less abundant. 
 
 A very interesting family is that of the " bee-flies," or Bomby- 
 liidcs, which derive their common name from the fact that they 
 are more or less covered with dense, diverging, whitish or yellow 
 hair, giving them a close resemblance to certain bees. Many of 
 the species occur in open places, hovering over bare spots, 
 especially in spring, and they may be found at other seasons 
 flitting from flower to flower, often poised in mid-air between or 
 over them. There are two rather distinct series, one of them 
 with robust species resembling a bumble-bee, and with a very 
 long tongue ; the other much more slender, the species re- 
 sembling flower-flies, with a much shorter proboscis and much 
 less contrasting colors. The former are typified in the genus 
 Bombylms ; the latter belong to Anthrax and allied genera. 
 Their food is honey obtained from flowers, and the adults are at 
 least innoxious. Among the species that occur early in the year, 
 some are of direct benefit in the orchard, where they aid in pol- 
 lenizing fruit flowers. The hairs composing the vestiture are 
 furnished with little spurs or processes, or are twisted, so that 
 pollen grains adhere readily. They are especially useful in 
 cross-poUenation from their habit of flying considerable distances. 
 The larvae, on the other hand, are parasites, and distinctly bene- 
 ficial in many instances. They prey upon the larvae of Lepidop- 
 tera, including many of the cut-worms, and also infest the egg- 
 pods of grasshoppers, forming one of the effective checks of the 
 migrating or " Rocky Mountain locusts" in this country. They 
 are less beneficial when parasitic upon bees and other Hyme- 
 noptera, but altogether the family may be said to contain chiefly 
 useful species. 
 
 Sometimes we find in houses, under carpets, a slender little 
 larva nearly white in color, with a darker, rather indistinct, head, 
 but without obvious legs. It is usually looked upon with sus- 
 picion because of the locality in which it is found, but as a matter 
 
346 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 Fig. 394. 
 
 Fig. 395. 
 
 Bee-flies.— Fig. 394, Anthrax hypomelas : a, larva; b, the flv pupa projecting from a 
 cut-worm pupa ; c, pupa ; d, adult. Fig. 395, larva, with details, of Systa-chits oreas, 
 parasitic in grasshopper egg-pods. Fig. 396, pupa and adult of Systiechus oreas. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 347 
 
 Scenopinus fenestralis. 
 
 of fact it is predaceous in habit, and feeds upon the species 
 really infesting carpets and similar material. Thus, "moths," 
 the larvae of the ' ' carpet-beetle, " " fish-moths, ' ' and numerous 
 other insects likely to 
 
 occur in such situa- ^^^- 397- 
 
 tions are destroyed by 
 it. From this larva 
 there comes in due 
 time a small blue fly, 
 a member of the family 
 Scenopinida , slender 
 and somewhat flattened 
 in appearance, with yel- 
 low or reddish legs, and 
 this may be sometimes 
 seen upon the win- 
 dows. These larvae 
 
 have been often brought to me, and the little flies raised from 
 them have always been Scenopinus fenestralis, from which Pro- 
 fessor Comstock gives the group the name "window-flies." 
 
 The remainder of the Diptera have the antennae short, rarely 
 more than three-jointed, and usually with a bristle or style, called 
 an "arista," which may or may not be feathered or plumose, 
 from the second or third joint. The first of the families to which 
 it is necessary to refer here is the Syrphidce, containing a large 
 number of species, most of them prettily colored, yellow, black, 
 or bronze, patterned and marked in many different ways. They 
 frequent flowers, hovering and often remaining suspended over 
 them in mid-air for some time, then suddenly darting away and 
 again returning. Their habits and appearance frequently give 
 them a resemblance to bees and wasps, and in some species this 
 is carried so far that they are easily mistaken for members of the 
 order Hymenoptera by those not familiar with them. As a rule, 
 the head is quite large, the body barrel-shaped, and the abdomen 
 a little flattened, varying from very slender to broadly oval in 
 shape. This abdomen is yellow and black, or bronze banded, 
 sometimes entirely bronzed, more rarely blue or green, but 
 nearly always brightly colored in some way. Some of the flies 
 have the body distinctly covered with hair, though generally this 
 
348 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 399. 
 
 vestiture is confined to the thorax or trunk, and such species are 
 sometimes of use in poUenizing- flowers. I have found several 
 species about fruit-blossoms in spring, moving from flower to 
 flower, and, adhering to the vestiture, I have found pollen grains 
 in considerable number ; so the insects are probably of some 
 importance in this direction. We have one very large species, 
 Eristalis tenax, appearing late in fall, often in houses, and so 
 closely resembling a honey-bee as to be generally mistaken for 
 one ; for which reason it has been called the " drone-fly." It is 
 frequent in greenhouses about the time 
 that chrysanthemums are in bloom, and 
 gardeners have assured me that poUen- 
 izing this flower is done by it entirely ; 
 hence they call it "chrysanthemum 
 fly." It is not at all unlikely that this 
 is the case ; indeed, it is even proba- 
 ble, though sufficiently direct observa- 
 tions have not as yet been made in the 
 matter. In this connection it is inter- 
 esting to find that the body vestiture 
 of the Syrphids is often composed of 
 spurred and branched hair, similar to 
 that found in bees, and in the "drone- 
 fly" this character is especially marked. 
 As widely divergent as the flies 
 themselves are the larvae and their 
 feeding habits. In fact, there is no sort 
 of agreement ; and while some are pre- 
 daceous, feeding upon plant-lice or 
 other insects, many feed in living or 
 decaying vegetable substances, or in 
 the foulest excrementitious material. 
 Those forms that most concern the agri- 
 culturist are the feeders on plant-lice, 
 and these may be found at almost any 
 time during the summer in almost every 
 aphid colony, busily engaged in lessening its numbers. The 
 larvae are easily overlooked, as they are usually green or yel- 
 lowish in color, like the insects among which they feed. They 
 
 y<Z^ 
 
 Body vestiture of Eristalis 
 tenax : a, entire hair; b, c, d, 
 parts of same ; all greatly en- 
 larged. 
 
Fig. 398. 
 
 Bee-flies and flower-flies.— a, Bombylius sp. ; b, Bombylius sp. ; c. Anthrax sp. ; d, 
 Eristalis transversus ; e, Eristalis tenax ;f, Eristalis saxormn ; g, Syritta pipiens. Some- 
 what enlarged. From a photograph. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 349 
 
 are wrinkled and hairy when examined with a magnifying glass, 
 soft in texture, thickened behind, and tapering almost to a point 
 at the head, which is marked only by a pair of hooks and a 
 little circular opening representing the mouth. They have no 
 legs, and move by extending the body forward as far as pos- 
 sible, then clinging with the anterior segments to the leaf or 
 twig, and drawing the balance to meet the head. Awkwardly 
 as they move, however, their progress is yet sufficiently rapid 
 for their purpose. When once a larva has established itself in 
 a colony of plant-lice, it never stirs until all in its immediate 
 vicinity are destroyed ; it then moves only far enough to bring 
 into reach additional prey, and so continues until no more re- 
 main. The female lays her eggs close to, or actually among, 
 an aphid colony, so that the larva finds food ready at hand 
 as soon as it is hatched. It grasps a plant-louse with the 
 mouth parts, lifts it from the surface, and sucks 
 its juices, leaving the creature to struggle for ' ^ 
 
 a time, helplessly kicking its legs in mid-air. 
 When the juices are exhausted the empty shell 
 is dropped and another specimen is taken. 
 When full-grown, the larva draws itself up 
 into a humped mass ; the outer skin hardens, Sytphus larva de- 
 darkens in color, and forms an apparently solid yourmg a piant- 
 
 11-11 louse. 
 
 covering or coarctate pupa, beneath which the 
 true or soft pupa of the fly is formed. Several broods of these 
 predaceous flies occur in the course of the season, and they are 
 among the most important checks that nature has provided 
 against plant-lice increase. 
 
 Others of the species are not quite so useful, and occasionally 
 we have a form that is almost parasitic, living in nests of bum- 
 ble-bees or other Hymenopterous insects and feeding upon 
 their larvae. In such cases we often find that the flies greatly 
 resemble in appearance the hosts among which they live. 
 Among the feeders in vegetable matter we have a great variety 
 of form, but they are usually more or less maggot-like and 
 without legs. As they are not of particular economic interest, 
 no more attention need be paid them here. The larva of the 
 "drone-" or "chrysanthemum-fly," Eristalis tenax, lives in 
 masses of soft, decaying, or excrementitious matter. It is fre- 
 
35° 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 quently found in privies or cesspools, sometimes appearing so 
 suddenly and in such numbers that a suspicion is engendered 
 that the specimens have been passed by the individuals using the 
 out'house. In fact, I have on more than one occasion received 
 the larvae with the positive statement that this had actually 
 occurred. They are curious creatures, maggot-like in general 
 shape, with a long, extensile, tail-like appendage at the anal ex- 
 tremity. It is hollow or tube-like, and at the end is a spiracle, 
 the use of this telescopic tail being simply to keep the opening 
 above the surface of the filthy mass in which the insect lives, and 
 thus to secure a supply of pure air. The 
 larvae are called from this peculiarity ' ' rat- 
 tailed." The reason why the flies are 
 sometimes so abundant in greenhouses is 
 that somewhere in their vicinity, among 
 semi-liquid manure, the best breeding- 
 places can usually be found. Taken as a 
 whole, this family SyrphidcB contains no really noxious insects, 
 and many that are decidedly beneficial. It should be noted, 
 however, that the larvae of some species feed upon pollen, and 
 that others live in growing vegetable tissue ; hence it is not 
 impossible that in the future this general statement may have to 
 
 Fig. 402. 
 
 Fig. 401 
 
 Rat-tailed larva oi Eristalis. 
 
 Mesograpta po/i/a.—ha.Tva, pupa, and adult ; all enlarged. 
 
 be modified. One of the most common Eastern species, Meso- 
 grapta poliia, has been found feeding in great numbers in the 
 larval stage upon corn pollen, but without causing any real injury. 
 Passing over several small families interesting enough in them- 
 selves, but not of importance to the agriculturist, we reach the 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 35 1 
 
 little family Co7iopidce, which is not at all injurious, but rather 
 the contrary. Professor Comstock calls them "thick-head flies," 
 and the term is not bad, because the head is usually very promi- 
 nent and as wide or wider than the body. The thorax is unusu- 
 ally short, and bears a long abdomen having the 
 basal joints very slender and the terminal joints Fig. 403. 
 
 enlarged, bulb-like, much resembling in appear- 
 ance that of certain wasps. The flies are moder- 
 ate in size, with the wings more or less brown or 
 clouded, and they may often be found on flowers 
 after midsummer, in company with the Hymen- ^ ..,.•,• 
 
 ^ -' J Conops timalis. 
 
 optera, which they resemble. The larvae are 
 parasites, chiefly, it is said, upon bumble-bees and wasps, in 
 which case they are not beneficial ; but also on grasshoppers, in 
 which respect they deserve our most distinguished consideration. 
 Distinctly injurious insects we find in the family QLstridcB, or 
 "bot-flies." These are usually of good size, sometimes even 
 very large, and peculiar by having the mouth parts almost 
 entirely aborted. Some of the species are very hairy, yellowish 
 in color, and with rather a pointed abdomen ; while others are 
 very plump, robust flies, blue or blue-black in color, often with 
 a whitish bloom like that of a plum, formidable in appearance, 
 though in fact entirely inoflensive in this stage. In the larval 
 condition they are known as "bots," and live beneath the skin, 
 in the intestines, or in the mucus-lined head passages of the 
 animals infested by them. Thus, the "horse-bot," Gastrophilus 
 equi, passes its life in the stomach, attached to the inner coat, and 
 there remains until full grown, when it releases its hold and is 
 passed in the natural way through the anus. It then crawls into 
 some convenient place just below the surface of the ground, or 
 even among rubbish on top of it, and changes to a pupa. The 
 adult lays its eggs on the hair, chiefly of the forelegs, at points 
 easily reached by the tongue of the animal in licking itself The 
 eggs are thus removed, carried into the mouth on the tongue, 
 and so into the stomach, where the larvae hatch almost immedi- 
 ately and at once attach themselves. It is readily seen that this 
 habit gives us a certain possibility of controlling the insects, 
 because if the horses can be prevented from licking ofl" the eggs, 
 they never can reach the proper location for their growth. 
 
352 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Checking the animals up when in use accomplishes this, and a 
 spiked muzzle, so arranged as not to interfere with feeding, will 
 answer in the stable. Frequent brushing to remove the eggs is 
 useful in bot-infested regions, and lessens the number that can 
 reach the alimentary canal. 
 
 Numerous other species occur just imder the skin of the 
 animals infested, and one of the best known of these is the " ox 
 warble," Hypodervia lineata. Here also the eggs are laid on 
 the hair and are licked off in the same way ; but the larvae, instead 
 of allowing themselves to be carried into the stomach, pierce the 
 oesophagus or other portion of the alimentary canal, and work 
 their way through the muscular tissue to a point just below the 
 skin. There they fix and increase in size, causing the swelling 
 and suppuration so familiar to farmers in some localities. Of 
 course the means just mentioned for preventing the entrance of 
 stomach bots are also applicable in this case to avoid infestation. 
 Where bots are already established on an animal, the best method 
 is to incise the skin and press out the larva beneath it, or use a 
 mercurial ointment, which, penetrating into the wound, will kill 
 the larva, so that it can be readily pressed out later, or will sup- 
 purate out easily. Some species of bot-flies undoubtedly lay 
 their eggs on the skin of the animals at the points where the 
 larvae actually hatch, and the latter work their way through just 
 there and form the swelling. Sometimes special organs are 
 attacked, as in the chipmunks and squirrels, where the testes of 
 the males are selected and the creatures are actually emasculated. 
 The fly has, therefore, been called the " emasculating bot," Cuter- 
 ebra eynasadator. In rabbits a species is found close to the 
 anal opening, and in fact most animals are more or less subject 
 to bot attack. Even man is not exempt, and several cases have 
 come under my observation where flies had laid their eggs on the 
 skin and the bots had developed considerably before the charac- 
 ter of the trouble was understood. In southern countries this is 
 much more likely to occur than in the north, possibly because a 
 much greater part of the body is there habitually exposed. 
 
 Sheep suffer from a species known as CEstrus ovi's, which lays 
 its eggs on or in the nostrils. The larvae make their way through 
 the nasal passages in the mucus beneath the skin, and even into 
 the horns. They are often very troublesome, and cause one 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 353 
 
 Fig 
 
 form of the disease known as "staggers," which is sometimes 
 extremely destructive to herds. 
 
 From this description of the hfe histories, so briefly given, it 
 appears that our efforts to avoid injury must follow in the direc- 
 tion of prevention. As against the species that must first be 
 taken into the mouth, the mechanical ways of preventing a 
 horse or an ox from licking any part of the body will prove suffi- 
 cient ; or frequent brush- 
 ing will at least moderate 
 the injury. 
 
 In the case of the 
 sheep-bot the matter is 
 more difficult, because the 
 flies are very persistent, 
 and encircle the animals 
 until they get an oppor- 
 tunity to dart to the nos- 
 tril and deposit upon it 
 an ^^^ just ready to 
 hatch, or already hatched, 
 so that either immedi- 
 ately or in a very short 
 time the maggot makes 
 
 its way up along the mucous membrane as far as the passages 
 allow it to extend. All sorts of devices have been adopted to 
 prevent this, but none are entirely satisfactory. Tar has been 
 used as a repellent, smeared on the nose, and with more or less 
 success. It is probable that fish oil and oil of tar, or carbolic 
 acid, would answer the same purpose. Powdered tobacco, used 
 to induce the sheep to sneeze and thus dislodge any maggots 
 that had already made their way in, has also been more or less 
 satisfactory. In the case of recently infested animals, a brush 
 dipped in turpentine and carefully used in the nostrils, so as to 
 reach attached larvae and kill them, is sometimes found useful. 
 
 The family Mtcscidce is the largest in number of genera and 
 species in the order as well as the most difficult to classify. The 
 common "house-fly," the " blue-bottle," and the "flesh-fly" 
 are examples, and may be considered as typical forms, which 
 most of the species resemble ; not necessarily in color or mark- 
 
 23 
 
 The sheep-bot, CEstrus ovis. — i, 2, flies ; 3, pupa ; 
 4, 5, full-grown larva ; 6, young larva. 
 
354 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 ings, but in general type of structure. It is almost impossible 
 for any but the special student to distinguish between even the 
 sub-families, and yet these differ greatly in habit, some being 
 decidedly injurious and others as decidedly beneficial in the 
 larval stages. One of the peculiarities of all the members is very 
 short antennae, in which the terminal joint is long and stout and 
 furnished with a bristle or arista attached near the base. The 
 modifications of this bristle aid in distinguishing the groups. 
 
 The Tachina flies, for instance, have the bristle entirely bare, 
 though otherwise many of them resemble the common "flesh- 
 fly' ' or the ' ' blue-bottle. ' ' They are generally rather large, 
 robust in appearance, always bristly, and sometimes formidable 
 looking from the array of sharp spiny points projecting in every 
 direction. They are parasitic in habit, largely upon caterpillars, 
 and among them perhaps preferably upon cut-worms. Fre- 
 quently, where the latter are numerous, a large percentage will 
 be noticed with one or several little white eggs attached on the 
 anterior segments, just back of the head, in such a position that the 
 larvae cannot possibly reach or destroy them. These eggs hatch 
 in a very short time into little maggot-like creatures that at once 
 bore through the skin of the caterpillar and live within its body, 
 feeding upon the fatty masses and muscular tissue not absolutely 
 necessary to life. When the maggots are full-grown and the 
 welfare of the caterpillar is no longer a matter of importance to 
 them, they feed on regardless of consequences, and the creature 
 dies. The maggots, sometimes without even attempting to get 
 out of their host, then change to barrel-shaped pupae. This is 
 accomplished by a contraction of the larval skin, which hardens 
 and becomes brown in color, releasing its hold at the same time 
 on the forming (true) pupa beneath. Occasionally the maggots 
 leave their host and make their way a little below ground to 
 pupate. Some of our large caterpillars attain their full growth 
 with as many as thirty or even more of these maggots feeding 
 upon their vitals. Some of the flies are very handsome and 
 strikingly colored, as, for instance, the Tachina vivida, in which 
 the abdomen is bright red, set with black spines, — a very remark- 
 able looking species. Others are black, the abdomen banded 
 with yellow ; but as a rule they are of a modest gray color, the 
 thorax rather obscurely streaked with blackish brown or gray. 
 
Fig. 413. 
 
 Fig. 410. 
 
 Muscid flies. — Fig. ^10, Exortsta flavicauda, yellow-tailed Tachinid. Fig. 411, T^e- 
 morea leucanits, Tachinid on cut-worms: larva, pupa, adult, and the white eggs on 
 the anterior segments of the caterpillar. Fig. 412, Lydella doryphorcE , Tachinid on 
 potato-beetle. Fig. 413. common flesh-fly, Sarcophaga carnaria. Fig. 414, the blow- 
 fly, Calliphora vomitoria. Fig. 415, screw-worm, Lucilia macellaria : a, b, c, larva and 
 details ; rf, pupa ; e, adult ; f, head from side. All are enlarged, and Fig. 413 very 
 much so. 
 
 355 
 
356 . AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 These flies are among the most effective of nature's checks to 
 caterpillars, especially cut-worms. 
 
 The "flesh-flies" greatly resemble the Tachina flies in ap- 
 pearance, but the arista or bristle of the antennae is feathered 
 towards the base and is bare only at the tip. Some of these 
 species also are parasitic. Others have larvae that live in excre 
 mentitious material, in fruits, in meats, or in decaying animal or 
 vegetable matter generally. Such species usually produce their 
 young alive, or at least as eggs just ready to hatch, and the 
 majority are scavengers. None of the members of this family, so 
 far as I am aware, are injurious, and they are always beneficial to 
 the extent, at least, of assisting in the removal of offensive matter, 
 animal or vegetable. 
 
 The typical Muscids differ from the other species in this series 
 by lacking the spines of the thorax and abdomen, or having them 
 confined, in a very reduced state, to the tip of the abdomen only. 
 The arista or antennal bristle is feathered to the tip. The house- 
 fly is one of the best known of all insects the world over, and 
 there seems to be no region where it does not occur and is not 
 more or less annoying. It winters in our houses or out-buildings, 
 hiding in some sheltered spot in cellar or attic, or remaining 
 more or less active in our carefully warmed rooms. During the 
 early days of spring a few specimens make their appearance here 
 and there, sole survivors of the swarms of the preceding year. 
 These are mostly females ready to reproduce, and they lay their 
 eggs in any convenient pile of horse manure ; or, if that is not 
 available, in any decaying animal or vegetable matter. The 
 maggots hatch in a day or two, in a week or ten days are full- 
 grown, change to pupae, and in a very few days more a new 
 brood of flies is matured, already sufficient in numbers to become 
 more or less annoying. This process is repeated time and again 
 during the season, and the insects increase in numbers until after 
 midsummer, when they seem to lose activity to some extent, 
 although breeding until cold weather actually sets in. House- 
 flies are not injurious in any true sense of the word, although they 
 are distinctly annoying and may become dangerous by trans- 
 ferring disease germs from one point to another ; as when, after 
 alighting and feeding upon the sputum of a consumptive, they 
 tickle the nose of a healthy sleeper a few minutes thereafter. So 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 357 
 
 blood poisoning may be set up by a fly which has been feeding 
 upon a putrefying carcass and then feeds upon an abraded sur- 
 face or a cut or bruise on man. This, however, is not a common 
 occurrence, and perhaps as a scavenger the insect is about as 
 useful as it is annoying. A single female produces on an average 
 about one hundred and fifty eggs, and this, with the short period 
 required to bring them to maturity, accounts for the enormous 
 increase of the insects. After a fly has attained this stage it 
 never grows more, and a small fly never makes a large fly, any 
 more than the progeny of a large fly is ever a small fly. 
 
 The "blow-fly," Calliphora vomitoria, is the largest of the 
 common species abundant enough to attract attention, and this 
 has the body of a deep blue, almost black, color, the abdomen a 
 little lighter and somewhat more shining. It is an obtrusive 
 creature and noisy withal, especially when flying about on the 
 windows or bumping against the ceilings of a room, making its 
 presence obnoxious in more ways than one. Its eggs are laid on 
 all sorts of animal and vegetable matter in an incipient stage of 
 decay. Meat exposed in summer is almost certain to show, in a 
 very short time, little piles of elongate white eggs scattered over 
 the surface here and there. Fish are especially subject to attack, 
 and I have myself had the experience that a little string of fish 
 laid in the shade of a bush on the bank was covered with such 
 eggs before I was ready to go home. Of course they could be 
 readily washed off", and it is not usual for this insect to retain the 
 eggs until they hatch within the abdomen, yet I have found 
 specimens that have done so. This species also requires but a 
 very short period for its development, and its rate of increase is 
 so great that it has given rise to the saying that a pair of flies 
 will devour an ox more rapidly than will a lion. A carcass left in 
 the fields during midsummer becomes, in fact, in a few days a 
 mass of maggots, which soon leave nothing but hide and bones. 
 
 A somewhat smaller species than this blow-fly, of a very much 
 brighter green or bluish color, with four longitudinal lines on the 
 thorax, is the "screw-worm" fly, Lucilia 7nacellaria. This is a 
 common species throughout a large portion of our country, and 
 ordinarily feeds upon dead or decaying animal matter. Under 
 some circumstances, however, it attacks living animals, and in 
 the Southern and Southwestern States occasionally becomes a 
 
358 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 terrible pest. On such occasions it lays its eggs on man or 
 animals wherever there is the slightest trace of a wound, bruise, 
 or offensive discharge of any kind. The larvae bore directly into 
 the living flesh, causing intense pain as well as suppurating sores. 
 Living larvae are produced as well as eggs almost ready to hatch, 
 and into any opening from which there is a discharge of any 
 kind eggs may be deposited. Sleeping humans with an offen- 
 sive breath, or with a fetid discharge from the nostrils or mouth, 
 have had eggs laid at these points, and larvae have made their way 
 into the head, in some cases causing the death of the individual. 
 Eggs have also been laid in the ears of uncleanly people, and the 
 channels and passages of this organ have been penetrated into the 
 head and destroyed. Animals are troubled in the same way, and 
 where the insects are abundant, their attacks often become fatal. 
 The only remedy is cleanliness. Wounds, even of the most 
 trifling nature, on cattle should be smeared with an antiseptic 
 ointment. As far as possible, all materials in which the flies can 
 breed should be destroyed ; no accumulation of animal refuse 
 should be allowed under any circumstances, and by strictest at- 
 tention to surroundings, the breeding of the insects should be 
 prevented. Attacking live animals is not a usual habit, although 
 very readily assumed when the insects become abundant. 
 
 Another insect, a trifle larger than the house-fly and much 
 like it in appearance, though a little more robust, is the ordinary 
 stable-fly, Stomoxys calcitrans. This has the mouth parts formed 
 for piercing, and annoys animals by alighting upon and sucking 
 the blood of parts that cannot be reached by them with head or 
 tail. Sometimes these insects also attack man, especially late in 
 the season or in heavy weather. They have an especial fondness 
 for human shanks, and readily bite through stockings ; sometimes 
 through trousers as well. This bite is painful, though it rarely 
 leaves a swelling or perceptible inflammation. The larvae develop 
 in horse and cow manure, and their increase in stables can, there- 
 fore, be checked to some extent by promptly removing and 
 placing this in pits, or mixing with plaster or other material that 
 will absorb the moisture and fix the ammonia. 
 
 A close ally of the stable-fly is the so called "horn-fly," 
 Hcematobia serrata, a recent introduction into the United States, 
 which has spread over the country with almost phenomenal 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 359 
 
 rapidity. This insect derives its common name from the fact 
 that it seems to prefer clustering in great numbers at the base of 
 
 Fig. 416. 
 
 Horn-fly, Hcematobia serrata. — a, egg; 3, fly ; c and rf, head and tnouth parts; all 
 
 enlarged. 
 
 Fig. 417. 
 
 the horns of cattle, although it is really just as abundant on the 
 flanks, upon the udder, and in other places where it cannot be 
 readily reached by the animals. The fly seems to confine its at- 
 tacks to horned cattle, although it has been seen on mules in the 
 State of New Jersey. Like the stable-fly, it 
 is a blood-sucker, and both species are often 
 found on animals at the same time, keeping 
 them in that state of constant irritation 
 which prevents their proper feeding and 
 digesting, and keeps them poor and in no 
 condition to produce a free flow of milk. 
 Not only in the fields or pastures are the 
 cattle annoyed by these insects, but in the 
 stable as well, so that the animals get no 
 rest night or day. Eggs are laid in fresh 
 cow-dung, and before this has an oppor- 
 tunity to dry under ordinary conditions, the 
 larvae are full-grown and ready to pupate. It is the immense 
 number of these insects that makes them dreadful, and when the 
 
 Egg of horn-fly. — i, 
 unhatched, from side; 
 
 2, hatched, from front; 
 
 3, same, from side, to 
 show lid-like structure; 
 all enlarged. 
 
360 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 418. 
 
 species first made its appearance in the Eastern United States, 
 horrible tales were told of the destruction caused among herds 
 of cattle. As a matter of fact, except for the irritation, it causes 
 no injury. Much can be done to prevent the increase of this 
 insect by destroying the breeding-places. In the stable, the stalls 
 and their surroundings should be kept absolutely clean, and 
 whitewash should be liberally applied. The manure should be 
 mixed at once with either kainit or land plaster, which absorbs 
 
 the moisture and makes the mass 
 unfit for the larva, while at the same 
 time it does not injure its value as a 
 fertilizer. A boy should be sent 
 through the pasture every two or 
 three days with a shovel, and di- 
 rected to spread out every dropping 
 in such a way as to cause it to dry 
 up or wash away readily before the 
 larvae can complete their develop- 
 ment. The flies can be kept from 
 the animals by the use of fish oil 
 and crude carbolic acid, applied to 
 those parts not readily reached by 
 the tail. The proportions of fish 
 oil and carbolic acid are not im- 
 portant ; enough of the crude acid 
 to give a decided odor is all that is necessary, and one application 
 will usually suffice to protect an animal for five or six days. 
 
 Another series of decidedly troublesome flies we find in the 
 Anthomyiids, whose larvae are frequently root-infesting maggots. 
 The adults closely resemble the common house-flies, but are usu- 
 ally somewhat smaller in size and slighter in build. They arc 
 found in fields on the ground, on vegetation of all kinds, and 
 also commonly enough in our houses on the windows, where they 
 are usually mistaken for the true house-fly. Recognition of the 
 species of these flies is a matter of no great importance practi- 
 cally ; but it may be assumed, where flies resembling the ordinary 
 household pest in all save size are noticed in any number about 
 crops subject to infestation by root-maggots, that we have mem- 
 bers of this Anthomyiid series to deal with. They are often very 
 
 Larva of horn-fly, i ; its pupa, 2 
 structural details, 3,4,5; enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 261 
 
 Cabbage-maggot, Phorbia brassiccE. — a, larva ; b, pupa; 
 c, adult ; d, its head ; e, antenna. 
 
 injurious to cabbage and cauliflower, as well as to onions, rad- 
 ishes, turnips, beets, and other root crops, while other species 
 attack planted seeds 
 
 like those of melons ^^^- 4i9- 
 
 and even corn. Oc- 
 casionally, instead of 
 attacking roots, the 
 maggots are found 
 boring in thick or 
 fleshy leaves, and 
 then they make 
 mines or galleries be- 
 tween the upper and 
 lower surfaces, often 
 doing much injury. 
 Sometimes their hab- 
 its are more like 
 those of the house- 
 fly, and the larvae are 
 scavengers, while a 
 few have been recorded as parasites on other insects. The 
 group, therefore, is one with diverse habits, but usually to be 
 looked upon with considerable suspicion. Perhaps the best 
 known of the root-maggots is the larva of Phorbia brassiccs, in- 
 festincr cabbage, cauliflower, and other plants of the same natural 
 family. Eggs are laid on the ground soon after the plants are 
 set out in the fields. The larvae "make their way into them as 
 soon as they are hatched, gnawing or rather scraping the tissue, 
 so as to enable them to absorb the plant juices, for they have no 
 jaws for mastication. Decay sets in where the insects work, and 
 this favors their feeding, so in a few days they destroy the tissue 
 of the plant and stem a little below the surface so completely that 
 it dies. Later crops are not so much harmed, as a rule, and if 
 plants can be preserved until they reach a good size, they fre- 
 quently sustain considerable maggot attack without serious in- 
 jury. As to the best remedies against this particular insect we 
 are yet somewhat uncertain. Putting a pad or disk of tarred 
 paper on the stems of the plants when they are set out has been 
 found successful in preventing the adult from laying eggs, or the 
 
362 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY, 
 
 larvae from getting at the desired point, since they seem to be 
 unable to live exposed to sunlight. Ground tobacco, kerosene 
 and sand, plaster, soot, ashes, and other materials placed at the 
 base of the plants act like the tarred paper as a mechanical pro- 
 tection, and must be applied before the eggs are laid, else they 
 will prove ineffective. Bisulphide of carbon injected below the 
 root system has been used with a considerable degree of success, 
 the fumes filtering through the soil and killing the insects at 
 work on the plant without injuring the plant itself An injector 
 devised for the especial purpose has been made by Mr. J. J. 
 McGowen, of Ithaca, New York, and perhaps the application of 
 this substance is the most certain and satisfactory remedy that 
 has been proposed. It should be used when the soil is moist, 
 but not water-soaked. There are two or three broods in the 
 course of the year, according to latitude. The winter is passed 
 either as a pupa below the surface or as an adult in barns, 
 houses, etc., and the species is tided over between cultivated 
 crops by the cruciferous weeds. Hence clean culture and the 
 prompt removal of all crop remnants are urgently indicated. 
 Carbolic acid and kerosene, emulsified with soap according to the 
 formulas elsewhere given, have proved effective as killing agents 
 when the maggots have begun feeding. Pour about half a pint 
 around the base of the infested plant, diluting the carbolic acid 
 emulsion thirty times and the kerosene emulsion twelve times. 
 
 Radishes frequently suffer from the attacks of the same 
 maggots, and they are more difficult to deal with here, because 
 they puncture the fleshy root and make channels through it in 
 every direction, safely beyond the reach of any insecticide appli- 
 cation. It rarely pays to put expensive substances on radishes, 
 because the margin of profit is too small ; but considerable 
 benefit may be derived from proper methods of fertilizing, and 
 the mixture that seems to offer the best chance for success is 
 
 Nitrate of soda 700 pounds. 
 
 Ground rock 1000 pounds. 
 
 Muriate of potash 300 pounds. 
 
 Apply soon after the plants are up, or when the leaves are about 
 an inch long, at the rate of five hundred pounds per acre, and 
 before or during a rain. The application made at this time seems 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 363 
 
 to reach the maggots just when they are hatching, and becomes 
 effective for that reason. AppHed later, when the insects have 
 already made their way into the radishes, it would be useless. 
 Here the farmer must necessarily make a few observations of his 
 own to determine the proper time for applying the fertilizer 
 remedy, and this is not difficult. The flies lay the eggs in little 
 masses on the surface of the ground near to the infested plants. 
 They are white, slender, and cylindrical, nearly one-sixteenth of 
 an inch in length, and quite visible on close examination. When 
 these eggs are found generally distributed over the fields the 
 time to make the insecticide application has arrived, because they 
 hatch only a few days after they are laid, and the young larvae 
 must be reached then or not at all. The carbolic acid emulsion 
 diluted thirty-five times may also be applied with good prospects 
 of success in killing the maggots, or the ground tobacco may be 
 used over the rows just as soon as the plants are up. 
 
 The onion-maggot, Phorbia ceparicm, is, perhaps, next in im- 
 portance, and its habits are essentially the same as those given 
 for the cabbage-maggot, — that is, the eggs are laid by the fly 
 quite early in spring, 
 
 next the onion stems or ^^^- 42o- 
 
 leaves at the surface of 
 the ground, and prefer- 
 ably in young onion 
 beds. In the latitude of 
 New Jersey this occurs 
 in May, but the date va- 
 ries somewhat accord 
 ing to the season and to 
 the time at which these 
 plants are started. The 
 larvae work their way 
 into the bulb at once 
 and begin their scraping 
 and gnawing, leading to 
 
 the rapid decay and death of the plant. Matters are even more 
 serious here than in the cabbage, because where a bulb has been 
 started in decay, it usually continues, even if the maggots are de- 
 stroyed, and in the case of scullions, they become unmarketable. 
 
 The onion-maggot. — Larva, pupa, adult, and section 
 of an infested onion. 
 
364 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 The maggots attain their growth about the end of May or early 
 in June, and before the middle of that month a second brood of 
 flies may be found in the fields. This second brood is often 
 much the most injurious, and quite frequently it attacks seedling 
 onions, ruining entire beds. The older plants, if they have 
 reached this date unharmed, are usually safe for the year. Exactly 
 how many broods there are has not been accurately ascertained, 
 and probably the number varies somewhat according to latitude. 
 We do know that the insects pass the winter partly in the pupa 
 stage in the ground, and partly as adults in barns, farm-houses, 
 and other sheltered localities. Many measures to prevent injury 
 have been proposed, none with any marked success, except those 
 here mentioned. The most promising is sand soaked in kerosene, 
 one cupful to a pail of dry sand, and placed at the base of the 
 onion plants along the rows. This prevents egg-laying by the 
 fly, kills any young larvae that may attempt to work through it, 
 and seems to have been quite satisfactory where tested ; but it is 
 obviously not a suitable measure for application on a large scale. 
 In New Jersey tons of onion seed and sets are raised annually, 
 and the following practice has been found uniformly successful. 
 Keep a close watch for the first signs of maggots ; carefully lift 
 out and destroy all infested plants that have wilted down so far 
 that they cannot survive, and so kill the more advanced maggots. 
 Turn away the earth from the rows with a hand-plough so as to 
 expose the root system in part, then apply broadcast about six 
 hundred pounds of kainit and two hundred pounds of nitrate of 
 soda per acre ; turn back the earth to the plants, and this will put 
 a period to the injury. The application is best made just before 
 or during a rain, or immediately after a shower that has wet 
 down pretty thoroughly. The object is to get the salty fertilizers 
 dissolved rapidly and brought into direct contact with the roots 
 of the plant, and, of course, with the insects as well. This 
 method has proved entirely satisfactory in New Jersey, and on 
 light lands it will probably act equally well in other localities ; 
 but it has never been tested on heavy land, and the action may 
 not be entirely the same. The application of the fertilizer has the 
 advantage of imparting additional vigor to the plant, and stimu- 
 lates it to overcome such injury as may have been already caused. 
 It is a good plan always and under any circumstances to care- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 365 
 
 fully take out and destroy plants that have wilted down beyond 
 recovery, because in this way the maggots are destroyed or pre- 
 vented from coming to maturity. 
 
 Other root-maggots may be treated on the lines just laid down, 
 and nothing can be gained by multiplying instances. Too little 
 is known of most of the leaf-miners to give any general directions 
 concerning the methods which may be used to check them ; but 
 one remedy, or rather preventive measure, is always useful. A 
 crop of infested leaves should always be disposed of as soon as 
 possible. For instance, if beet leaves are attacked at the time 
 the roots are harvested, they should be at once destroyed, and 
 with them the insects yet in the plants. In this way much can 
 be done to lessen their number for the ensuing season. Direct 
 applications for leaf-miners are unsatisfactory, because of the 
 difficulty of reaching them. 
 
 The remainder of the Muscid flies differ from all the preceding 
 in that they have no perceptible winglet or alulet just below the 
 anterior wings. If the " blow-fly" or the " house-fly" be exam- 
 ined, it will be found that just behind the base of the large wings 
 there is a little flap resembling in appearance a minute wing. 
 This is called the "winglet" or "alulet," and it is more or less 
 obvious in all the Muscids of which we have heretofore spoken. 
 It is absent in all the other groups, and serves to divide this 
 large family into two fairly distinct series. 
 
 We find it absent in a large series of flies belonging to the 
 Trypetids and Ortalids, which are usually small in size, often 
 metallic in color, and with the wings frequently banded or mot- 
 tled. Some of the species have the habit of strutting up and 
 down with the wings elevated and spread out, and this has given 
 them the name "peacock flies." They are gracefully built in 
 most instances, and are noticeable by keeping the wings in con- 
 stant motion even when feeding or walking about on flowers, 
 where they are most frequently found. They fly rather slowly, 
 and, as a rule, are easily captured. The abdomen of the female 
 frequently ends in an extensile, horny-tipped ovipositor, by 
 means of which the eggs are laid in the plant tissue in which the 
 larvae feed. Most of the members of the series feed in plant 
 tissue of some kind, either in leaves, in stems, or in fruits, and a 
 number of them are gall-makers. The most notable instance of 
 
366 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the latter type in the Eastern United States is seen in the round 
 sweUings so frequently found on the stems of golden-rod. A 
 number of species are locally injurious to fruits, but there seems 
 to be no one injurious form generally distributed throughout this 
 country. In the Northern and Eastern United States the so- 
 called "apple" -maggot, Trypeta pomonella^ is the only one 
 causing trouble, the fly laying its eggs in the tissue of the apple by 
 
 Fig. 421. 
 
 Trypeta pomonella, parent of the apple-maggot. 
 
 piercing the skin with its horny ovipositor. The little maggots 
 channel the fruit in every direction, causing it to rot or become 
 unsalable. When full-grown they pupate below the surface of 
 the ground, or even among rubbish on the surface, or in crevices. 
 Indeed, they are not at all particular, and transform wherever 
 they can find an opportunity to do so, including the barrels, 
 boxes, or bins in which infested apples have been kept. None of 
 these fruit flies can be reached by insecticides, nor is there any 
 fair chance of reaching the adults, and the only method that 
 is effectual is the prompt removal and destruction of infested 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 367 
 
 fruit. Windfalls should be picked up constantly and destroyed 
 at once. Summer varieties, especially sweet types, are most in- 
 fested, and these should be sent to market at once if the apples 
 are marketable, or if they are not, they should be disposed of in 
 some effective manner to prevent the maturing of the flies. They 
 seem to be more common in the Northeastern States, extending 
 southward only to Central New Jersey. South of this point they 
 seem to be unknown, or so rare as not to be injurious. 
 
 Probably every one has noticed in the fall, at cider making, or 
 when grapes are pressed for wine, or, in fact, whenever there is 
 an accumulation of fruit of any kind in which fermentation or 
 decay has started in ever so slight a degree, that swarms of little, 
 yellowish flies make their appearance, easily distinguished by 
 the bright coral-red color of the eyes. No specimens may have 
 been noticed previously ; but just as soon as the material at- 
 tracting them makes its appearance, swarms are seen coming 
 from no one knows where. They lay their eggs in the ferment- 
 ing or decaying mass. 
 
 and a few hours after- 
 wards there will be an 
 abundance of small, 
 white, wriggling mag- 
 gots. These become 
 mature in three or four 
 days, and after another 
 day or two in the pupa 
 state, they develop into 
 adult "pomace flies," 
 species of Drosophila. 
 and a little troublesome 
 
 Fig. 422. 
 
 A pomace fly and its larva, Drosophila species; 
 enlarged. 
 
 The insects are sometimes annoying 
 but scarcely injurious, and it is only 
 because they are so common and occur so suddenly in large 
 numbers that they are mentioned here. Little attention is paid 
 to the larvae either in wine or cider making, because they are 
 thrown out in the process of fermentation, and do not in any way 
 affect the quality of the resulting product. 
 
 To this same family belong the " skippers" which are found in 
 cheese and sometimes in other kinds of provisions. The term 
 is derived from the habits of the larvae, which move about by a 
 series of little jumps somewhat resembling those of the larvae 
 
368 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Piophila casei, parent of "skippers" in cheese, 
 etc. 
 
 of the CecidomyidiB . They produce a Uttle black fly, Piophila 
 casei, similar to the house-fly in appearance, but much smaller, 
 and the only way to protect provisions is to keep them con- 
 stantly covered. They sometimes become an intolerable nuisance 
 in smoke-houses, attacking ham, bacon, and the like during the 
 
 process of smoking, or be- 
 FiG. 423. fore they can be cased, and 
 
 the value of the provision 
 is frequently impaired by 
 the development of these 
 maggots. Where a house 
 is once thoroughly in- 
 fested, the flies are found 
 in swarms everywhere, 
 ready to attack the meats 
 as soon as there is the 
 least opportunity. Under 
 such circumstances thor- 
 ough measures are neces- 
 sary to get rid of them. In the first place, windows should be 
 closely screened to prevent their entry from outside ; the walls 
 should be whitewashed frequently, so as to keep all crevices 
 filled up ; the floors should be kept clean, and should be as solid 
 and smooth as possible, to prevent the development of maggots 
 in crevices filled with greasy substances. The flies can be killed 
 by fumigating with tobacco or pyrethrum, and this should be 
 done by closing up the rooms tightly in the evening after work 
 is done, or on a Sunday or other day when work ceases, and a 
 sufficient quantity of either tobacco or pyrethrum should be 
 burnt on live coals to completely fill all parts of the rooms. They 
 should be left tightly closed anywhere from eight to twenty-four 
 hours, and at the end of this time the flies will have been de- 
 stroyed, but the maggots will not, and it will be necessary to 
 repeat this operation two or three times, at intervals of (at most) 
 a week, to destroy the flies as fast as th^y hatch, and before 
 they have an opportunity to lay their eggs. In some cases bi- 
 sulphide of carbon may be used to fumigate ; but this must be 
 done when there is no fire on the premises, and the house 
 should be left closed twelve hours at least, and should then 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 369 
 
 A louse-fly, Olfersia species. 
 
 be aired until no trace of odor remains before fires are again 
 introduced. 
 
 The last family in the Diptcra to which we need call attention 
 are the "louse-flies," or HippoboscidcB, frequently separated as 
 a sub-order under the term Pupipara, the latter being applied 
 because of the curious method of reproduction. The flies are 
 parasites, living largely upon birds, but sometimes upon animals, 
 and the egg not only 
 
 develops within the Fig. 424. 
 
 body of the female, but 
 the larva becomes nearly 
 full-grown in the same 
 position, and practically 
 attains the pupa state 
 before it is extruded. 
 In these species the ab- 
 domen is somewhat flat- 
 tened and oval in form, 
 of a thick, leathery con- 
 sistency, with a very 
 
 large anal opening, and from the circumstances of the case only 
 one larva at a time is produced, so that the flies produce young 
 only at considerable intervals. The whole body is depressed or 
 flattened, and birds of prey are most usually affected. It is rare 
 to find a hawk, eagle, or owl upon which several specimens of 
 these peculiar flies cannot be found. They 
 move about rapidly, and their first impulse is 
 always to seek shelter when driven from their 
 original host. Thus, in handling hawks that 
 have just been shot, the flies frequently dart 
 upon the hunter and make their way under his 
 clothing and to his body. 
 
 A few species are wingless, and among them 
 is the so-called "sheep-tick," Melophagus 
 ovinus, which is usually looked upon as a 
 louse, and resembles one in the prominent 
 proboscis, the lack of wings, and the strongly developed legs, 
 on which the claws are very prominent. This "sheep-tick" is 
 the only troublesome species, and it can best be kept in check 
 
 24 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Sheep-tick, Melopha- 
 gus ovinus. 
 
37° 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 by frequent dipping, using- a carbolated dip which readily de- 
 stroys the insect. Thorough washing after shearing will usually 
 clear the animals completely, and if the entire herd be once 
 freed, it will remain so until infested animals are introduced. 
 The parasites are able to move from one to the other only when 
 the animals are herded close together. 
 
 Yet more louse-like in appearance is the little whitish creature, 
 Braula cceca, found upon the honey-bee as a parasite ; but it 
 
 Fig. 426. 
 
 Bee-louse, Braula area, and its larva ; much enlarged. 
 
 seems to be rather rare, and, in our country at least, does not 
 assume the dimensions of a serious pest. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE HYMENOPTERA. 
 
 Bees, Wasps, A)its, Saiv-fiies, etc. 
 
 There is no order of greater interest than this, containing as 
 it does the bees, wasps, and ants, the most useful as well as the 
 most intelligent of the insects. By treating them last, the inten- 
 tion is not to suggest that they are lowest, but rather that they 
 are the culminating point in the development of the class. Here 
 we find social organizations not unlike some of our own systems 
 of government, but more complete and running much more 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 371 
 
 smoothly. We find division of labor carried to an extreme ; 
 combination for special purposes ; skill and energy in the prepa- 
 ration of homes ; and, finally, we discover the helpless young 
 cared for by parents or nurses. It is only in the Hymenoptera 
 among insects that we find true babies, — that is, young that must 
 be fed and tended until they are ready to assume the adult form. 
 Nowhere else do we find larvae fed on anything but simple, 
 natural food ; but by many bees a mixture is prepared and fed ; 
 not honey or pollen alone, but a combination of the two in defi« 
 nite proportions is given, and these proportions vary with the 
 sex of the larva. 
 
 Members of the order Hymenoptera may always be distinguished 
 by the presence of four transparent wings, the anterior always the 
 larger, the secondaries frequently very small. They are not cov- 
 ered with scales, but are often set with small hair, and the cells 
 and veins are comparatively few in number ; never netted as in the 
 Neuroptera. The mouth parts are mandibulate, or formed for 
 biting, but in many of the families there is also developed a large 
 tongue-like structure which serves for lapping, none of the Hy- 
 menoptera being strictly haustellate, or sucking insects. The 
 metamorphosis is complete. 
 
 Taken as a whole, the order contains beneficial insects ; but as 
 there is no rule without exceptions, so we find here also one 
 series the species of which are vegetable feeders. These are in- 
 cluded in the families Tenthredinidce and Uroceridce, the "saw- 
 flies" and "horn-tails." 
 
 The term "saw-flies" is used to indicate a series of species 
 peculiar by the structure of the ovipositor, which is made up of a 
 number of parallel blades toothed at the edge, by means of which 
 the insects are enabled to cut pockets or slits in leaves or other 
 vegetable tissues to receive the eggs. They are further peculiar 
 by having the abdomen sessile, or joined for its full width to the 
 base of the thorax, and the wings are rather larger in proportion 
 to the body than in other groups. The larvae are caterpillar-like 
 in appearance, but they always have at least one more pair of 
 prolegs than any caterpillar, — six pairs or more, of which one 
 pair is anal, — which renders them easily distinguishable. They 
 are often more or less slimy in appearance and to the touch, and 
 perhaps a majority have the habit of coiling the posterior por- 
 
372 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 428. 
 
 tion of the body around the edge of the leaf or twig while feed- 
 ing. This is quite a characteristic peculiarity, and there is rarely 
 excuse for mistaking the larva of a saw-fly for that of a Lepidop- 
 teron, even without counting the prolegs. Many of these larvae 
 are injurious to cultivated plants, and some of them are known to 
 farmers as "slugs" or "worms;" for instance, we have the 
 "currant- worm," the "grape-slug," the "rose-slug," and the 
 ' ' pear-slug. ' ' When these larvae are full-grown they form thin, 
 tough, parchment-like cocoons, in which they change to pupae, 
 sometimes on the plant on which they feed, sometimes a little 
 below the surface of the ground. 
 
 Perhaps none of the members of this family are better known 
 than the " currant- worm," or "slug," Nematus ribesii, which is 
 an imported insect, and annually does great injury where its food 
 plant is raised on a large scale. The flies, which are easily dis- 
 tinguishable by a rather deep yellow body, may be seen sitting 
 upon the foliage, or flying about heavily as 
 soon as the leaves of the currants are toler- 
 ably well developed in spring, and we may, 
 even at that time, find on the under sides, 
 arranged along the veins, series of little 
 white eggs laid by them. The larvae soon 
 make their appearance and feed ravenously, 
 frequently stripping a bush completely in 
 the course of a few days. I have seen rows 
 of currants covering an acre or more almost 
 entirely devoid of leaves and the fruit hang- 
 ing to bare twigs. There are two or three 
 broods in the course of a season, depending 
 upon latitude, the latter rarely as abundant 
 as the first and second, and practically not 
 nearly so destructive. The larva is green, 
 dotted with black, and nearly an inch in 
 length. 
 
 On pears we frequently note a very dark green slug, the larva 
 of Eriocampa cerasi, which is more or less slimy to the touch. 
 On young trees this sometimes does much injury by scraping 
 the upper side of the foliage until it dries and withers, falling to 
 the ground in midsummer. 
 
 Pear-slug, larva of Erio 
 campa cerasi. 
 
Fig. 427. 
 
 Fig. 431. 
 
 Fig. 427, currant-worm. — a, a, male and female adult; b, larva;; c, pupa -n (rf) cocoon; 
 ^> eggs. Fig. 431, Phylloecus flaviventris. — a, female adult ; b, c, male and fet'>ale abdomen ; 
 d, spur of anterior tibia. 
 
 373 
 
374 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 On grapes there are often black-dotted slugs, the larvae of 
 Blennocampa pygmaa, that do some injury ; and on roses almost 
 every grower has been annoyed by numer- 
 ■ ^^^' ous green slugs, the larvae of Monostegia 
 
 }'0S(e, which make their appearance early in 
 the season. 
 
 Raspberries are sometimes severely in- 
 jured by little spiny slugs, the larvae of 
 Monophadnus rubi, that appear in June or 
 early July, first eating round holes in the 
 leaves, but eventually, when they become 
 Grape-slug, larva of ^/('«- numcrous euough, taking the foliage com- 
 
 nocampa pygmtra. 
 
 pletely. Many other cultivated plants, m- 
 cluding the strawberry, are attacked by these saw-fly larvae ; but 
 their habits are very similar, and the remedies to be adopted 
 against them are also very much the same. 
 
 The largest of our American species, Cimbex americana, is 
 found on willow, sometimes in considerable number, as a pow- 
 dery, whitish larva an inch and a half in length, with a broad 
 dark stripe on its back. 
 
 Experience has shown that all these species are very suscep- 
 tible to the influence of white hellebore, and that even a small 
 quantity is quickly fatal. Infested plants can, therefore, be 
 cleared in a few hours by a thorough drenching with a decoction 
 of white hellebore, used at the rate of one ounce in one gallon of 
 water ; or the plants may be dusted with the powder, undiluted 
 or mixed with several times its own bulk of cheap flour. Any 
 stomach poison — e.g. , the arsenites or tobacco — will answer as 
 well as hellebore, while on the slimy types even fine road-dust 
 will quickly choke them to death. Air-slaked or dry hydrate of 
 lime burns through them in less than an hour when carefully ap- 
 plied. These insects are so easily killed that it is the fault of the 
 farmer himself if he suffers injury. 
 
 The "horn-tails" resemble the "saw-flies" in away, but the 
 character of the ovipositor is different and rather more like an 
 auger or borer than like a saw. So, too, the species are, as a 
 rule, internal feeders instead of eating openly upon the foliage. 
 The larvae are usually slender, white or nearly so, and in- 
 fest plants ranging from the stems of wheat to the trunks of 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 375 
 
 trees. Some forms live in blackberry and raspberry canes, 
 others in grasses ; I have taken a species from alder, and in 
 fact a very large number of plants are infested by these boring 
 Hymenoptera. The largest of our species is the ' ' pigeon Tre- 
 mex," T. cohimba, the larva of which attacks quite a consider- 
 
 FiG. 430. 
 
 Pigeon Tremex, T. coliimba. — a, larva, with young larva of Thalessa fastened to its 
 side ; b, its head ; c, d, female and male pupae ; e, female. 
 
 able variety of trees, including maple, elm, hickory, and beech, 
 and bores into the solid wood, usually when the tree is beginning 
 to die, or is even dead, but not decayed. 
 
 Dealing with these insects is always rather a difficult matter, 
 because we have no means of getting into the infested plants with 
 insecticides. We are again reduced to farm practice, and must 
 arrange our methods of cultivation in such a way as to reach and 
 destroy the insects by depriving them of food. Thus, with the 
 Phyllcecus infesting blackberry, if the canes are topped about 
 midsummer, or a little before, the larvae never mature, because 
 
376 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 the wood dries, becomes unsuitable for food, and, as the insect is 
 incapable of travelling, it starves to death. 
 
 In the case of Cephus pygmceus, the insects boring in wheat, 
 they spend the winter either low down in the infested stalk — i.e., 
 
 in the stubble — or in the soil just 
 below the surface, in either the 
 larval or pupal condition. The 
 proper remedy is to burn the 
 stubble as soon after harvest as 
 possible, or to plough it under 
 deeply. This destroys the in- 
 sects and results in preventing 
 injury the year following. We 
 have no means of reaching the 
 larva while it is actually working 
 in the stem of the plant. The 
 remedy is radical, and were it 
 universally resorted to, would 
 need to be applied only at inter- 
 vals of several years. 
 
 The "gall-flies," belonging to 
 the family CynipidcB, are curi- 
 ous creatures. They resemble 
 minute wasps in form, and gen- 
 erally have a very short, chunky 
 body, which is often compressed 
 and joined to the abdomen by a very slender petiole or stalk, 
 in sharp contrast to the species heretofore written of These 
 gall-flies are mostly true parasites on plants. They derive their 
 common name from the fact that they produce swellings, protu- 
 berances, or "galls" of great variety on vegetable tissues ; some- 
 times on leaves, on twigs, on trunks, or even on roots ; and 
 perhaps, of all others, the oak is the favorite of the insects of 
 this family, bearing the greatest variety of galls on all its parts. 
 I say these insects are mostly plant parasites, and intend to ex- 
 press by this that they do not actually eat the infested vegetable 
 tissue. The irritation caused by the larva induces an abnormal 
 growth in the part of the plant infested, and in a cell in this 
 growth it has its home. Here the insect reaches maturity with- 
 
 Cephxts pygm<Tus, wheat-stem saw-fly. 
 — a, outline of larva, natural size ; b, 
 larva enlarged; c, larva in wheat stalk, 
 natural size ; <?, adult female ; f, female 
 parasite, enlarged. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 out devouring any part of its vegetable envelope, changes to a 
 pupa, and emerges from the gall, leaving it intact, except for 
 the hole through which it emerged. It seems, therefore, as if 
 certain abnormal plant ex- 
 udations secreted in the ^^^- 433- 
 gall form the actual food 
 of the larva, and it is a 
 curious and interesting fact 
 that the same species in- 
 variably produces in the 
 same place the same kind 
 of gall. In other words, 
 the appearance of the gall 
 is an unfailing index for An oak gaii-fly. 
 the special student to the 
 
 species that made it. Many interesting problems are connected 
 with the study of these gall-flies ; for instance, in some species 
 both sexes are present early in the season, but in the second or 
 midsummer brood females alone make their appearance. The 
 
 Fig. 434. 
 
 Gall made by the larva of Cynips q. spongifica.—a, larva in its cell ; *, point 
 of exit of adult. 
 
 progeny of this female form, which may or may not resemble 
 the spring form, in turn produces males as well as females. . Of 
 other species no males are yet known, and, so far as we have 
 
378 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 any evidence at present, there is a continuous breeding by female 
 individuals only. 
 
 There are only a very few injurious species among these gall- 
 flies. Occasionally we find on blackberry stems an irregular, 
 
 warty swelling, and if 
 F^G. 435- this be cut into, it will 
 
 be found full of cells 
 occupied by these little 
 Cynipid larvae. This 
 kind of gall is known 
 as ' ' multicellular, ' ' be- 
 cause inhabited by nu- 
 m e r o u s specimens. 
 Similar galls are found 
 on the roots of rose 
 and plants of the same 
 natural family, and in 
 a few other cases cul- 
 tivated plants become 
 subject to gall growths. 
 As a matter of fact 
 these galls are scarcely 
 injurious, because in 
 most cases the plant 
 continues growing be- 
 yond them, or even if 
 a shoot is lost, perma- 
 nent injury is rarely 
 done. Certain species 
 of oak-galls produce a 
 black stain, and these 
 were at one time al- 
 most universally employed in making an ink of remarkable per- 
 manence. Even yet the law in some States requires for certain 
 records an ink of which oak-galls is one of the ingredients. 
 
 It is a small step from parasitism upon vegetation to parasit- 
 ism upon animals, and hence it is not surprising to find that some 
 species of this family are parasitic on other insects. The differ- 
 ences between these forms and the true gall-makers are not easily 
 
 a, Pithy gall on blackberry, made by LjmsirupJiui 
 nebulosus ; b, section to show cells; c, larva; d, 
 pupa. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 379 
 
 pointed out, since the insects are usually small in size ; indeed, it 
 is a matter of little importance to the farmer, because in any case 
 he can look upon these gall-wasps with indifference, and without 
 much fear of possible injury to himself 
 
 There is a very large series of parasitic Hyvienoptera, and t 
 contains a number of families, nearly all the species of which are 
 beneficial. To the practised eye a doubt rarely exists as to 
 whether an insect is parasitic or not ; but 
 that the student may be able to decide 
 this matter for himself if he chooses, it 
 may be pointed out that the trochanter, 
 the little segment between the coxa and 
 femur of the leg, is rather peculiarly de- 
 veloped here. It is normally composed 
 of one joint only in all the bees, wasps, and 
 ants, whatever their size or appearance, 
 but it is two-jointed in all the parasites. <^' two-jointed trochanter 
 
 ,-p,, . , , ., , of parasitic Hvmenoptera : 
 
 1 his character can be easily seen on large ^_ normal structure. 
 specimens with or without a lens, but on 
 
 minute species it becomes more difficult ; and, after all, in most 
 cases the farmer is justified in assuming that most of the minute 
 wasp-like creatures that he notices are parasites and beneficial. 
 
 One feature characteristic of a great number of species is an 
 external ovipositor, or egg-laying tube, and this may vary from 
 a scarcely visible projection to an enormously developed hair- 
 like appendage five to six or even more inches in length. 
 
 There may be frequently seen on the trunks of various trees a 
 quite large ichneumon, a Thalessa, yellow or black in color ac- 
 cording to the species, which has its long, bristle-like ovipositor 
 forced deep into the wood, and so firmly fixed, occasionally, that 
 it is unable to withdraw it, and perishes miserably. Wherever 
 this occurs the trees will be found infested by borers, and all but 
 universally this ichneumon is accused of being the parent of the 
 larva that produces the injury. The circumstantial evidence is 
 all against it ; but we really have here a beneficial species which 
 is after the wood-boring larva of the "pigeon Tremex." The 
 insects seem able to recognize an infested tree, and pierce the 
 trunk until the ovipositor reaches one of the burrows of the wood- 
 feeding larva. In this an egg is laid, and the larval parasite, 
 
Fig. 437. 
 
 Long-tailed ichneumon, Thalrssa lunator. — a, larva; b, head of same ; c, pupa; d, tip of 
 pupal ovipositor; e, female adult; /, tip of abdomen, seen from the side; g, male adult; 
 h, tip of abdomen. 
 380 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 381 
 
 when hatched, crawls along the burrow until it comes into contact 
 with its host. It then punctures the skin anjd remains fixed to 
 the outside, sucking the juices and gradually killing the borer. 
 
 Fig. 438. 
 
 Pimpia conquisitor . — a, larva ; c, pupa ; d, adult ; other references are to structural 
 
 details. 
 
 By no means all of our "ichneumons," even of those belong- 
 ing to the family Ichneumonidce, have external ovipositors ; yet 
 there is a distinctive character in their appearance which is easily 
 recognized but hard to de- 
 scribe. The species belong- ^''^- 439- 
 ing to the typical genus Ich- 
 neumon have rather long, 
 slender forms, with flattened 
 abdomen and no external 
 ovipositor. They are often 
 gaudily colored, the antenuce 
 are frequently banded with 
 yellow, and many are metallic 
 blue or green. The species 
 are usually parasites on cater- 
 pillars. One of the largest 
 and most frequently noted species is that which infests the larvae 
 of the common "swallow-tail" butterflies. It is orange-yellow 
 in color, with smoky-black wings, the body nearly an inch in 
 
 Tragus exesoruts on a chrysalis of Papilio, 
 from which it has emerged. 
 
382 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 length, and the wings expanding fully an inch and a quarter or 
 even more. This makes the species easily recognizable, and it 
 will serve very fairly as a type of this particular branch of the 
 family. Species of this size usually lay only a single o.^'g in the 
 host, and in the case of the " swallow-tail," the caterpillar retains 
 strength enough to change to a chrysalis ; but from this chrysalis 
 there emerges through an ugly hole in the side the Tragus exe- 
 soriuSy which has just been described. Frequently, however, in 
 smaller species, a considerable number of parasitic larvae develop 
 in one caterpillar. 
 
 Of quite a different type, as compared with those just described, 
 are the species of Ophion. These are large or very large 
 creatures, black or honey-yellow in color, and the bodies are 
 
 transversely flattened and 
 Fig. 440. squarely cut off at the pos- 
 
 terior extremity. They are 
 thus blade-like in shape, and 
 the ovipositor rests concealed 
 in a groove in the squarely 
 cut off end segment. Though 
 these insects are not stinging 
 Hymenoptera, strictly speak- 
 ing, yet the ovipositor is so 
 short and sharp that the in- 
 sects make use of it as a 
 means of defence. They 
 should be carefully handled, 
 therefore ; though the sting, 
 if ' ' hot' ' for a few moments, 
 seems not to be so poisonous 
 as that of the bees and wasps. 
 In the family Braconidce 
 the species are smaller, as a 
 rule, — sometimes very small 
 indeed, — and all are parasites. The difference between the pre- 
 vious and the present family is in the venation, and is not easily 
 made out, except by the special student ; nor from a practical 
 stand-point is the matter an important one. It is among the 
 members of this family that we find many of the minute creatures 
 
 Long-tailed Ophion, Ophion macrm~unt, and 
 larva. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 383 
 
 that infest aphids. If, at any time during the summer, a leaf 
 badly infested with plant-lice be examined, there will be usually 
 found a few specimens that seem abnormally swollen and livid 
 gray in color rather than green or ) ellow. Such specimens are 
 parasitized, and if they be removed to a closed vessel, there will 
 be found in it, in a few days, minute blackish or brown wasp-like 
 creatures, and on each of the infested plant-lice will be seen a little 
 round hole, which shows where the insect emerged. They are 
 usually examples of minute Braconids, and are the most im- 
 portant of those natural checks that prevent the increase of plant- 
 lice above a certain point. Unfortunately, that point does not 
 coincide with the limit at which the insects become injurious to 
 the farmer ; hence, though the parasites accomplish their pur- 
 pose, they do not, therefore, confer any direct benefit upon him. 
 At almost all periods during the season, but especially late in 
 summer or fall, caterpillars may be seen, bearing upon their 
 backs and sides white or yellowish, egg-shaped bodies. These 
 are often supposed to be the eggs of the caterpillars, but as a 
 matter of fact they are cocoons of Microgaster or Apanteles, 
 little parasites belonging to this family ; and if the caterpillar be 
 confined for a few days it will be noticed that from the tips of 
 each of these egg-shaped bodies a little circular lid is lifted off 
 and a little wasp emerges. If, late in summer, a number of the 
 large sphinx caterpillars infesting potato or grape-vines are 
 watched when they yet show no signs of infestation, one may fre- 
 quently see the little larvae boring their 
 way through the skin, wriggling until ^^^- 44i- 
 
 they have emerged for more than half 
 their length, and it is then easy to 
 watch the formation of the small silken 
 
 rr-i , -11 , Sphinx larva covered with Mi- 
 
 cocoons. The caterpillar soon becomes crogaster <,ozoor.s. 
 
 an odd-looking sight, with anywhere 
 
 from a dozen to fifty or even a hundred of these little maggots, 
 all engaged in spinning cocoons, projecting from it in every di- 
 rection. The egg-like cocoons are attached merely by a little 
 point, so that they may be easily removed. But the caterpillar 
 has been drained of its strength and of the substance for the for- 
 mation of the future butterfly : it collapses and dies, unable to 
 complete its transformation to the pupal stage. 
 
384 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Most of these parasites have the disadvantage of not influ- 
 encing in the least the amount of injury done by the host ; they 
 simply prevent it from changing to an adult. It often happens 
 that spinning caterpillars even complete their cocoon, and in this 
 we find the mass of parasitic cocoons instead of the Lepidopter- 
 ous pupa. On the other hand, some of them complete their 
 
 Fig. 442. 
 
 Apanteles species.— Little mass of cocoons on leaf, replacing an infested larva; a 
 single cocoon below, from which adult has issued ; much enlarged. 
 
 development and kill the caterpillar before it is much more than 
 half-grown. Many of these cocoon-forming species belong to 
 the genus Mia^og aster, and they are typical of a very large 
 series in the family. The plant-lice-infesting forms frequently 
 belong to the genus Aphidius. As in the previous family, many 
 of these insects have an external ovipositor. 
 
 While the preceding series of parasites contain a very fair pro- 
 portion of large species, the next family, Chalcidid<z ^ contains 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 385 
 
 Aphelinus mytilaspidis, parasite on scale 
 insects ; much enlarged. 
 
 very few, except small forms, which are quite usually metallic 
 black, bronze, or green. The wings are without venation, except 
 for a strong vein running parallel to the costal margin, but not 
 reaching quite to the tip, and 
 
 the antennae are geniculated Fig. 443. 
 
 or abruptly bent at the end 
 of the long first joint. Few 
 of these have the ovipositor 
 visible, and usually it lies in 
 a groove on the under side 
 of the tip of the abdomen, 
 issuing before the apex. These 
 Chalcidid flies are exceedingly 
 numerous, and are parasitic on 
 a great variety of other insects. 
 
 They are rather more robust in build than the other small para- 
 sites, and this fact, with their usually brilliant metallic coloration, 
 is a tolerably good guide to the family, of which the species in- 
 festing the common cabbage butterfly may serve as a good 
 example. If, early in the spring, a large number of chrysalids 
 of the cabbage butterfly be collected, — which can be easily done 
 along the fences bordering last year's cabbage-field, — it will be 
 found that some of them have a rather warm gray color and 
 move the joints of the abdomen freely, evidently showing life. 
 Others will have a peculiar, dead, straw-yellow color, and the 
 abdomen is brittle and will break rather than move. If it does 
 break, the interior of the chrysalis will be found completely filled 
 with little, greenish-gray, maggot-like larvae, in which the seg- 
 ments are well marked and a little darker in color. If such 
 infested chrysalids be removed to a warm room and kept in a 
 covered vessel, there will emerge in due time dozens of Ptero- 
 malus pjiparum, a greenish-bronze Chalcidid, instead of the 
 common white cabbage butterfly. 
 
 Though these insects are minute, being scarcely one-eighth of 
 an inch in length, yet they are giants compared with others 
 which live in scales and even in the eggs of other insects. Very 
 frequently such Chalcidids are bred from galls, and they are here 
 either parasitic upon the actual gall-maker, or they may live in 
 the abnormal tissue produced by the Cynipid larvae. We find 
 
 25 
 
386 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the little fellows everywhere, infesting almost all kinds of insects, 
 and undoubtedly they do much to prevent the increase of injuri- 
 ous species. Especially is this true of those ovipositing in eggs 
 of other forms, for they are then "nipped in the bud," so to 
 speak. Their work in the destruction of scale insects is also of 
 great importance, and frequently we find on a scale-infested tree 
 a large proportion with little round holes, showing where a para- 
 
 FiG. 445. 
 
 Fig. 444. 
 
 Trichogramma pretiosa, a parasite in insect eggs ; 
 dot may represent natural size. 
 
 Female Isosoma oviposit- 
 ing in stem of wheat. 
 
 site has emerged. It is a pity that in a family so generally useful 
 we should find, exceptionally, some injurious species ; but there 
 is no doubt that members of the genus Isosoma lay their eggs in 
 the stems of grasses, including wheat, and the larvae, working as 
 they do in the joints, have received the name "joint-worms." 
 The stem hardens where the larva punctures it, and this inter- 
 feres with the nourishment of the plant above that point, les- 
 sening or entirely preventing the formation or maturing of the 
 grain. There is but a single annual brood of these insects, and 
 the winter is passed in the straw, from which the adults emerge 
 in spring. In localities where this insect is sufficiently abundant 
 to make it necessary to use remedial measures, the utilization of 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 387 
 
 the straw during the winter will check injury to a great extent. 
 It is certain that some near allies of Isosoma and perhaps some 
 other genera of Chalcidids are, at least in part, vegetarians ; 
 but, so far as I am aware, none other has proved in any true 
 sense of the word injurious to cultivated crops. Hence, although, 
 especially in the central and western parts of the United States, 
 
 Fig. 446. 
 
 Isosoma iritici.—a, b, larva ; /, adult female ; g:, lore-wing ; h, hind wing ; other letters 
 are structural details. 
 
 the "joint-worm" may do some damage, yet it is so easily con- 
 trolled that it scarcely affects the value of the family as a whole. 
 
 The smallest of all our parasitic insects belong to the family 
 ProdotrypidcB , and even the largest of them would be ordinarily 
 considered as small insects. Among them we find the greatest 
 number of &%^ parasites. As compared with the Chalcidids, 
 these insects are rarely metallic in color, usually black or brown, 
 sometimes yellow, and much more slender in build ; the body longer 
 in proportion to the thickness. Their habits may be said to be in 
 general like those of the other parasites, and they are not easily 
 distinguished from them, except by the special student ; but they 
 rarely have the geniculated antennae described for the Chalcidids. 
 None of these Proctotrypids are injurious, so far as we know, or 
 feed on vegetable matter, though some are found in galls, appar- 
 ently parasitic upon the original gall-maker. 
 
 Taken as a whole, the parasitic Hymenoptera belonging to 
 
388 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the various families heretofore mentioned constitute one of 
 nature's means of keeping within bounds the insects of other 
 orders, and, indeed, the various parasites themselves. Not only 
 are the little creatures parasites upon almost all other insects, 
 but as a matter of fact they are parasitic even upon each other, 
 or hyperparasitic, so that it is a clear case of "dog eat dog." 
 
 Fig. 447. 
 
 Ceyaphron triticum, parasitic in wheal plant-louse. 
 
 They undoubtedly check injurious species, but also each other ; 
 in this way preserving a balance from year to year which keeps 
 all the forms at about the same relative level. Of course the 
 " hyperparasites," as the forms infesting the other parasitic 
 species are termed, are distinctly injurious from the agriculturist's 
 stand-point ; perhaps even more so than the forms actually feeding 
 on vegetation. 
 
 The question of making economic use of parasites belonging 
 to this order has been frequently discussed, but no practical 
 results have yet been obtained. Occasionally several species 
 attack a single host, and yet, withal, they seem to produce no 
 effect upon it in the long run. Even though we may breed out 
 of a lot of caterpillars more parasites than butterflies or moths, in 
 the season following the caterpillars will be just as abundant as 
 they were the year before. Just where the checks to parasite 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 389 
 
 increase come in is not entirely clear in all cases. Take, for 
 instance, the cabbage butterfly already spoken of. I have, in 
 collecting chrysalids in spring, found scarcely one in twenty that 
 was living, and from which I obtained a butterfly. All the others 
 produced parasites, chiefly the little Chalcidid already spoken of: 
 hundreds of them for every butterfly ! It would seem, then, as 
 if there were parasites enough here to attack every caterpillar 
 that hatched from the eggs of this first brood ; yet sornehow 
 they seem to be almost entirely free, and the butterflies increase 
 normally until after midsummer. It seems almost impossible, in 
 fact, to get a parasitized larva until August or September, and not 
 until we get the last brood of caterpillars do the parasites seem to 
 resume activity, after all the injury has been done to the cabbage 
 crop. Perhaps ninety per cent, of all the caterpillars will be 
 found infested at this time, and a mere fragment of the brood 
 comes to maturity the following spring. 
 
 We are unfamiliar with the complete life history of most of 
 these little species, and, indeed, a great many yet remain to be 
 described. It would be rash to say that we can never use them 
 for our own purpose, — that is, in checking injurious species ; but 
 if so, it is certain that we must know very much more about 
 them than we do at present. 
 
 A very curious creature sometimes found flying through open 
 woods is the Pelecimis polyturator, for which the family Pelecin- 
 idce has been established. The female is remarkable for the length 
 of its slender abdo- 
 men, each of the joints Fig. 448. 
 being almost as long 
 as the head and body, 
 and the entire insect 
 is sometimes nearly 
 four inches in length, 
 the abdomen alone 
 measuring more than 
 three. The insect is 
 so very odd and so 
 often noticed that it 
 
 is mentioned here to answer a frequently asked question as to 
 its character. It is not at all rare in some localities, but its habits 
 
 Pelecimis polytutator, male and female. 
 
390 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 are yet unknown to us. It is believed to be parasitic, but upon 
 what sorts of species no one has yet discovered. 
 
 The remainder of the order has been roughly classed as 
 Aculeate, or " stinging" forms, the majority of the species being 
 provided with an ovipositor modified into a sting like that of the 
 bee, having connected with it a more or less well-developed 
 poison-sac. From the fact that the sting is a modified ovipos- 
 itor, or egg-laying tube, it follows that it can be found in the 
 female only ; hence the males of bees and wasps of all kinds 
 have not the power of stinging, and may be safely handled. The 
 use of the sting varies in the different families, and this subject 
 will be further spoken of 
 
 One little group is separated off under the title " Tubulifera, " 
 and contains the single family Chysididce, bees of a brilliant 
 metallic blue and green, deeply punctured or pitted, and, as a 
 whole, of rather robust build. They are 
 ^' among the most beautiful of all the Hy- 
 
 nienoptera, are of fair size, and are peculiar 
 in the structure of the abdomen, which is 
 telescopic. From three to five segments 
 only are visible, the others being re- 
 tracted, but capable of a tube-like exten- 
 sion, at the end of which the minute sting 
 is situated. They have been called 
 "cuckoo-bees" from their habit of laying eggs in the nests of 
 other solitary bees and wasps. The larva is supposed to hatch 
 before the true owner of the food supply, and to devour the 
 store, leaving the other hapless baby to starve to death. Eco- 
 nomically, the species are of no importance, save as they form a 
 check to the increase of certain other bees and wasps. 
 
 Few insects are better known to the average observer than the 
 ants that are found everywhere : in our houses, in fields, in 
 woods, in the ground, under stones, in trees, in roots, and in all 
 other likely and unlikely places. They are abundant in temper- 
 ate countries, more rare to the northward, but become veritable 
 pests by their enormous numbers in the tropics. They have 
 many peculiarities of habit, and their development is remarkable 
 in certain directions. We find among them architects and 
 builders, agriculturists, masons, tailors, and many of the other 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 391 
 
 trades and professions are represented. We find communities 
 governed in some directions despotically by a queen, yet at the 
 same time forming the most perfect republic, in which every indi- 
 vidual has its rights firmly established and absolutely beyond the 
 control of the nominal head of the colony. We have organiza- 
 tions that make war, keep slaves, lay in stores, and provide for 
 contingencies ; they seem able to forecast the future in some 
 directions and intelligently provide for it. In other words, they 
 offer some of the most interesting problems that can possibly be 
 studied. It is unnecessary to waste words in describing the ap- 
 pearance of an ant, and it need only be said that all the true 
 ants are distinguished from the other Hymenoptera by the posses- 
 sion of one or more scales or nodes on the petiole or stalk of the 
 abdomen. We find also, in this series, the development of what 
 are known as " neuters," or workers, —that is to say, female indi- 
 viduals in which the sexual characters are not perfected, which 
 are incapable of reproduction, and whose function in the nest is 
 simply to perform the mechanical labor necessary to keep up the 
 colony. These workers have no wings, and in their appearance 
 and the relative proportion of the parts they frequently differ 
 considerably from their parents. There are sometimes several 
 forms of workers found in nests, differing from each other in the 
 development of certain parts for special purposes, but attention 
 will be called to these hereafter, where necessary. Though the 
 ants agree in their general habits and peculiar social organization, 
 yet no less than five different families have been recognized, 
 based upon structural characters, principally of the abdomen and 
 head. 
 
 The most numerous in species of these families, containing 
 most of our common forms, is the Formicidce , in which the 
 petiole is formed of a single joint only, and the abdomen is 
 smooth, without constriction between the segments. In this 
 family the "queens," or females, have no sting. They build 
 their nests in all sorts of localities. We find them commonly in 
 our fields; often in woods, where the large black "carpenter 
 ants" are the most prominent; while some occur under stones 
 or around the roots of trees. It would be easy to write a book 
 on ants alone, but necessarily our notes of them must be con- 
 fined here to the features of economic importance. And first 
 
392 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 let us have their general life history. In a colony of ants, how- 
 ever large, there is usually a single "queen," or female, the 
 
 nominal head of the estab- 
 FiG. 450. lishment, and she attends to 
 
 the business of laying the 
 eggs, which are white, cylin- 
 drical, and a little elongated. 
 They are taken in charge by 
 the workers, cared for, and 
 in about a month — the time 
 varying with the species — 
 helpless grubs are produced. 
 These are carefully tended 
 and fed, because absolutely 
 unable to help themselves, 
 are periodically cleaned and 
 moved about from place to 
 place in the nest, that they 
 may have the proper degree 
 of warmth and dryness or 
 moisture, and after about six 
 weeks of this coddling they 
 are full grown. Then they 
 either spin an oval cocoon, 
 in which they change to 
 pupae, or change directly 
 without forming such a cov- 
 ering. The cocoons are cared 
 for as tenderly as were the 
 larvcB themselves, and these 
 are what is usually known as 
 ' ' ants' eggs. ' ' They may be 
 found at midsummer, or thereafter, in almost any colony of ants, 
 and usually in the upper chambers of the nest, where they get a 
 full supply of warmth from the sun. The adults hatch from these 
 cocoons late in summer, and at once take part in the work of the 
 nest, so far as they are workers. Of the latter there may be 
 two forms, known as "worker minors," or small workers, and 
 " worker majors," or large workers, each with different duties. 
 
 Cremastogaster lineolata. — a, b, large 
 worker ; c, its head ; d, female ; <?, its wing ; 
 /", small worker. Family Formicidce. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 393 
 
 There are also two kinds of winged forms, males and females, 
 both larger than the workers, and the females considerably larger 
 than the males. All the insects work their way down to the 
 lower levels or inmost galleries of the nest on the approach of 
 cold weather, and hibernate in the adult stage in a dormant con- 
 dition. In spring, with the approach of warm weather, activity 
 is resumed, and, usually some time during the early part of the 
 season, on a particularly bright, warm day, the newly developed 
 males and females leave their old home and " swarm." By this 
 is meant that they leave the nest in which they were hatched and 
 fly about for a short time. They mate soon after, and are then 
 ready to start colonies of their own. None of them ever get 
 back to the old home, and if they do not succeed in founding a 
 " hill," they perish in the course of a day or two. Exactly how 
 the different species start their colonies is not known, but in some 
 cases, certainly, the impregnated female strips off her wings and 
 starts a small nest in some convenient place, doing the best she 
 can under 'the circumstances, and laying only a few eggs. These 
 she brings to maturity, and they are usually of the small or 
 "worker minor" type. When fully developed, these relieve 
 their parent from further mechanical work, increase the size of 
 the nest, and gather food as well as attend the young that are 
 still continually hatching. If circumstances favor, the nest grows 
 rapidly, and it may eventually become enormous in size, con- 
 taining millions of individuals, and ramifying for distances thg,t 
 we have not yet succeeded in following to the end. The life cycle 
 of all the ants has not been definitely determined as yet, but 
 ' ' queens' ' have been kept as long as seven years and workers for 
 three or four. The food of ants is variable, — sometimes animal, 
 sometimes vegetable, and quite usually both. The same species 
 may feed upon fragments of insects and other animal matter, a'nd 
 also upon plant tissue of various kinds. They are usually fond 
 of liquid food, especially if it is sweet, and some species gather 
 and store honey like the bees, although in quite a different man- 
 ner. In the more temperate parts of the United States ants 
 are only indirectly injurious, although they are never beneficial. 
 There is quite a common belief that ants destroy the plant-lice 
 among which they are frequently found ; but this is exactly con- 
 trary to the fact, for plant-lice play a very important and curious 
 
394 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 part in the economy of certain species of ants. As we learnt in 
 the chapter on plant-hce, these insects are furnished with a pair 
 of honey-tubes near the end of the abdomen, through which there 
 is excreted a sweet, almost transparent, liquid, of which the 
 ants are very fond. In many cases aphids live on the roots of 
 plants during the whole or a part of their life, and such species 
 are in nearly every instance carefully tended by ants. We may 
 find, on lifting up a large stone at the foot of a tree near the 
 edge of a wood, that all the little rootlets covered by it are clus- 
 tered as thickly as possible with plant-lice, and that around them 
 the earth has been carefully tunnelled out ; in other words, we 
 have the roots forming part of the nest system of an ant colony. 
 As the plant-lice increase in number, additional roots are laid 
 bare, and the young are transported to them that they may 
 always find an abundance of food. In return, the ants, whenever 
 the desire seizes them, call upon one or more of the aphids, and, 
 by touching them with their antennae, induce them to give up 
 a drop or two of their sweet secretion. Exactly how large a 
 proportion of the food of the ant colony this kind of material 
 forms is yet undetermined ; but certain it is that plant-lice con- 
 stitute a very important element in the supply of some species, 
 and fully represent our cattle for all ant purposes. 
 
 Little brown ants about three-sixteenths of an inch in length 
 occur very abundantly in the fields throughout almost all parts 
 of our country, building small underground nests. These ants 
 belong usually to the genus Lasuis, and may be found, especially 
 early in the year, on the leaves of all sorts of plants infested by 
 aphids. In melon and sweet potato fields they are often ex- 
 tremely abundant, and it is more than likely that they are active 
 in transporting from one plant to another the lice infesting these 
 particular crops. Of the Lasiiis bnmncus, we know that it tends 
 the corn-root louse, gathering the young larvae in the fall and 
 preserving them during the winter safe beyond the reach of any 
 natural enemies, colonizing them in spring uport the roots of corn 
 plants. Indirectly, therefore, these ants are decidedly injurious 
 through their relation to the plant-lice. Other species gather 
 plant-lice eggs and care for them during the winter, colonizing 
 the young upon proper food plants in spring. 
 
 We find certain other species making their hills in our lawns 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 395 
 
 and gardens, or in grass-plots, and they are sometimes decidedly 
 troublesome in such localities. Where this occurs, there is noth- 
 ing better for getting rid of them than bisulphide of carbon. Pour 
 a quantity into each of the openings of the disk or hill, closing 
 them up by stepping on each as it is treated. The fumes will 
 penetrate the chambers in every direction, and if a sufficient 
 amount has been used, will kill not only all the adults, but all 
 larvae as well. A single application is usually all that is necessary ; 
 but in a very large colony it may sometimes happen that the 
 farther chambers are not reached by the fumes, and that the nest 
 reappears near by ; rarely in the old spot. When that occurs, a 
 second treatment is tolerably certain to be effective. It has been 
 recommended that, to get the best results, holes be poked with a 
 stick into different parts of the hill, but I have not found this of 
 any great advantage. It has also been recommended that, after 
 pouring a considerable quantity — say three or four ounces — into 
 the main opening of the nest, the vapor be exploded by means 
 of a match held at the end of a stick. When this is done the 
 nest is completely wrecked, and the poisonous vapor is forced to 
 every portion of the galleries, so that escape is almost impossible ; 
 while larvse and pupae are buried so thoroughly that they can 
 never make their way to the surface, even if not killed by the 
 fumes. This is a very good method where a large nest is to 
 be dealt with ; but whoever attempts it must remember that the 
 vapor of the bisulphide is exceedingly inflammable, and must 
 make certain that he is far enough from the opening of the nest 
 to prevent being caught by the flash. Ants are never desirable 
 in a cultivated field ; they have no business there, and are cer- 
 tainly of no benefit to the farmer, even if they do not directly 
 feed upon plant tissue. 
 
 Wherever the corn-root louse is injurious, late fall ploughing 
 should be practised to destroy the nests of the ants. If the 
 ploughing be done before the ants have gone into winter-quarters, 
 they will either build a new nest sufficient for their purpose, or 
 will move with their belongings to a spot in which they are able 
 to winter ; so no good will be accomplished. If the ploughing 
 be deferred until frosty nights and cool days discourage activity, 
 the ants will be unable to repair damages, or will not have suffi- 
 cient time to re-establish themselves before they become torpid. 
 
396 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 The ploughing should be deep and as thoroughly done as pos- 
 sible, so as to not only disturb and break up the nests com- 
 pletely, but to scatter the plant-lice, eggs, or other material that 
 the ants may have gathered. By this simple means injury may 
 frequently be prevented during the year following. 
 
 Incidentally it has been mentioned that some species of ants 
 gather honey and store it ; and, curiously enough, instead of 
 building cells for its reception, as do the bees, a special form of 
 
 Fig. 451. 
 
 Honey-ants, Mynnecocystiis melliger, filled with honey. 
 
 worker is developed, with an unusually elastic crop and abdo- 
 men. These specimens are simply stuffed by the other workers 
 until they become of the size of a small cherry, utterly helpless 
 and incapable of motion. In this condition they cling to the 
 walls of the nest until, in the course of time, their stock is used up, 
 when they again resume activity. 
 
 Three of the other ant families to which reference has been 
 made contain no species of particular interest to the farmer, how- 
 ever interesting they may be to the student. 
 
 But in the family Myrmicidcs we again find species that are 
 numerous and of more or less importance to man. Here the 
 petiole of the abdomen is two-jointed, differing thus from the 
 other important family, Foi-micidce. Many of the species have 
 the sting well developed in workers and " queens," and are for- 
 midable creatures by reason of this weapon ; but not all our forms 
 are so furnished, as is known by those who have suffered from an 
 invasion of small red ants in houses. This little creature, Mono- 
 nion'um pharaonis, sometimes occurs in myriads, and nothing is 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 397 
 
 safe from it. Sugar is especially attractive, but almost anything 
 is attacked, nothing more readily than a bone from which the 
 meat has been roughly scraped, and which is yet a little bloody. 
 It seems impossible to get rid of these creatures, because they 
 avoid poisoned food and anything that has 
 the appearance of a trap. A few specimens Fig. 452. 
 
 may be killed, but very soon the character 
 of the mixture is recognized, and it is left 
 untouched. " Insect-powder" — pyrethrum 
 — is effective, but it is practically impossible 
 to get it everywhere, and the ants simply 
 avoid it. Carbolic acid and naphthalene are 
 both useful as repellents : the insects dislike 
 the odors intensely, and will not approach 
 these materials ; but while certain closets may Monomorium pharaotiis. 
 be protected in that way, the odors are not 
 particularly desirable near food products, and are as repugnant 
 to many persons as they can possibly be to the ants them- 
 selves. The simplest method, perhaps, is mechanical destruc- 
 tion, as follows : Where meat is used every day, the bones, or 
 some of them, should be cut out before it is cooked and placed 
 in a main line of insect travel. When they become thoroughly 
 covered with hundreds or even thousands of ants, the whole mass 
 should be thrown into the fire. If this process is repeated two 
 or three times a day, a few days in succession, the ants seem to 
 be seized with a panic, and usually abandon the house com- 
 pletely. Instead of bones, a sponge dipped in sugar water and 
 loosely pressed out may be used ; or, better yet, there should be 
 two sponges. The sweetened one should be placed where the 
 ants run, and the news of its presence will spread throughout the 
 entire house in a remarkably short time. When the first sponge 
 is entirely filled with ants, the second should be prepared in the 
 same way to replace the first, which is to be taken up and put 
 into boiHng water. This destroys the insects at once, and the 
 sponge can be washed out, again dipped in the sugar water, and 
 used to replace sponge number two when that is filled with in- 
 sects. Here the same effect is obtained : the insects are seized 
 with terror, and seem to realize the presence of a force that 
 they do not understand. The sudden lessening of their numbers 
 
398 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Strikes them with such horror that they abandon not only their 
 nest but the house itself. I have myself used this method on 
 two occasions, and have recommended it frequently to others ; 
 in every case with the best results. 
 
 To this family belong the so-called "agricultural ants" of 
 Texas and the Southwest, some species also occurring in Florida 
 and other parts of the Southern United States. These build im- 
 mense underground nests, and keep on the surface a cleared 
 space varying in diameter according to the size of the colony. 
 They cultivate grasses on these plots, of the seeds of which they 
 are especially fond, and which they store in their galleries. Their 
 food, in fact, consists mainly of seeds of various descriptions, 
 and these they gather from whatever plants there may be in the 
 vicinity. The insects are very abundant in some localities and 
 are great nuisances in cultivated fields, not so much from what 
 they actually destroy by eating, but from the fact that they tol- 
 erate nothing in their vicinity except what suits them. They 
 have no particular use for corn or cotton, and ruthlessly cut 
 down every stalk that encroaches on their domain. The only 
 substance that has been employed against them with any degree 
 of success is bisulphide of carbon, and this should be used in 
 quantities depending upon the size of the nest. In these cases 
 the vapor should be exploded in order to produce the best re- 
 sults. The nests extend for so long a distance underground that 
 the insects will not be reached otherwise, and when the material 
 has entirely evaporated, the galleries are again useful to them. 
 On the other hand, the explosion shatters the entire nest, and 
 the insects that escape in remote galleries are not likely to start 
 again on the same soil, unless the queen also has escaped. It 
 has been already indicated that such a nest is a complicated or- 
 ganization. It contains not only its owners with all their races 
 and castes, but frequently also slaves, — other species of ants that 
 have been conquered and stolen while in the larval or pupal 
 state, and which now perform all or a great portion of the manual 
 labor of the colonies. It often contains also not only plant-lice, 
 but coccids, which are cared for in the same way, and occasion- 
 ally other species of Homoptera, such as tree-hoppers. We 
 find, in addition, numerous species of insects that seem to take 
 the part of guests. Some of these are scavengers, and they evi- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 399 
 
 dently keep the nest clean and remove decaying particles ; others 
 may be of some use to the ants by excreting certain sweet sub- 
 stances which induce their toleration ; while yet others have no 
 use at all, so far as we can discover. Such are certain crickets 
 which are always found associated with ants, and certain cater- 
 pillars. What functions these insects have in the ant-hills is as 
 yet somewhat obscure. 
 
 In the tropics there are species that occasionally change their 
 camps, and are known as foraging ants. When the whim seizes, 
 or unknown causes determine them, they leave their nest, bag 
 and baggage, attended by all the insects that lived with them, 
 and start upon a march straight forward, destroying everything 
 that attempts to prevent their passage. A house or a village is 
 no barrier ; they pass through or over it, destroy every living 
 thing it contains, and devour all the provisions. The inhab- 
 itants of countries subject to these foraging expeditions, soon 
 learn to recognize their character, and immediately seek safety 
 in flight. The ants continue their march, and soon the house 
 or village can be reoccupied, with the certainty that, if all the 
 provisions have been cleared out, so also have all the vermin : 
 rats, mice, snakes, roaches, and similar creatures being all killed 
 and eaten. 
 
 The battles of ants have been described by more than one 
 author; but as this is the function of another kind of work, 
 nothing more will be said here about these very interesting 
 creatures. 
 
 Next in the orderly series come the Fossores, or ' ' digger- 
 wasps." Here the two normal sexes only are developed, and 
 they are solitary, — that is, they never form communities. They 
 often build their nests underground, preferring sandy spots ; but 
 the families vary much in this respect. The females are always 
 provided with a sting, which they use on slight provocation, and 
 they differ from the next family of true wasps by having the 
 wings always flattened and never longitudinally folded in repose. 
 Sometimes, instead of burrowing underground to form their cells, 
 they use the stems of pithy plants like alder and sumach, and 
 often nests are built of mud, in sheltered localities against houses, 
 barns, or other convenient places, or even attached to twigs o; 
 shrubs. 
 
400 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Fig. 453- 
 
 A velvet ant, Sphcer 
 ophthalma occiden 
 talis. 
 
 Occasionally we find, running on sandy spots, an insect that 
 looks like a large ant, very prettily colored and banded with 
 bright scarlet and black, rusty red or mottled yellow. If one of 
 these apparent ants be picked up, the result 
 is usually a surprise in the form of an enor- 
 mously long sting, for we really have a wing- 
 less "digger-wasp," which from its appear- 
 ance and habits has been called a "velvet 
 ant." Just what the breeding habits of these 
 Mutillidce are is not known, but they are sup- 
 posed to be parasites, or at least to lay their 
 eggs in the nests of other species of Hymen- 
 optera. There is considerable difference be- 
 tween the sexes, and the males are winged 
 even when the females are wingless, the wings 
 being usually blackish in color. 
 
 Another series of " diggers" belongs to the 
 family Scoliidce, and these may often be seen 
 quite early in the spring, flying close to the 
 surface of the ground, with a buzzing noise. Often they are 
 found visiting flowers, particularly the males, which are some- 
 times quite abundant when raspberries are in bloom. These in- 
 sects, so far as we know 
 their habits, lay their eggs 
 in underground larvae, 
 which are then devoured 
 by the young of the wasp. 
 The common "white 
 grub," the larva of Lack 
 nostcrna, is subject to the 
 attacks of one of these 
 species, Tiphia inornata, 
 a black wasp, rather sparingly clothed with fine white hair, and 
 sometimes attaining the length of three-fourths of an inch ; and 
 there are others that attack our injurious underground species of 
 all orders. 
 
 In the family Pompilida we have a series of rather stout, 
 black forms, quite frequently banded with red on the abdomen, 
 while sometimes the entire insects are more or less red. They 
 
 Fig. 454. 
 
 White-grub parasite, Tiphia inornata. — a, ima- 
 go; b, head of larva ; c, larva ; rf, cocoon. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 40 1 
 
 usually have a velvety appearance, or look as if they were cov- 
 ered with a whitish bloom, and the wings are also either black or 
 yellow, like the prevailing colors of the body. They lay their 
 eggs in spiders, which they bury, and in which the larvae de- 
 velop. Perhaps this is a good place to mention the fact that 
 these digger-wasps make use of their stings and the poison se- 
 
 FiG. 455- 
 
 Pepsis fonnosus , tarantula-hawk. 
 
 creted by them for preserving from decay and in a condition 
 suitable as food for their young the larvae, spiders, and other 
 insects upon which they feed. They sting their prey very care- 
 fully, in such a way as to paralyze and render it motionless, 
 while yet it does not die ; and the larvae, when they hatch, begin 
 feeding very carefully, so as not to kill their host until they them- 
 selves are sufficiently developed. The poison introduced seems 
 to simply suspend life, or rather allows it to go on without a 
 waste of tissue. Spiders of all kinds are attacked, and even the 
 fierce tarantula of the South and Southwest has its enemy in an 
 enormous species oi Pepsis known as the "tarantula-hawk." 
 
 Perhaps the most common forms belonging to this series are 
 those in which the abdomen ends in a small bulb-like structure 
 
 26 
 
402 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 connected with the thorax by means of a long stalk or pedicel. 
 These belong to the family Sphecidce, of which the majority 
 build their nests underground and provision them with spiders, 
 caterpillars, or other larvae. Others, known as " mud-daubers," 
 species of Pelopceiis, plaster their nests against out-houses, in all 
 
 sorts of corners and under all sorts of 
 l^iG. 456. shelters. They are sometimes built 
 
 singly, but usually in groups, and may 
 consist of either a shapeless mass of 
 mud, or may be regularly arranged, 
 often with ribbed sides. The insects 
 that build these nests are either metal- 
 lic blue, or black marked with yellow, 
 and here the pedicel connecting the 
 abdomen with the thorax is unusually 
 A mud-dauber, Peiopceus ^ ^^^ slender. The mud is carried 
 
 species. * _ 
 
 by the insect with its forelegs and jaws, 
 and is applied carefully, pellet by pellet, to the nest, until the 
 cells are completed. Then they are stored with some one kind 
 of insect as food for the larva. If the insect begins on caterpillars, 
 it continues to collect caterpillars, all of the same species, stinging, 
 as already described, so as to paralyze them, and then packs 
 them away in the cavity as closely as possible. Finally, when a 
 cell is full, an ^^^ is introduced ; and now, when the young wasp 
 hatches, it finds food in abundance at hand, and simply lives upon 
 this supply, taking one caterpillar after another, or one spider 
 after another, as the case may be. Some small species store their 
 nests with plant-lice. These insects are to be considered as de- 
 cidedly beneficial, and if the nests are sometimes unsightly and 
 the wasps themselves a nuisance, yet, taken all in all, they deserve 
 encouragement. The number of caterpillars destroyed by them 
 in the course of a season is enormous. I have counted thirty 
 canker-worms in a single cell, and have sometimes opened nests 
 in which there were an even greater number of small Tortricid 
 caterpillars. Any insects which destroy as many caterpillars as 
 do these wasps deserve our best consideration and should not 
 be wantonly destroyed. Another peculiarity to be noticed in 
 opening the nests is, that the insects, whether caterpillars or 
 spiders, are all of just about the same size, as if the mother had 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 403 
 
 exercised great care in portioning out the food to the best ad- 
 vantage. The adults may often be found on flowers, and when 
 the golden-rod is in bloom in late summer, some of our largest 
 and most attractive species, like Sphex ichnetunonea, make their 
 appearance in great abundance. 
 
 The allied "diggers" belonging to the Larridce have the 
 abdomen more closely joined to the thorax, and provision their 
 nests, which are made underground, with small grasshoppers. 
 The insects are not nearly so common or so numerous in species 
 as those previously mentioned, and are chiefly inhabitants of the 
 more southern States. 
 
 In the BembecidcB we have many large, brightly colored spe- 
 cies, some of which prey upon cicadas, stinging so as to render 
 them helpless, and carrying them off to their nests as provision 
 for their young. It is interesting to watch a specimen of Sphe- 
 cius speciosus when it has a large cicada to be transported. If 
 the insect is captured and 
 
 paralyzed upon a tree, the ' ^^'' 
 
 wasp drags it along the 
 branch to some convenient 
 point, and from it flies as 
 directly as possible towards 
 its nest. Sometimes its 
 strength is not sufiicient to 
 sustain the weight, and 
 then it is drawn gradu- 
 ally to the ground. In 
 such case it again drags the 
 insect to the top of some 
 convenient shrub or tree, 
 and makes another effort, 
 again flying as far as pos- 
 sible before allowing itself 
 to be pulled down, but always arranging matters so that it is able 
 to make a new start from an eminence. In other words, the wasp 
 is often unable to lift the cicada from the ground in direct flight, 
 but is able to drag it to an elevation sufficiently great to fly a con- 
 siderable distance before being drawn to the ground, and in this 
 way, after a time, it manages to reach its nest. These Bembecids 
 
 Sphecius speciosus carrying a cicada to its home. 
 
404 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 are quite numerous, and the abdomen is conical in shape, con- 
 nected with the thorax by a very short and slender neck, or 
 pedicel, more resembling the true wasps than any other of the 
 species that we have been considering. 
 
 There are several other families with similar habits, differing in 
 appearance to some extent, and varying in the character of the 
 insects used in storing their nests. Among the families contain- 
 ing the smaller species we find those types that burrow in pithy 
 plants and prefer small insects for provisioning- their nests : — 
 flies, plant-lice, and small spiders being the most usual supplies. 
 
 Taken as a whole, all the digger-wasps are useful insects, and 
 they require for food, in the course of a season, a very large num- 
 ber of specimens injurious to plant-life. 
 
 The ' ' true wasps, ' ' or Vespidcs, are distinguished from the 
 " diggers" by the fact that the fore-wings are folded longitudinally 
 when at rest, and this is a character easily seen and quite distinctive. 
 We have among them solitary and social forms, — the solitary 
 types so called because only the two normal sexes are present, and 
 because they do not live in colonies. There is a great variation 
 in habit, and we find species that bore in woody tissue, some 
 that inhabit pithy plants, some that burrow in the earth, and 
 
 others that make mud 
 nests. The mud nests 
 vary in form and are 
 often quite pretty, those 
 of E2imenes resembling 
 a jug or vase attached to 
 the twigs and stems of 
 plants. It is not always 
 possible to distinguish be- 
 tween the cells and nests 
 of the diggers and those 
 of the true wasps, and 
 practically it is a matter 
 of no importance, because 
 the habits of the insects are similar, — that is, they store their 
 cells with insects upon which their larvae feed. All solitary 
 wasps are beneficial, therefore, and should be encouraged by the 
 farmer. 
 
 Fraternal potter-wasp, Eumenes fralerna. — a, 
 wasp ; b, its cell ; c, same broken open to show the 
 caterpillars stored in it. 
 
Fig. 45S. 
 
 Fic. 459. 
 
 Fig. 461. 
 
 Fig. 458, a, larva; b, c, pupa, from beneath and side; e,f,g, structural details, of 
 Spheciiis spcciosus. Fig. 459, \s.x\?i.oi Sphecius specinsus feeding on cicada in its under- 
 ground burrow. Fig. 461, nest of Vespa maculate, just started. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 405 
 
 In the social wasps we find a step towards the organization 
 found in a beehive, sometimes well and sometimes very poorly 
 marked ; but in all cases, besides typical males and females, there 
 is a worker caste, which, as in the ants and bees, is composed of 
 sexually undeveloped females. Briefly stated, the history of 
 these wasps is about as follows : Males and females appear in 
 fall ; the females are impregnated and live through the winter in 
 such shelter as they are able to find ; in the spring, with the ap- 
 proach of warm weather and the opening of the flowers, the 
 females revive, and at once begin reproducing their kind. They 
 start a small nest of only a few cells, and lay eggs in them as soon 
 as they are well started. In a few days the larvae hatch; the 
 female increases the size of the cells and adds to them, and to her 
 other duties is now added the care of the newly hatched young 
 which must be fed and tended daily. In three or four weeks the 
 first larvae become full-grown, and the cells are then capped by 
 the mother. In this closed cavity the change to the pupa takes 
 place, and in due time an adult appears. This adult is a worker, 
 or undeveloped female, and at once begins to help the original 
 mother in the work of attending to the brood and increasing the 
 size of the nest. Until midsummer, at least, workers only are 
 produced ; but then, when the brood of workers is sufficient to 
 relieve the stem mother of all necessity for labor, eggs are laid 
 that produce sexually complete forms, — males and females, — which 
 generally issue during the first days of September. The old 
 female now dies, and when cold weather sets in the workers 
 and males also succumb, leaving only the impregnated new 
 females to live through the inclement season. Of course there 
 are many modifications of this general life history, and some colo- 
 nies become very much larger than others. In some instances 
 the cells seem to be used over and over again, and no more are 
 manufactured than is necessary to accommodate the brood. In 
 other instances it seems as if the cells are used only once, and 
 new ones are built for each individual larva. The locality in 
 which the nests are built also varies, although the general char- 
 acter of the comb, or cell, is nearly always the same. As a home, 
 some species, like the "yellow-jackets," select a little cavity un- 
 derground ; some, like the giant Vespa crabro, a hollow tree ; 
 some a favorable spot among the branches. Others build un- 
 
4o6 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 protected combs in the shelter of a projecting ledge of rock, or 
 under the eaves of houses, or even under fence boards ; while yet 
 others build their globe-shaped structures openly upon bushes, 
 and these are usually termed " hornets." The material of which 
 the nest is composed is a sort of wood-pulp paper. The insect 
 scrapes a small bit of wood-fibre from an exposed surface, mixes 
 it with saliva, kneads it into shape, and then, by means of the 
 mandibles and forelegs, spreads it in a thin layer and attaches it 
 to the surface at which the nest is to be started. Layer after 
 layer of fibre is added in this way until the nest is completed. 
 
 The enormous structures made by 
 the "white-faced" wasp, Vespa 
 macidata, are excellent examples of 
 what can be accomplished by num- 
 bers and persistence. As to feed- 
 ing habits, these social wasps are 
 usually predaceous, but they are 
 also fond of sweets, and may often 
 be found on flowers, gathering 
 «,u-. r A ,' ^ 1 , honey, or on ripe fruits, sucking 
 
 White-faced wasp, yespa viaculata. _ -' ' t- ' a 
 
 their juices. We also find them 
 occasionally in butcher-shops, and they have a fondness for 
 chewing into raw meat and lapping the blood. They feed their 
 larvae honey and other plant juices, and also the masticated frag- 
 ments of insects. That is to say, they prepare the animal food 
 by first chewing into a pulp before feeding it. 
 
 Two types of these wasps are common throughout the United 
 States, — the first rather slender, with a spindle-shaped abdomen, 
 and usually a more or less red-brown color, often marked with 
 yellow. These belong to the genus Polistcs, and they build their 
 paper combs openly, — that is, without any covering, and sus- 
 pended by a single, short, central stalk. The colonies rarely 
 become very large, but they are very numerous in most parts of 
 the country. 
 
 The true "wasps," or members of the genus Vespa, have the 
 abdomen cylindrical, squarely cut off where it joins the thorax, 
 and are very often contrastingly marked with white or yellow, 
 occasionally with red or brown on a black ground. These are 
 the "hornets" and "yellow-jackets," and their colonies some- 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 407 
 
 times become of enormous size, many hundreds of individuals 
 being found in a single nest in the latter part of the season. 
 Durability is not looked for by the insects, and the winter storms 
 and snows disintegrate the paper structures, so that in spring it 
 is rarely possible to find them, however abundant they may have 
 been during the summer previous. 
 
 Wasps are beneficial, as a whole, since they feed largely upon 
 other insects and never directly upon crops. They are a nui- 
 
 FiG. 463. 
 
 Nest of Polistcs ^allicola. 
 
 sance sometimes in the orchard, where they are apt to attack all 
 fruits that show the least trace of injury or decay, and they have 
 been accused, as, indeed, have the bees as well, of actually punct- 
 uring juicy specimens to get at the liquid contained in them. 
 Some of the species are undoubtedly useful in pollenizing fruit 
 flowers, but there are none of pre-eminent advantage in this di- 
 rection. 
 
 The last family in the order contains the bees, and these, as in 
 the wasps, may be either social or solitary. The solitary bees 
 are those in which male and female only are developed, and their 
 habits in nest-building resemble in many cases those of the 
 wasps. Thus, we have species that build in the ground, those 
 that make cells in the pith of plants, others that are true carpen- 
 ters and bore tunnels in solid wood, and, in short, we may find 
 bee homes in much the same situation that we find wasp domi- 
 ciles. Their cells may be distinguished, however, in all cases by 
 
4o8 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the fact that they are stored with a mixture of pollen and honey, 
 or honey or pollen alone, instead of with insects, and it is this 
 habit of collecting pollen that makes the bees so highly useful to 
 the farmer, by their incidentally poUenizing the flowers from 
 which the material is gathered. There are several interesting 
 structural modifications in the bees to facilitate the work of gath- 
 ering both pollen and honey, and, incidentally, of accomplishing 
 pollination to the best advantage. Thus, the clothing, instead 
 of being composed of simple cylindrical processes, is com- 
 posed, in large part, at least, of bristly, plumose or twisted 
 hair, — that is to say, each hair is furnished with little spurs, 
 or long, slender branches, making it resemble a plume under 
 the microscope. Or it may be twisted like a screw, or fur- 
 nished with a knob at the tip. The result is, that as the insects 
 move over the flowers, the pollen grains adhere to the vestiture, 
 and this also accounts for the fact, probably noticed by every ob- 
 servant fruit-grower, that bees frequently bury themselves com- 
 pletely in the blossoms, or roll over every part of them. Such 
 insects are after pollen, not honey, and by so rolling about the 
 pollen grains are brought into contact with and adhere to the 
 surface of the insect. Incidentally, also, as soon as the bee flies 
 from one flower to another, and repeats this operation, a sufficient 
 number of pollen grains from the first flower adhere to the stigma 
 of the second and pollenize it ; while in flying from one tree to 
 another, cross-pollination is accomplished. The flowers visited 
 in this way by a single bee are very numerous. When a honey- 
 bee becomes more or less covered with pollen, it cleans itself by 
 means of specialized structures on the legs, which enable it to 
 literally comb out its entire body covering. The masses of pol- 
 len gathered in that way are then rolled into a lump and fastened 
 to the upper side of the posterior tibia, where lateral fringes of 
 long hair hold it in place and actually form a basket. These 
 combing arrangements are situated on the first joint of the hind 
 tarsi, which is broadened for that purpose in the social bees, and 
 is usually much longer than the other tarsal segments. Some 
 bees have pollen baskets not only on the tibia, but on the femur 
 and coxa as well, and occasionally the whole posterior portion of 
 the thorax and the space between the thorax and abdomen is 
 utilized to store the pollen masses. Sometimes the under side of 
 
Fig. 464. 
 
 A plate of bees.— a, Melissodes bimaculatus ; h, Andrena vicina : c, Caelioxys 8-dentata: d, 
 Halictus ligatus : e , Synhalomia atriventris ; f, Osmia rustica; g, Andrena erigenicB : h, Melis- 
 sodes nigripes : i, Megachile tnendica ; k, Xenoglossa prunina ; I, Tachytes mandibularis ; m, 
 Megachile latimanus. All rather more than twice natural size. 
 
" — ^ 
 
 
 ''■J ■/■.C>'. ' ^* =i^*^ 
 
 409 
 
4IO 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 the abdomen contains the pollen-gathering structure, — that is to 
 say, the segments of the abdomen are furnished with brushes of 
 long, twisted or knobbed hair, and all the pollen gathered by the 
 
 Fig. 468. 
 
 Fig. 469. 
 
 Modifications of tlie hind legs of different bees.— .4, Apis: a, wax cutter and outer 
 view of leg ; b, inner aspect of wa.x cutter and leg ; c, compound hairs ; d, anterior leg, 
 showing antennal scraper. B, Melipona : /, peculiar group of spines at apex of tibia ; 
 g-, inner aspect of wax cutters and first joint of tarsus. C, Botnbus : h, wax cutter; 7, 
 inner view of same and first joint of tarsus ; all enlarged. 
 
 insect is stored among it, ready for transportation to the nest. 
 Pollen, however, forms only one portion of the food of the larva, 
 and it must be mixed with honey to form " bee bread" of a proper 
 
 composition. This honey is also 
 gathered from flowers, and the 
 mouth parts are modified to this 
 especial end. 
 
 We have two series of bees dis- 
 tinguished by the character of the 
 mouth parts, — the short-tongued 
 and the long-tongued, — both of 
 which may be either solitary or 
 social. The short-tongued bees 
 have the lower lip modified into a bladder-like structure, more 
 or less pointed at the tip, and set with regular rows of short hair 
 or flattened processes, an ideal tongue for gathering up the liquid 
 nectar and bringing it into the mouth. Many of these bees are 
 diggers, and build their nests in the ground, usually forming a 
 single vertical burrow from which lateral branches diverge into 
 
 Abdomen of Megaclulr fitted for 
 gathering pollen. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 411 
 
 Fig. 470. 
 
 small cells, each containing a supply of food sufficient for 
 single larva. The mother bee constructs a cell, fills it with 
 mixture of pollen and honey, and 
 lays an o.^^ in it. Then she closes 
 up the chamber, and her work as 
 to this particular larva is com- 
 pleted. When the ^^^ hatches, 
 the larva finds a food supply im- 
 mediately at hand sufficient to 
 bring it to maturity. When it is 
 fully grown it changes to a pupa, 
 and eventually to an adult, which 
 then makes its way from the earth- 
 en home into the sunlight. The 
 mother bee having completed one 
 cell, at once begins the construc- 
 tion of another, and thus the 
 work is continued until the supply 
 of eggs is exhau-sted. The open 
 face of sand- or clay-banks is a 
 favorite place for these insects, and 
 sometimes they build their nests 
 together in great numbers. 
 
 The long-tongued bees are so 
 called because the ligula or glossa 
 is extended into a flexible ribbon- 
 like structure, ringed but not seg- 
 mented, set with circles of long 
 hair, and frequently tipped with a 
 little button-like structure. This 
 enables the insect to reach the 
 honey in deep flowers like the 
 clovers, and in fact there are only 
 certain bumble-bees with a tongue 
 long enough to reach the nectaries 
 of the red clover flowers ; hence 
 
 they are entirely dependent upon these for pollination. Destroy 
 the bumble-bees, and no red clover-seed can be obtained. It is a 
 suggestive fact that in many localities where ruthless war is waged 
 
 Burrow of .-Jwif/vv/a, show iiij; cells in 
 order of completion ; the first at a, the 
 last aty, in which an egg has just been 
 laid. 
 
412 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 against bumble-bees, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain 
 clover-seed, and for this particular purpose those insects should 
 be carefully cherished. They are sometimes a nuisance when in 
 the course of mowing or reaping a nest is disturbed, but the 
 slight annoyance then caused scarcely warrants the complete de- 
 struction of the nest which so uniformly follows. The farmer 
 who destroys every nest of bumble-bees on his land destroys a 
 series of insects than which none are more useful to him, particu- 
 larly if he raises fruit or has any desire to obtain red clover-seed. 
 The long-tongued bees may be either social or solitary, and 
 there is no superficial character known to me "by which the solitary 
 bees can be readily distinguished from the social forms, except by 
 the presence of the wax-producing organs in the latter. The 
 habits of the bees differ greatly: some are cuckoos, some have been 
 supposed to be parasitic, while the majority are undoubtedly 
 honest workers and provide decently for their families. Many of 
 them, as has been already stated, are carpenters, and some of them 
 are tailors or upholsterers as well, — that is to say, after having 
 bored out the wooden tunnel in which the family is to be raised, 
 the cells are constructed of leaf fragments. Rose leaves or those 
 of other plants of the family Rosacecs are frequently noticed with 
 circular or semicircular pieces cut from the edges. This is done 
 by a bee of this tribe, usually a Megachile, and these little frag- 
 ments are used in constructing a somewhat thimble shaped cell. 
 When one of them is completed it is filled with pollen and honey 
 and an o.^^ is laid in it ; then another is built on top of it, and so 
 on until the burrow is completely filled. As the undermost 
 specimen matures first, it bores to the surface through a hole at 
 the end, to avoid the necessity of working its way through all its 
 younger relatives above it. The largest of our carpenters is the 
 Xylocopa virginica, which is generally mistaken for a Bombiis, 
 being fully as large, as robust, and colored yellow and black, 
 with a metallic blue reflection on the abdomen ; but the head is 
 very much broader than in any bumble-bee, and equal to the 
 width of the thorax itself The eyes also are larger and white 
 or yellowish in color, distinguishing the insect at once from true 
 Bombus. This species makes galleries half an inch in diameter 
 in the solid wood, and raises a considerable family in the course 
 of the year. The partitions between the cells are made in this 
 
Fig 471. 
 
 Mouth of bumble-bee.— The flexible tongue central, flanked by the long palpi; the lateral 
 
 parts are the maxillae. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 413 
 
 case of little chips of wood cemented together. They are very- 
 common and sometimes troublesome where they make their 
 
 galleries in the wood of piazzas and out-buildings of country 
 houses. Nothing will be gained by giving detailed descriptions 
 of these solitary bees, since their general habits are practically 
 
414 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 alike, and it need only be said that all are useful and none are 
 in any true sense of the word injurious. 
 
 The social bees are among the most interesting of all the 
 insects, yielding only to the ants in the perfection of their colo- 
 nial organization. The domesticated honey-bee, Apis niellifica, 
 may be accepted as the type of the highest development in this 
 family. Here we have in each hive a queen, or fully developed 
 female, who is often, under normal conditions, the mother of 
 every individual contained in it. She does not labor, is carefully 
 tended by workers who provide for all her wants, and her only 
 function is to supply a sufficient quantity of eggs for the brood- 
 cells. The comb made by the hive-bee is so universally known 
 that no time need be wasted in describing it ; nor is it important 
 to say just how the wax is produced, save to state that it is 
 excreted by special glands on the under side of the abdomen of 
 the workers in plate-like masses. These are gathered together, 
 kneaded by the jaws, and placed in position on the comb. These 
 waxen cells are used either as cradles for the young or for storing 
 the honey against such time as no food can be obtained ; for, 
 unlike the bees previously spoken of, the whole colony lives 
 through the winter, and requires a certain amount of food to 
 maintain it until work can be resumed the spring following. Of 
 these storing habits man has made use ; but there are a number 
 of wild species belonging to other genera than Apis that have 
 similar tendencies. The life in a hive proceeds something as 
 follows : the workers, who are the real rulers, determine about 
 how many young should be raised during the season, and build 
 the proper number of brood-cells, making three distinct sizes. 
 The smaller are intended for workers, which here, as elsewhere 
 in the Hymenoptera, are simply undeveloped females ; the 
 larger are to contain males or drones ; while a very few, irregular, 
 somewhat flask-shaped cells are plastered at the sides of the 
 combs, and are intended for new queens or perfect females. The 
 queen lays an &'g^ in each of the brood-cells, and never makes a 
 mistake in its character. She lays drone eggs in the drone cells, 
 and drones only are produced from them. In the worker cells 
 workers only are matured, while in the queen cells fully developed 
 females are raised. It is interesting to note that the insects have 
 the matter of sex under perfect control, and it is believed that 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 
 
 415 
 
 the eggs producing drones are not fertilized : this matter being 
 under direct volition of the female. The larvae are carefully fed 
 by the workers, and each variety receives a different kind of 
 "bread," especially prepared for it. The workers are fed on 
 what seems to be best adapted for them ; the drones receive 
 another kind ; while the future queens live on a specially prepared 
 product, or " royal food," supposed to be much richer in nitroge- 
 nous materials. When the larvae are full-grown, the cells are 
 capped and the pupae form inside of them. In due time the 
 adults issue, either drones or workers. In the former case they 
 idle about, doing nothing, except to find food for themselves. In 
 the latter case they at once assume their full share of the duties 
 of the hive, gathering honey or pollen, or attending to whatever 
 else is to be done. Of course, by this continuous increase the 
 hive soon becomes overcrowded, and then the question arises. Is 
 the colony in condition to stand a swarm ? If the store combs 
 are tolerably well supplied, and everything is running smoothly, 
 the question is decided in the affirmative, and arrangements are 
 made to have a portion of the inhabitants leave it. Meanwhile 
 the queen larvae have continued to develop, and are now ready 
 to assume the adult form. When this period arrives, the ruler 
 of the hive becomes uneasy, and does her best to get at the 
 queen cells to kill her maturing rivals. If the workers have 
 decided that they need a swarm, she is kept from doing mischief 
 and they simply block her way. When the new females have 
 issued, every effort is made to prevent a meeting between the 
 young and old, or even between the young queens, if there is 
 more than one. With the new queen or queens fully developed, 
 and a larger number of workers than can be readily accommo- 
 dated, the members of the hive become uneasy, cease work, and, 
 from the noise, appear to be holding a caucus, which finally 
 results in a considerable proportion leaving the hive under the 
 leadership of either the old or one of the new queens. This is a 
 " swarm," and it flies a longer or shorter distance before it settles 
 in a solid mass, usually surrounding the queen. If the swarm 
 is not hived at once, the bees sooner or later find a hollow tree 
 or other cavity, where they start a colony ; but if the insects are 
 under the care of a proper keeper, the indications are noted, and 
 when the swarm leaves the hive it is induced to alight near by, 
 
4i6 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 either through a jet or spray of water directed upon it, or by- 
 beating tin pans or making some other noise. When the swarm 
 has settled, the bees can be shaken into a receptacle, and if the 
 queen is contained in the mass, as she usually is, they make 
 themselves at home readily in any hive to which they may be 
 transferred, especially if it contains a small supply of food or a 
 piece of comb, full or empty. Work is then started at once, and 
 the colony is soon in full swing. From a sound colony there may 
 be several swarms in the course of a season ; but if times have been 
 bad and the bees have not increased sufficiently to warrant it, 
 there is no swarming, and nothing is placed in the way of the old 
 queen to prevent her from killing her immature rivals, unless, 
 indeed, the bees decide that she is worn out and incapable of 
 supplying a sufficient quantity of eggs, in which case they permit 
 one or more young queens to come to maturity and let them 
 fight it out. The victress remains queen of the hive, and if it is 
 the young female, the inhabitants transfer their allegiance to her 
 without question, and serve her as faithfully as they did their 
 original ruler. If by any chance the bees lose their queen, and 
 have no royal larvae, they take worker eggs or very young 
 larvae, and by proper care and feeding make queens of them : 
 royalty in this case being a mere matter of diet. 
 
 As to the practical part of bee-keeping, and the details neces- 
 sary, there are many books especially written to give that infor- 
 mation, and it forms no part of the purpose of the present treatise. 
 The object here has been to give merely a sufficient insight into 
 the working of the hive to indicate the use that is made of the 
 pollen and its importance in the economy of bee life. It is the 
 necessity of having food for the larvae that keeps the insects 
 constantly at work and makes them so effective as poUenizers. 
 Visiting, as they must do, a great number of flowers to obtain 
 sufficient pollen for a load, they call at many trees, often far 
 apart and of different varieties, securing the cross-pollination so 
 necessary to many plants. They usually visit one kind of flower 
 only, and I have tested several specimens by microscopic investi- 
 gation, finding always one form of pollen only. 
 
 Bumble-bees have been already mentioned, and resemble in 
 their economy somewhat the hive-bee, save that here, as in the 
 wasps, the colony, excepting only the fully developed females, 
 
Fig. 473. 
 
 Our common bumble-bees.-a, Xylocopa virginica ; b, Bombus fervidus ; c, B. consimihs ; d B. 
 virginicus ; e, B. americanorum (queen) ; /, B. fervidus; g, B. americanorum (worker), to show 
 pollen m.ss on hind tibia; h, B. vagans ; i, Apathus elatus. All somewhat more than natural 
 size. 
 
THE INSECT WORLD. 417 
 
 dies each year. We see early in the spring, when the fruit- 
 trees are in bloom, many specimens droning about on the 
 flowers, but often also along road -sides, especially where there is 
 a declivity ; or in fields where there are a few rocks, or where 
 there are holes in the ground. There we often notice an indi- 
 vidual buzzing over one spot for several minutes at a time, 
 apparently subjecting it to the closest kind of examination. This 
 is indeed what the insect is doing : she is seeking a place to 
 start a home. This she finds in an abandoned mouse-hole, or 
 other cavity in the ground, and here begins her nest, lining it 
 with moss, with fragments of leaves or grass, or with whatever 
 may be most convenient. Then she gathers a mass of pollen, 
 upon which a number of eggs are laid. No comb is built ; but the 
 larvae, when they hatch, burrow into the pollen mass, to which the 
 mother adds constantly as necessity requires. When full-grown 
 each forms a smooth cavity, which it lines with a silken cocoon 
 and changes to a pupa. The cocoon is strengthened from the 
 outside by the mother, with wax, and in due time we have a little 
 brood of worker " bumbles" resembling their parent in all except 
 size and the incomplete sexual development. Not until after mid- 
 summer does the queen, reinforced by the workers which she has 
 raised, lay eggs that produce males and females, and these are fed 
 upon food gathered by the workers. The old female dies when the 
 new brood of sexually complete individuals has hatched. The 
 latter mate, and the workers and males also die on the approach of 
 cold weather, leaving only the now impregnated females to survive. 
 Taken altogether, the order Hymenoptera contains insects that 
 are decidedly beneficial to the farmer. The first series only, to 
 which the "saw-flies" and the "borers" belong, are injurious, 
 and these may always be recognized by the fact that the abdomen 
 joins the thorax by its whole width, instead of being fastened 
 simply by a stalk or petiole. Of course, the ants are sometimes 
 troublesome and indirectly injurious, but, as a whole, the species 
 are so overwhelmingly beneficial that the order deserves to be 
 encouraged in every way possible. Bees, wasps, and hornets 
 are particularly desirable inhabitants of a locality, and in a quiet 
 way do much to destroy injurious insects, — as much, perhaps, as 
 the parasites which also belong to the order ; while the bees of all 
 kinds are simply indispensable to the fruit-grower as poUenizers. 
 
 27 
 
PART III. 
 
 INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND 
 MACHINERY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PREDACEOUS INSECTS, PARASITES, AND FUNGOUS DISEASES. 
 
 It has appeared throughout this book that, while we have a 
 great many insects that are feeders upon vegetation, there are 
 also a great number that are predaceous upon the herbivorous 
 forms, and yet many others that are parasites, living upon or 
 within others of the same class. It is a tempting proposition 
 that we may, perhaps, be able to array the forces of nature 
 against each other ; that we may keep predaceous forms, and set 
 them free at the proper season to feed upon those injurious to 
 farm crops. I say it is a tempting proposition, and it looks 
 feasible, but that it should be successful involves a great deal 
 more than is apparent at first glance. In the course of the ages 
 through which this world has existed there has been gradually 
 established, by the influence of surroundings, a certain ratio be- 
 tween all existing life, vegetable and animal. There is a struggle 
 among the plants themselves as to which shall keep the ground, 
 and upon the plants feed animals, including insects, which form 
 a factor in determining the relative abundance of the different 
 species. With the development of the plants their enemies also 
 have developed, and always in proportion to the amount of injury 
 that the plant can stand. That this must be so is evidenced by 
 the fact that the plants exist at all. One of nature's ways of pre- 
 venting" the plant-feeding insects — for we will confine our re- 
 marks to insects from this point on — from obtaining control of 
 and exterminating the plants is to provide enemies of various 
 418 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 419 
 
 kinds for them. These enemies in turn must be checked, that 
 they may not exterminate the species they themselves feed upon. 
 Thus there has been estabhshed, gradually and naturally, an 
 elaborate system of checks and counterchecks, by means of 
 which a certain proportion is maintained year in and year out 
 between predaceous, parasitic, and plant feeding insects. Under 
 perfectly natural conditions this ratio does not change much from 
 year to year, and there is no preference on the part of nature for 
 one class as against any other. Any interference with this estab- 
 lished course is almost certain to be disadvantageous in some 
 directions, and man, in his dealings with natural conditions, has 
 persistently created for himself a series of troubles arising from 
 his own acts. By planting large areas of one crop, he has fa- 
 vored the increase of the insects feeding upon that crop. -By cul- 
 tivating the land, keeping it cleared of rubbish, stones, sticks, 
 and the like, he has destroyed the shelter needed by predaceous 
 insects, and the result is that he has in two ways given those in- 
 sects, which he now calls injurious, an advantage. The conse- 
 quences, of course, are against him ; and so long as these condi- 
 tions continue, favoring one class at the expense of another, man 
 must suffer, unless he himself fulfils the functions previously as- 
 signed to the predaceous forms. True parasites have not been 
 so much influenced by his actions, and the species, perhaps, 
 suffer as much from them as they ever did ; but the natural 
 checks in operation against the parasites also continue, and 
 while, perhaps, they have increased somewhat in number, they 
 have not been able to make up for the loss of the predaceous in- 
 sects. Furthermore, the feeders upon vegetation suffered also 
 from the attacks of insectivorous animals, like toads, frogs, and 
 snakes among the reptiles, and many small animals and birds, 
 which now also find life insupportable among the artificial condi- 
 tions. The result is that there has been an actual increase in the 
 number of specimens of injurious insects, and their parasites bear 
 somewhat less than their original ratio to them, — that is, each 
 year a certain proportion or percentage of a brood is destroyed 
 by its parasites, and this percentage it is beyond our present 
 power to change to our advantage. In other words, the farmer 
 cannot, except in isolated instances, count upon parasites or 
 natural enemies of any kind to keep down injurious insects. 
 
420 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Even though in each year a certain species may be, in the long 
 run, controlled by its parasite, this does not necessarily help the 
 farmer. Let us take, for instance, the cut-worms that are so 
 abundant each year. If we gather from an infested field two or 
 three hundred specimens, we find that anywhere from fifty to 
 seventy-five per cent, of them are parasitized. This looks like a 
 huge destruction ; but when we consider that the parasites do 
 not, as a rule, afiect the larvae until they have done all their 
 feeding, what benefit has the farmer derived ? What difference 
 does it make whether the cut-worm that destroys his plants is 
 parasitized or not ? At the end of the season we may note that 
 twenty-five per cent, only of the cut-worms develop into moths : 
 half of those may be males, and the remainder are females which 
 will each lay anywhere from three to five hundred and some- 
 times more than one thousand eggs ; amply sufficient to pro- 
 duce in the next brood fully as many caterpillars as existed in 
 the beginning ! Let us further take the case of the cranberry 
 Teras as an illustration. The first brood, early in the season, 
 has scarcely any parasites ; the second brood, in mid-summer, 
 is parasitized to the extent of nearly fifty per cent. ; while from 
 the third brood, in the fall, we get fully seventy-five per cent, 
 of parasites to twenty-five per cent, of moths. Yet, notwith- 
 standing this enormous increase of the parasites in the course 
 of the season, some combination of circumstances destroys so 
 many of them during the winter that in the spring following 
 the first brood is again almost free from attack ; and thus it 
 goes, year after year. The action of the parasite is only to keep 
 its host within a certain fairly well defined limit, and if that 
 limit is at a point where the host becomes injurious to the farmer, 
 he must himself take a hand in its destruction to derive any 
 benefit. I do not mean, in anything I say here, to lessen the 
 claims of parasitic and predaceous insects to our consideration. 
 They have an extremely important function in nature, and with- 
 out them there would be no possibility of an existing vegetation. 
 But, on the other hand, it is just as certain that unless there was 
 some check imposed upon the multiplication of parasites, etc., 
 they would in a short time destroy the insects that they feed 
 upon, and the destruction of their host would, logically, carry 
 with it their own destruction. Nature never works in that way : 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 421 
 
 her effort is always to give all her creatures an equal chance to 
 exist. 
 
 Man has further disturbed the natural conditions by introducing 
 into new countries insects that have become adapted to the sur- 
 roundings in others. Sometimes an insect so introduced does 
 not find the new circumstances to its liking ; but, on the other 
 hand, it may find them very much better than those under which 
 it was originally developed. In such cases we get a multiplica- 
 tion out of all proportion to the normal habit of the species, and 
 there may be such a thing as the destruction of the plants that 
 they feed upon. Let us take, for instance, the elm-leaf beetle, 
 introduced into this country many years ago, and apparently 
 without natural enemies suitable for its control. The circum- 
 stances which it finds here are so much to its liking that, if 
 allowed to increase unchecked by the efforts of man, it may in 
 the course of time destroy all the European elms in the regions 
 infested by it ! 
 
 The whole object is to show that, since man has introduced 
 artificial conditions, he must bear the burden of the change 
 caused by them ; and if this means that there are certain injurious 
 insects feeding upon the plants he wishes to grow for his own 
 benefit, he must replace by his own efforts those natural checks 
 which he has removed by the artificial conditions introduced. 
 Those efforts on his part consist in the adoption of measures to 
 prevent increase, or to destroy the injurious insects by means 
 of poisons or otherwise, and this subject will be considered in 
 another chapter. 
 
 A fascinating theory in connection with this subject is the pos- 
 sibility of importing parasites or predaceous forms from other 
 countries for the destruction of pests here. This leaves out of 
 consideration the fact that it would require a readjustment of 
 matters to induce foreign parasites to feed upon American insects, 
 and it has never been proved that such a thing is possible within 
 a reasonable period of time. The case of the Australian Vedalia, 
 imported to prey upon the fluted scale, Icerya purchasi, is fre- 
 quently cited as an example of what can be done, but always 
 without considering the fact that we had an imported insect to 
 deal with in the first place, which increased abnormally in our 
 country because of the fact that its enemies were not brought 
 
42 2 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 in with it. Wlien this AustraUan insect enemy was introduced, 
 it found nothing that it recognized except the Icerya, and, in 
 consequence, devoted itself entirely to that species, totally sup- 
 pressing it in a short time. All that was done here was to re- 
 store the balance of nature, because the scale insect is a tolerably 
 rare species in Australia, owing to the number of its enemies. 
 Nothing can be argued from this case as to the possibility of in- 
 troducing foreign species to control strictly American pests with 
 which they are not acquainted. An effort was made in this 
 direction in Virginia, the object being to import European enemies 
 of bark-borers to check the invasion which seemed to threaten 
 the forests of that State. The utmost that can be said for the 
 experiment is that the imported insects have not quite died out, 
 and that occasionally one is seen out of many hundreds brought 
 in. But, on the other hand, the invasion which they were im- 
 ported to check has been disposed of by nature herself, an 
 unusually severe winter destroying the pests so completely that, 
 instead of being abnormally abundant, they have become almost 
 rarities. We can frequently do good where we have imported 
 insects, or insects occurring also in other countries, by finding 
 and introducing their parasites ; but it seems rather an Utopian 
 scheme to train predaceous insects of other countries to feed upon 
 our native species with which they are not acquainted. 
 
 The subject of fungous or contagious diseases of insects is an 
 interesting one, but which must be dismissed here with a brief 
 reference only. We know that insects often suffer from disease, 
 and that epidemics sometimes occur among them, destroying 
 myriads. Some of these diseases have been studied, and elab- 
 orate attempts have been made, chiefly in Kansas and Illinois, 
 to make use of them practically. The chinch-bug has been the 
 insect most experimented upon ; and while it has been demon- 
 strated that it is possible to cultivate the disease and to infect pre- 
 viously healthy bugs with it, it has also developed that the 
 disease demands certain definite conditions of climate and 
 atmosphere for its own propagation. Thus, dry, warm weather 
 is unfavorable for the growth of the disease, while it favors the 
 multiplication of the bugs ; but moist or wet weather, which re- 
 tards development in the bugs, favors the disease. Until we can 
 control climatic conditions, or otherwise secure the intelligent 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 423 
 
 co-operation of the weather, our results are Hkely to be uncertain. 
 Nevertheless, there may be great possibilities in this direction, 
 and in the minute organisms requiring a powerful microscope to 
 make them even visible we may yet find our most effective help 
 in checking destruction by insects. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FARM PRACTICE TO PREVENT INSECT ATTACK. 
 
 Throughout this work reference has been frequently made 
 to methods of ordinary farm practice for preventing insect attack. 
 It is desirable to look a little closely into this subject, and to 
 detail somewhat the methods that may be resorted to with good 
 effect. Prevention is always better than cure, and very frequently 
 serious injury may be averted by doing ordinary farm work at 
 just the right time, or in exercising care in the selection of fer- 
 tilizers or in the rotation of crops. 
 
 Far above everything else is cleanliness on the farm, and this 
 term is to be construed as strictly as possible. Cleanliness means 
 clean culture ; the destruction of weeds ; the removal of crop 
 remnants as soon as the crop is done ; picking up and destroy- 
 ing dropped fruit in orchards ; removing, burning up, or other- 
 wise destroying all rubbish that cumbers the ground in winter ; 
 keeping buildings painted or whitewashed in good shape. Allow 
 no rubbish, weeds, or shrubbery to grow among the fences, and 
 in all other respects leave the farm as nearly bare as possible 
 of everything save what strictly belongs there. The object of all 
 this is to do away with possible hiding-places for insects during 
 the winter, and to prevent their reaching maturity during the 
 summer. A large proportion of insects live through the winter 
 in the adult stage, or in the partly grown condition, and a great 
 many of them hide under rubbish. Sometimes they get just a 
 short distance below the surface of the ground among the roots ; 
 sometimes they crawl into crevices offences, of logs, or of boards, 
 — wherever, in fact, there is the least opening for them to get 
 
424 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 into. A tree with rougli bark, covered with moss, hchens or 
 other unnecessary growth, often harbors hundreds of specimens, 
 and one object of the farmer should be to destroy all hiding- 
 places that may be of service to the insects for winter-quarters. 
 Therefore, if possible, all fences should be whitewashed, as well 
 as all out-buildings. Insects do not like lime, and where a dozen 
 specimens may be found on a plain board fence, scarcely one 
 will venture on one that is limed. This kind of campaign is 
 especially effective against certain forms of plant-bugs, a large 
 proportion of which live through the winter in the half-grown or 
 adult condition. Offer them a bare soil wherever that is agricul 
 turally feasible, and at all events never give them the opportunity 
 of hibernating in a weedy field— one that has been allowed to 
 grow up after harvest with the idea that it is to be turned under 
 in the spring. Such fields are veritable nurseries for insect pests. 
 
 It frequently happens that a farmer is through with a crop 
 before the plants stop growing, and occasionally they remain in 
 the field weeks after they have ceased to be of any practical use. 
 During all this time the insects peculiar to that crop are multi- 
 plying, coming to maturity undisturbed, and providing for their 
 increase during the ensuing year. For instance, with cabbages : 
 if, after the heads are taken out, the butts and outer leaves are left 
 in the ground, the cabbage-lice will there increase and prepare 
 for the winter. If the butts are taken out and fed up, or destroyed 
 in any other satisfactory manner, it will put an immediate stop 
 to their development ; and if the practice is continued systemati- 
 cally, and cruciferous weeds are also kept down on the farm, 
 cabbage-lice will soon become so reduced in number as to be 
 practically harmless. So, from melon vines only a portion of 
 the crop is often gathered, and they are then left to grow and 
 decay naturally upon the ground. The vines may be infested by 
 borers, or they may harbor squash-bugs, or melon-lice, or a 
 number of other pests. By removing and destroying as soon as 
 there is no further use for them, a period is at once put to the 
 increase of these insects. They will be compelled to look else- 
 where for food or will starve to death. 
 
 In corn-fields, leaving the roots and stumps in the ground 
 throughout the winter offers a premium for the increase of insects 
 that depredate upon this crop. Such pests as "corn-worms" 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 425 
 
 can be easily kept in check by fall ploughing and burning the 
 butts and roots, and a good effect will also be produced as against 
 the corn-root-louse and similar pests. Instances might easily be 
 multiplied without adding to the force of the suggestion that the 
 ground should be kept as free as possible from all growth that 
 might afford lodgement or shelter for insects. 
 
 Another important operation which can be made use of is 
 ploughing at the proper time, and, among other things, fall 
 ploughing, whenever possible, is to be recommended, especially 
 of sod land. Many different kinds of insects live in sod, among 
 them cut-worms and wire-worms, both well-known and important 
 pests. A great deal can be done in the direction of destroying 
 these creatures by ploughing the land late in fall. Under the 
 proper headings will be found the reasons why such an operation 
 proves beneficial in special cases ; but in general we can say that, 
 by disturbing the land after the insects have prepared for their 
 winter rest, they are exposed to their natural enemies when more 
 helpless than usual. A great many are then in the pupa state, 
 absolutely unable to help themselves, and breaking their cells at 
 that time means death to them. A very large percentage of 
 reduction in the number of injurious insects can be effected by 
 this practice alone. I am aware that fall ploughing is inadvisable 
 on some kinds of land, but it is directly beneficial on others. It 
 is a measure that must be used with judgment, and each farmer 
 should know enough about his own land to decide whether or not 
 fall ploughing is advisable. I distinctly recommend it wherever 
 it is possible. As a rule, where the ground is to remain bare, 
 the ploughing should be done as late in the season as possible, 
 that the insects may not be able to re-establish themselves ; for 
 instance, when the corn-root-louse is the object of the attack, 
 early ploughing allows the ants that shelter them to construct 
 new galleries and gather in their belongings to safe shelter, while 
 very late ploughing makes it impossible for the ants to work, so 
 that they and the lice both perish : the latter almost certainly^ 
 The date of ploughing, other than in fall, is sometimes important ; 
 thus, against the root web-worms in fields after grass, if the sod 
 is turned very early, before the moths have appeared and laid 
 their eggs, the crop remains free. If delayed until the sod has 
 become stocked with eggs, the corn is almost certain to suffer. 
 
426 AM ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Sometimes, where land cannot safely be left bare during the 
 winter, it may be ploughed earlier, and some catch crop, simply 
 to cover the surface, can be put in, and it matters very little what 
 this is. It may be crimson clover, rye, wheat, — anything, in 
 fact, to get a covering, provided it is something radically different 
 from what was on the ground before the ploughing was done. 
 Corn-fields should be treated in this way after the crop has been 
 harvested, if late ploughing is undesirable, for it is always a mis- 
 take to leave them unturned until the spring following. It is 
 a good plan, just as soon as one crop is off, to put in some- 
 thing else, which, as already suggested, should be quite different 
 in general character ; and this brings up the question of rotation. 
 It is impossible to make any generally applicable statements on 
 this subject. No two regions of our country are entirely alike in 
 their practice, in the crops raised, or in the rotation adopted ; 
 but so far as possible a rotation should be selected which will 
 keep the ground covered all the time, the crops that follow each 
 other being unlike in their natural family, — that is, grass should 
 not follow wheat or rye, if it can be avoided ; nor should potatoes 
 be followed by egg-plants or tomatoes ; or cabbages by mus- 
 tard or radishes ; but in all instances crops as diverse as may be 
 should follow each other, and as rapidly as possible. Where 
 wire-worms are the chief sinners, crimson clover may sometimes 
 be usefully employed. Plant this in fall, and in spring it will be 
 in excellent condition to attract the adults to lay eggs. Turn it 
 under late in May or early in June, after cutting for hay or as a 
 green manure, and plant any suitable crop. The very young 
 larvae will be incapable of doing injury, and will fail to maintain 
 themselves under the new conditions. It must be remembered, 
 however, that this practice will favor cut-worm increase, and 
 measures must be held in readiness for these when the planted 
 crop makes its appearance. 
 
 Another good plan is to have a considerable number of 
 chickens, and to train them to follow the plough. This can be 
 very easily done, and after a few are once trained, they will in 
 turn teach the entire flock, while the young learn readily from 
 the older. Chickens following a plough will pick up almost 
 every insect that is turned up, be it in the larval, pupal, or adult 
 condition, and they are especially effective in fields infested by 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 427 
 
 white grubs. Badly infested fields may even be ploughed more 
 than once, and in different directions, just to give the chickens 
 an opportunity of picking up the insects. I have seen flocks so 
 well trained that whenever the plough harness was put upon the 
 horse they gathered together, waiting until he was taken to the 
 field. 
 
 Turkeys are exceedingly useful where grasshoppers are to be 
 dealt with, because they are especially fond of these insects ; and 
 for the same purpose Guinea-fowls are also advisable. Here 
 again the practical farmer will find, with a little observation, just 
 about the range of usefulness of the various fowls, and will be 
 able to adapt his cultivation somewhat to their peculiarities. 
 
 In the matter of the fertilizers to be used we have also an oppor- 
 tunity for careful selection. We may say generally, that manure 
 and all vegetable matter in a decaying state favors the develop- 
 ment of insects. It affords both food and lodgement to many 
 species, and when it is put on in the fall or winter in a coarse 
 condition, it is a direct benefit to insects that hibernate, even 
 when ploughed under. On the other hand, the mineral fertil- 
 izers, especially those containing a considerable percentage of 
 salt, are unfavorable to insects of all descriptions, and to some 
 they are deadly. Experience has shown that plant-lice are sus- 
 ceptible to the action af the salty fertilizers, and that cut-worms 
 and wire-worms are affected by them to a considerable extent. 
 Among corn insects, injury from the root web-worms may be 
 entirely avoided by using the mineral fertilizers instead of barn- 
 yard manure, if fall or very early spring ploughing is not feasible. 
 So the time of application is important, as is the amount to be 
 applied. For instance, in land infested by wire-worms and to be 
 put into corn, the best time for the application is just after it has 
 been prepared and after the seed has been planted. Then all 
 the potash should be put on, in the form of kainit, in one appli- 
 cation, while as much as is desirable of the nitrogen should be 
 put on in the form of nitrate of soda. In this way the soil 
 becomes impregnated with a rather concentrated salty mixture 
 which is fatal to many of the insects. The same amount of fer- 
 tilizer distributed in several applications, or put on the ground in 
 fall, or when vegetation covers it, would be entirely ineffective. 
 Mineral fertilizers are advisable wherever their use is otherwise 
 
428 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 profitable, and are always to be preferred to decomposing vege- 
 table matter, from the insect stand-point. The details of the 
 applications to be made are found where the insects themselves 
 are treated. Where barn-yard manure must be used, it is always 
 a good plan to mix it with air-slacked Ume, land plaster, or kainit, 
 and this can be done as fast as it is made in the stable. It will 
 add to its value, will hold the ammonia, and will make the mixture 
 an undesirable one for insects to live in. 
 
 Grass land may be kept tolerably free from undesirable pests 
 infesting the roots by using as fertilizer a mixture of one hun- 
 dred bushels of lime and one ton of kainit slaked together. This 
 may be applied in the spring, and will act as a stimulant as well 
 as destroy many of the insects inhabiting the soil. 
 
 There are yet other ways in which we can head off insects ; for 
 instance, in the selection of the time of planting. It happens 
 frequently that insects make their appearance at a very definite 
 time, and in the ordinary course of nature have only a few days 
 within which they must lay their eggs and provide for the con- 
 tinuance of their kind. If they do not find the cultivated food- 
 plant, they are compelled to make use of some substitute wild 
 plant, on which they do not thrive as well ; or they may not be 
 able to oviposit at all, and a large proportion will perish without 
 being able to reproduce their kind. 
 
 When the life history of a seriously injurious insect is known, 
 it will often pay to adapt our farm practice so as to prevent injury. 
 For instance, experience has proved that the Hessian-fly appears, 
 ready to lay eggs for a late fall brood, during the early days of 
 September. By delaying planting until after the middle of that 
 month, or even later where the latitude makes this feasible, the 
 insects are compelled to lay their eggs in grasses other than 
 wheat, or in the volunteer grain that they find in fields or along 
 the roads. 
 
 Cranberry growers take advantage of their knowledge of the 
 life history of the Teras infesting that crop by keeping the bogs 
 covered with water until after the middle of May, thus compelling 
 the moths to lay their eggs on other plants belonging to the same 
 natural family. 
 
 In a similar way we can sometimes induce the insects to ovi- 
 posit in a trap crop planted especially to attract them and pro- 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 420 
 
 tect the staple. An example of this is the practice of certain 
 squash growers, who plant early summer squashes to attract the 
 borers, and Hubbards and marrowfats rather late, so as to be 
 unattractive to the moths as compared with the vigorous early 
 plants. The summer varieties may be taken out and destroyed, 
 with all their contents of borers, after an early crop has been 
 picked from them, and this will leave the later varieties free, 
 while it also accomplishes the destruction of an entire brood of 
 larva. So it has been found practicable in the South to protect 
 cabbages from the attacks of the harlequin cabbage-bug by 
 planting an early trap crop of mustard, to which the insects are 
 attracted, and from which they can be gathered by hand or 
 destroyed by spraying with pure kerosene. 
 
 An instance of the use of methods of cultivation we find in the 
 practice of blackberry growers, who, to prevent injury from the 
 red-necked cane-borer, cut off during the latter part of June all 
 the shoots then above ground, and either gather and destroy, or 
 merely allow them to wilt and die. The beetles have all disap- 
 peared at this time and all their eggs are in these shoots. The 
 new canes that come up after this trimming become sufficiently 
 mature and are in sufficient number to make next year's crop, 
 while they are free from any possible beetle attack. 
 
 There are many other ways in which farm practice may prevent 
 injury from insects, and to the intelligent farmer these methods 
 will commend themselves much more than the indiscriminate use 
 of insecticides after damage has been caused. The prevention of 
 attack is always better than the destruction of the insects after 
 injury has been accomplished, and some of these methods have 
 the advantage of effecting a permanent reduction of the injurious 
 species. Further details are hardly in place here, but what has 
 been said will explain the reason for many of the recommenda- 
 tions made in the body of the work. 
 
43° 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 PREVENTIVES. 
 
 There are many seriously injurious insects which it is difficult 
 to reach with insecticides of any kind or to destroy in any way ; 
 and first among these are the borers of all orders. Special 
 destructive, remedial, and other measures have been indicated 
 throughout this work, w^here the offending species are described ; 
 but perhaps a grouping here, of what may be termed preventive 
 measures, will be of some use. 
 
 It is the grower of orchard fruits that suffers most from borers ; 
 for while some small fruits are subject to this kind of attack, the 
 greatest and most permanent injury is done to trees. Peach-trees 
 are girdled at or near the surface of the ground by a Lepidop- 
 terous borer ; apple, pear, quince, and similar trees are attacked 
 on all parts of the trunk, yet preferably near the base, by Coleop- 
 terous larvae ; and most of our fruit trees are subject to the attacks 
 of bark-beetles. Many of the shade trees suffer in a similar man- 
 ner, and some species attack indiscriminately both orchard and 
 forest growth. It is easier, as a rule, to keep borers out than to 
 destroy them after they once get in ; and to do that, we must 
 resort to mechanical measures. The simplest and usually a most 
 effective method is the use of a rather close-meshed wire mos- 
 quito netting on the younger orchard trees. The parents of both 
 the round and flat-headed apple borers are quite large, and 
 unable to lay their eggs through such a netting, provided that it 
 be kept half an inch from the bark at all points. In this way 
 apple and other trees subject to similar injury may be effectively 
 protected, and trees once netted will need little attention, save 
 occasional retying for several years. The netting should be galvan- 
 ized, lacquered, or thoroughly painted, and should have sufficient 
 lap when first put on to allow the tree to make considerable 
 growth. It must be closely tied to the trunk at the top, or the 
 interval must be filled with cotton or a similar material, so that 
 the insects cannot get inside the cage.* In like manner, the soil 
 must be hilled around the wire at the base to prevent entrance at 
 that point. Should the trees be already infested, such beetles 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 431 
 
 as might emerge would find themselves in a prison from which 
 there is no escape, and would die shortly, if, indeed, they be not 
 killed through the netting. 
 
 Wrapping with newspapers or similar material is also a tolera- 
 bly effective measure, and such a wrapper will last a season with- 
 out attention, except a possible retying. Tarred paper has been 
 recommended, and is more lasting ; but it seems to cause injury 
 on thin-barked trees, especially peach and young apple, in some 
 sections of the country. The tar really adds nothing to the 
 effect, and, as there is an element of danger, the use of such paper 
 is not recommended. Such wrappings are mostly used to keep 
 out borers that enter near the base : they should cover com- 
 pletely, should extend at least eighteen inches from the surface, 
 should be well tied at the top with a soft twine that will yield to 
 some growth without breaking, and should extend an inch or 
 two below the surface. Besides keeping out borers from points 
 so protected, the coverings would tend to keep in such insects as 
 might develop, and would prevent their emergence and propa- 
 gation. 
 
 Instead of wire or paper coverings, a coating of tree-lime, 
 Raupenleim, bird-lime, printer's ink, or other sticky substance 
 is sometimes employed. Some of the materials once suggested, 
 like dendrolene, turned out to be unsatisfactory, because the 
 vaseline they contained gradually worked through the bark, into 
 the sap-wood, and caused serious injury. A complete covering 
 with any such material is no longer recommended ; but as a 
 banding to prevent the ascent up the trunk into the tree some of 
 them serve an excellent purpose. 
 
 Several such tree coverings are on the market at present, and 
 almost any of them applied in a ring from four to six inches wide 
 will serve to keep crawling insects from getting into the tops. 
 They are especially useful as against canker-worms and the like 
 by keeping off the wingless females and, later, the caterpillars. 
 
 Gas-tar, coal-tar, and similar materials are sometimes advised 
 for use at the base of peach-trees, and all of them have a record 
 for effectiveness and safety in the hands of careful experimenters ; 
 unfortunately, these same substances have proved dangerous in 
 other hands and in other localities. Climatic conditions seem to 
 be of importance in some inexplicable way, and nothing that has 
 been ever known to cause injury should be extensively used by 
 
432 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 any grower until he has first tested it in a small way. White-lead 
 paint is in somewhat the same case, and, if used at all, should be 
 applied only on well-established trees, and should not be mixed 
 with turpentine. 
 
 Lime in the form of whitewash is an excellent application to 
 the trunks and lower limbs, and will in itself serve to keep them 
 measurably free from scale attack ; the wash should not be so 
 thick as to scale off, and salt should be added to improve its 
 adhesive qualities. When trees are sprayed with Bordeaux mix- 
 ture, the trunks and larger branches may be especially well 
 covered or sprayed more than once to insure a thorough coating, 
 and this, repeated at intervals through the season, will serve a 
 similar purpose. Hydraulic cement, or ' ' water lime, ' ' mixed 
 with water or, better, skim-milk, to form a thick paint, makes a 
 covering that lasts all season, and has proved about as effective 
 in keeping borers out of peach-trees as anything that I have used. 
 On smaller trees it is as cheap as the paper banding ; on larger 
 trees it is more expensive. In any case, it causes no injury to the 
 most tender bark. 
 
 A great variety of other coverings has been used, from a mix- 
 ture of cow-dung and clay to simple soft soap, and in so far as 
 they form a mechanical coating all are good. Whale-oil soap 
 forms the basis of many such washes, and kerosene or carbolic 
 acid is sometimes added. It is probable that the carbolic acid is 
 of some use in this connection at the rate of an ounce or two in 
 a gallon of soap mixture ; most of the others are useless, if not 
 actually harmful. 
 
 Keeping the trees clean, free from all abnormal growths and 
 loose, dead bark is always advisable. It destroys the hiding 
 places of any hibernating species, and prevents the formation of 
 cocoons by the larva of the codling moth and other caterpillars. 
 If the trunks are washed with a strong solution of caustic soda or 
 potash, say one pound in two gallons of water, the lichen and 
 other plant growths will be destroyed, and the bark will be 
 cleansed and stimulated. 
 
 To prevent climbing cut-worms, canker-worms or similar crea- 
 tures from ascending a tree, a band of cotton batting can be 
 satisfactorily used in many cases. Make the band from eight to 
 twelve inches wide, and long enough to go around the trunk with 
 an allowance for a two-inch lap ; tie tightly at the bottom of the 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 433 
 
 band, — smooth side, if any, to the trunk, — and then turn down 
 from the top hke an inverted funnel. This prevents a matting of 
 the inside of the funnel by rains and, under ordinary circum- 
 stances, forms a complete bar to the ascent of wingless insects. 
 
 Finally, the most effective of all preventive measures is good 
 farming. Keep crops of all kinds in the most vigorous possible 
 condition, with plenty of readily available plant food, and in 
 orchards allow no dead wood of any kind to remain over winter. 
 Dead and dying branches should be cut, carted out, and burnt 
 before the first warm spell of spring, and dying trees should meet 
 the same fate. There will be nothing to encourage insects to 
 come in, under such conditions, or to remain if brought in. The 
 term ' ' good farming ' ' has a wider application than I have made 
 here, but this subject has been incidentally referred to on other 
 pages, and needs no further elucidation here. 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 INSECTICIDES. 
 
 Broadly speaking, insecticides are of two kinds — those that 
 kill by being eaten, or stomach poisons, and those that kill by 
 contact. Some substances, such as hellebore and tobacco, belong 
 to both categories ; but are most effective within their range as 
 contact poisons. 
 
 Of the stomach poisons the various preparations of arsenic 
 stand first, and, indeed, arsenic forms the basis of all the insecti- 
 cides that kill by being eaten, so far as they are known to me. 
 The fact that some of the preparations are advertised as * ' harm- 
 less ' ' does not alter this, for they are ' ' harmless ' ' only because 
 the amount of poison is so small that under ordinary circumstances 
 it would be almost impossible for a man to eat enough of the 
 sprayed material to cause death. In almost all the insect-killers 
 that are to be applied dry, undiluted, and are sold under a fancy 
 name, from twenty to twenty-five parts of the bulk is make- 
 weight, — plaster, lime, ashes, and the like, — which are charged at 
 many times their value, and on which the farmer pays freight in 
 
 28 
 
434 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 addition. As a rule, it is safer to purchase only materials of 
 known composition from a reputable firm and prepare as needed. 
 
 White arsenic is the cheapest, simplest, and most active ma- 
 terial of this class, and is effective at the rate of one pound in 
 from two hundred and fifty to three hundred gallons of water. 
 The objection to it is that so much of the arsenious acid is soluble 
 in water that it burns foliage seriously, and at any strength at 
 which it is fatal to insects becomes fatal to the plants as well. 
 To neutralize this, three pounds of lime should be added for each 
 pound of arsenic, as follows : to three pounds of good stone lime 
 add water enough to slake completely ; mix the arsenic with 
 water enough to make a thin paste and add to the slaked lime ; 
 add water as needed and stir thoroughly until the lime is com- 
 pletely reduced and forms a thin milk of lime ; strain to get rid of 
 coarse particles and reduce with water to spraying strength. The 
 lime forms a combination with the white arsenic, unites with the 
 soluble arsenious acid, and forms an insoluble arsenite of lime 
 which may be applied with reasonable safety at about half the 
 strength at which Paris green is used. 
 
 A somewhat more effective way of combining the arsenic and 
 lime is to boil one pound of the former and two pounds of the 
 latter in two gallons of water, and then dilute as required. This 
 combination is especially useful as an addition to the Bordeaux 
 mixture where a combined insecticide and fungicide is desired, 
 and it also is used in half the amount of Paris green. 
 
 Yet another combination is made as follows : In an iron pot boil 
 one pound of white arsenic with four pounds of sal soda in one gal- 
 lon of soft water until the arsenic dissolves, leaving only a small 
 muddy sediment. The product is an arsenite of soda which may 
 be kept in a closely stoppered jug until needed, though not 
 longer than the season for which it is made. To prepare for use, 
 take two pounds of lime, slake, and dilute with two gallons of 
 water and add one pint of the arsenite of soda solution. When 
 this is thoroughly combined, add water to make forty gallons. 
 This equals Paris green at the rate of one pound in one hundred 
 and sixty gallons of water, and remains in suspension about three 
 times as long ; in fact, all the arsenic and lime preparations have 
 the advantage over Paris green in this respect. The arsenate 
 of soda is very destructive to foliage in any dilution, and should 
 never be used alone. 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 435 
 
 The advantages of the home mixtures are their low cost and 
 their known strength. If carefully made, they are always uniform 
 in composition and similar effects may be expected from similar 
 applications. Care in securing a proper combination is essential ; 
 otherwise serious injury is certain to result. 
 
 Paris green is the most widely used of all the arsenical poisons, 
 and is a combination of arsenious oxide, about sixty-eight per 
 cent. , with copper oxide, about thirty per cent. The percentage 
 of arsenic may range from fifty to seventy without necessarily 
 proving adulteration ; but carelessness in the manufacture may 
 make a product unreliable, and may lead to material differences in 
 effect on foliage as well as insects. In its usual form Paris green 
 is crystallized, and the size of the particles has a great influence 
 upon its effect. When coarse, they sink readily, necessitating 
 constant stirring, and are unevenly distributed on the leaves ; 
 when fine, they remain in suspension longer and spread more 
 e\'enly on the sprayed surface. Only a small percentage of the 
 arsenic is soluble, and at strengths ordinarily used no addition of 
 lime is necessary ; but when the mixture is strong and the sun is 
 hot it will be better to add one pound of lime to each pound of 
 green, slaking the lime to a thin wash and then adding the 
 poison, w^hich is better first made into a thin paste with just 
 enough water to do so. 
 
 As Paris green is the most generally used material, all others 
 must compare with it in the amount employed. Against young 
 larvae and most slugs one pound in two hundred gallons of water 
 is effective ; but so great a dilution is rarely used except on sensi- 
 tive foliage. On peach this poison should never be used at all. 
 As against codling-moth, one pound in from one hundred and 
 fifty to one hundred and seventy-five gallons of water is used, and 
 that forms a good average strength for most leaf-feeding insects, 
 rarely injuring the foliage unless used in excess or allowed to 
 settle so as to make the sprayed solution irregular in its effect. 
 On potato beetles, one pound to seventy-five gallons is usually 
 effective, but some farmers use it at the rate of one pound in fifty 
 gallons, or even stronger, and claim good results as well as safety 
 to foliage. 
 
 Crystallization of Paris green is not necessary to its usefulness 
 as an insecticide, but a positive detriment, because it increases 
 the weight of the particles and the cost of making. There has 
 
436 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 been a tendency, therefore, to place upon the market an arsenite 
 of copper whose composition is Uke that of Paris green, but 
 which, not being crystaUized is much finer, remains in suspension 
 much better and is somewliat cheaper. 
 
 London purple is a waste product containing about forty-one 
 per cent, of arsenious oxide, about twenty-five per cent, of lime, 
 and the balance of thirty-four per cent, made up of iron, alumina, 
 dye-stufi, etc. It is less effective than Paris green because of 
 the smaller percentage of arsenic, and more dangerous to foliage 
 because a larger proportion of it is soluble. The addition of an 
 equal weight of lime obviates the danger to plant tissue, and the 
 fine particles enable it to remain in suspension much better ; 
 hence, at one time it was considered a more desirable insecticide. 
 Unfortunately, being a waste product, it varies so greatly in com- 
 position that its use is lessening constantly in favor of the home- 
 made arsenites. 
 
 Arsenate of lead is a combination of eleven parts of acetate of 
 lead (sugar of lead) with four parts arsenate of soda, forming an 
 insoluble compound which may be applied on foliage of any kind, 
 at any desired strength, without danger to even the most delicate 
 plant tissue. As the percentage of arsenic is very low, it requires 
 about two and one-half times as much in weight as of Paris green 
 to gain the same effect, and it is therefore much more expensive. 
 For orchard use it will hardly come into favor, except on peach ; 
 but in the garden and for use on certain shade trees it is unsur- 
 passed. It is the only combination that can be safely applied on 
 conifers, and its adhesive qualities are such as to make up in part 
 for its high price. It will be better, ordinarily, to purchase the 
 commercial preparations, whether known as arsenate of lead, 
 gypsine, or disparene; but where much is to be used, it will be 
 cheaper to buy the materials and make it up as needed, care 
 being taken to secure a good grade of acetate of lead and ar- 
 senate of soda. For a barrel of spraying mixture the following 
 will serve : 
 
 Dissolve in one gallon of water in a wooden pail eleven ounces 
 acetate of lead (sugar of lead), and in another, in half a gallon of 
 water, four ounces arsenate of soda. Pour the arsenate solution 
 into the lead solution, stir thoroughly, and pour into the barrel, 
 which should be half full of water ; stir again, add water to fill 
 up, and spray at once. The particles are very light, remain in 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 437 
 
 suspension a long time, and eventually settle into a pasty mass at 
 the bottom. 
 
 In spraying with any of the arsenical poisons the water serves 
 only as a carrier to spread the material over a greater area. 
 When the water evaporates, it leaves a thin film on the surface, 
 and this serves as a protection against leaf-feeding insects for a 
 longer or shorter time. On a rough leaf, the particles will lodge 
 in the depressions and may remain for months ; on a smooth leaf, 
 the first heavy shower may remove almost everything. The finer 
 the material, the better it settles into the leaf tissue, and from that 
 view-point Paris green is the poorest and arsenate of lead the 
 best of the stomach poisons. Glucose or molasses at the rate 
 of two quarts per barrel adds materially to the sticking qualities 
 of any mixture ; but some plants, like cabbage, have the leaves 
 so smooth and waxy that even that is not sufficient. 
 
 The following resin mixture has been found effective : 
 
 Stock Solution. 
 
 Pulverized resin 5 pounds 
 
 Concentrated lye i pound 
 
 Fish or other cheap animal oil i pint 
 
 Water 5 gallons 
 
 Place the resin, oil, and one gallon of hot water in a kettle and 
 boil until the resin is thoroughly softened. Then dissolve and 
 add the lye slowly, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed. 
 After this add four gallons of water, and boil until you get a 
 clear amber-colored liquid which will mix readily with cold water. 
 It will take about two hours to prepare this solution, and if there 
 are less than five gallons when through boiling, add water enough 
 to bring it up to that amount. 
 
 It is only on cabbage, cauliflower, and similar waxen-leaved 
 plants that this mixture is needed, and for use take one part resin 
 mixture and sixteen parts water ; stir thoroughly, add three parts 
 milk of lime in the same way, and finally Paris green at the rate 
 of one pound in eighty gallons of the solution. This must be 
 used at once, for if allowed to settle it cannot be satisfactorily 
 mixed again ; the order of mixing also must be closely followed 
 to prevent a flocculent precipitation and consequent formation of 
 an insoluble soap. 
 
 The addition of soap of any kind at the rate of one pound per 
 
438 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 barrel adds to the spreading power of the mixture, and some- 
 what also to its adhesiveness on ordinary foliage. 
 
 Paris green may be applied dry, undiluted, on many kinds of 
 plants with a duster or any sort of apparatus that spreads it over 
 a very large surface. More generally it is mixed with about fifty 
 parts of plaster, flour, lime, or other carrier, which spreads it 
 over a greater area than the undiluted powder can be applied. 
 Of late, dry hydrate of lime has become the favorite carrier, and 
 better yet are the prepared limes that come in very fine, fiour-like 
 form. 
 
 Dry hydrate of Hme is simply lime slaked with just enough 
 water to crumble it into a fine, dry powder, and when this is 
 screened and mixed with Paris green it can be applied as a fine 
 dust with fan blowers, several kinds of which are now on the 
 market. As to effectiveness, it is equal to a water spray for most 
 purposes, and is more quickly and cheaply applied, It is not so 
 good where the under side of foliage must be reached, and, as a 
 whole, experiments with water and dust applications made side by. 
 side, have usually shown a balance in favor of the water carrier. 
 But where water is scarce or must be brought from a distance, 
 the dust application will give very good satisfaction. 
 
 Paris green or white arsenic may also be mixed with from fifty 
 to seventy-five parts, by weight, of bran, to attract and kill cut- 
 worms. The latter will eat bran in preference to green vegeta- 
 tion, and therefore the poisoned bran, moistened with sugar 
 water until it can be ladled out free from drip, may be used to 
 clear an infested field before the crop is set, or to protect it after- 
 wards. 
 
 Grasshoppers have an abnormal fondness for moist horse- 
 manure, and great numbers can be killed off and crops protected 
 by mixing one pound of the arsenic with three gallons of drop- 
 pings, and spreading these where the insects are most numerous 
 or where injury is anticipated. It is better to use small quanti- 
 ties several days in succession than large quantities at one time, 
 because as the material dries out it loses its attraction. 
 
 Bordeaux mixture is not primarily an insecticide, yet few insects 
 care to eat a surface covered with it, and many scales will not set 
 on trunks or branches coated with the material. As against 
 the potato flea-beetle it is almost a specific, and there is nothing 
 more discouraging to the rose-bugs. As against insects it is 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 439 
 
 rarely used alone ; but combined with any of the arsenites it is 
 used in the orchard until danger from the codling-moth is over, 
 and in potato fields is used to hit both blight and beetles. 
 The formula for the Bordeaux mixture is as follows : 
 
 Sulphate of copper 6 pounds 
 
 Quicklime 4 pounds 
 
 Water .22 gallons 
 
 Dissolve the sulphate of copper in one gallon of hot water and 
 slake the lime in another vessel with an equal quantity ; reduce 
 to a creamy milk of lime and add slowly to the copper solution, 
 stirring constantly. Finally add water to make up the twenty- 
 two gallons, and this gives the old full strength mi.xture. It is 
 rarely used now at this concentration, fifty gallons of water 
 replacing the twenty-two in general practice ; but whether full, 
 half, or quarter strength, the fungicide counts as so much water 
 for the purpose of measuring the amount of the arsenite to be 
 used. The excess of lime in the Bordeaux is usually sufiicient to 
 neutralize the soluble arsenic in Paris green, and in the arsenic 
 and lime combinations there is an actual addition from the insecti- 
 cide. None of the other fungicides have approved themselves so 
 well for combined applications, and no other formulas need be 
 given here, though in special instances others may be useful. 
 
 Bichloride of mercury., or ' ' corrosive sublimate, " is an ex- 
 tremely violent poison of which some use has been made, but on 
 the whole with small satisfaction. The margin of safety between 
 effectiveness against insects and safety to plants is so small that 
 its use is not advised. 
 
 It may be well to add that all the so-called stomach poisons 
 are useful against chewing or mandibulate insects only ; as 
 against plant-lice and other species that live by sucking plant 
 juices, none of the arsenites are in the least effective. 
 
 Tobacco, white hellebore, and pyrethrum are useful both as 
 stomach and contact insecticides, though as a rule used in the 
 latter form. 
 
 Pyrethrum, also known as Persian or Dalmatian insect powder, 
 or "Buhach," is made from plants belonging to the genus 
 Pyrethrum. which bear aster-like flowers. It is sold in the form 
 of a fine, yellowish powder with a pleasant and somewhat pun- 
 gent odor, which it loses rapidly on exposure to the air. It is a 
 
440 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 powerful contact poison as against plant-lice, saw-fly and other 
 slugs, and most small naked caterpillars. It may be mixed with 
 twice its bulk of cheap flour, and if allowed to stand forty-eight 
 hours, in a closed jar, all parts of the mixture will be equally 
 effective. A destructive tea may be made by steeping one ounce 
 in one quart of hot water and diluting with enough warm water to 
 make one gallon. This is excellent for sprays on house or garden 
 plants infested by plant-lice, and is the cleanest of all insecti- 
 cides used for that purpose. In the field the cost is too great 
 to make the material available, and its rapid deterioration on ex- 
 posure to the air limits its range of usefulness. When eaten, or 
 when brought into contact with the surface of a larva it causes 
 convulsions, vomiting, and, in a short time, death. It has been 
 used by burning to drive out flies and mosquitoes, and the smoke 
 acts as a narcotic and repellant ; but the insects recover in a 
 short time. 
 
 White hellebo7'e is the ground root of the Veratrutn album, 
 and has rather a narrow range of usefulness. It is almost specific 
 in its action on saw-fly larvae, and affects those insects in the 
 same manner as pyrethrum. Outside of this its action is similar 
 to that of pyrethrum, but much less violent, and very little is now 
 used except against currant worms. It may be applied dry, as a 
 powder, or as a decoction, two ounces steeped in boiling water, 
 being diluted to make one gallon of spraying mixture. This 
 same decoction has been highly recommended as against the 
 cabbage maggot ; but the reports are too contradictory to make 
 it a safe reliance. As a contact poison the material remains 
 effective for a short time only ; but as a stomach poison remains 
 active for several days. 
 
 Tobacco has much the widest range of this class of materials, 
 and may be used dry or as a decoction. If used dry it should be 
 ground very fine, and the dust is fatal to many plant-lice and 
 small naked larvae of all orders. As a coarser powder it is useful 
 against root-lice, especially those on peach-trees, by being worked 
 liberally into the top soil over the root system. As the tobacco 
 is worth nearly as much as it costs as a fertilizer, a double advan- 
 tage is gained from its stimulating effect. Ground tobacco has 
 been used with some success around cabbage plants to prevent 
 attacks by maggots, and in melon hills to prevent injuries by the 
 striped beetles. Stems around fruit or other trees are unde- 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 441 
 
 sirable, because they shelter rather than repel insects, and the 
 water falling upon them takes out the nicotine too slowly. An 
 extract may be made by boiling chopped stems and other refuse 
 until one pound of tobacco is completely extracted in one gallon 
 of water. This extract is effective against most plant-lice and leaf- 
 hoppers, and against soft-bodied insects generally ; it is also an 
 almost perfect protection against flea-beetles, and will kill many 
 of the smaller leaf-feeders. Under ordinary conditions it does 
 no injury to plants, but may spot delicate foliage or flowers. 
 Extracts are now on the market that are condensed to a soft 
 paste, and these, when diluted, are as effective as the boiled ma- 
 terial, and of course much less troublesome to prepare. As a 
 stomach poison tobacco is not much relied upon in field work, and 
 as a contact poison the soap and petroleum mixtures are cheaper 
 when large quantities are used ; but in the garden and in the 
 conservatory it holds its own. In the greenhouse, tobacco is the 
 main reliance for green fly and many other pests, and fumigation 
 is commonly practiced. Of late, smearing the pipes with the ex- 
 tract to secure the effects of a slow fumigation has been much 
 resorted to ; but greenhouse plants differ so much in suscepti- 
 bility that it is impossible to prescribe generally ; each case must 
 be worked out by individual experience. Tobacco extract is 
 sometimes added to soaps and the combination is quite effec- 
 tive, though not enough so to authorize payment of the prices 
 charged for it. 
 
 Lime as a whitewash has been already referred to, and the use- 
 fulness of the dry hydrate as a carrier and the method of making 
 it have been described. But this same dry hydrate is in itself use- 
 ful for many purposes. If properly prepared it is yet quite 
 caustic, and each particle of lime needs one more particle of water 
 to complete the change to the carbonate. Applied to any moist, 
 soft-bodied slug or other larva, it gets that extra particle of water, 
 and incidentally burns a hole through the skin of the insect. The 
 larvae of asparagus beetles may be reached by this form of lime 
 better than in any other way ; the fine, feathery foliage offers no 
 hold to insecticides, and stomach poisons are therefore of little 
 use ; but a dusting of the dry lime early in the morning reaches 
 the moist larvae, and few escape a thorough application. Any 
 other soft-bodied, slug-like larvae may be similarly dealt with, 
 when direct poisoning is not feasible. 
 
442 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Allied to the lime, because of their caustic action, come the 
 various combinations of lime and sulphur^ with or without salt, 
 formed by boiling, by using the heat of the slaked lime alone or 
 by using caustic or sal soda to aid the union. The result is a 
 sulphide of lime which is very corrosive, an absorbent of moisture, 
 and which decomposes slowly, setting free a poisonous vapor. 
 This is suitable for winter use only, on dormant trees ; is particu- 
 larly applied against scale insects, and, in the East, almost exclu- 
 sively against the pernicious or San Jose scale. 
 
 The wash is originally a Californian preparation, and a generally 
 accepted formula is : 
 
 Lime 50 pounds 
 
 Sulphur 25 pounds 
 
 Stock salt . . . .^ 18 pounds 
 
 Water sufficient to make 100 gallons 
 
 The proportions vary greatly in different localities, but long 
 continued, thorough boiling is always insisted on. There is no 
 doubt that on the Pacific coast these combinations, properly made 
 and applied, are entirely successful, and, incidentally, they have 
 proved useful in the control of certain fungous diseases. In the 
 East, a great variety of experiments have been made under quite 
 different climatic conditions, and contradictory results have been 
 obtained ; but, as the net product of all the experience, it seems a 
 fair conclusion that under favorable conditions the lime-sulphur 
 combinations are reasonably certain in their effects on the scale 
 insects, and safe on all varieties of trees when fully dormant. 
 
 Chemically, it requires less than one pound of lime to combine 
 one pound of sulphur, and anything more than is necessary is 
 mere whitewash ; but a slight excess is not harmful, and the 
 formula that I have found most satisfactory is : 
 
 Lime— stone or shell 50 pounds 
 
 Sulphur — flowers or ground 50 pounds 
 
 Salt 50 pounds 
 
 Water 150 gallons 
 
 Slake the lime with warm water enough to do it thoroughly, 
 and during the process add the sulphur, preferably made into a 
 thin paste. Boil one hour with water enough to prevent burning, 
 and until the mixture becomes a deep amber color. Dissolve the 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 443 
 
 salt in water enough to do it quickly, and add slowly to the 
 boiling mass. When all is thoroughly mixed together, and has 
 boiled at least one hour, add water enough to make up the one 
 hundred and fifty gallons and apply as soon as possible thereafter. 
 The mixture spreads better and works easier while warm ; if 
 allowed to settle, so that crystals begin to form, the wash is use- 
 less. The salt adds nothing to the effectiveness of the combina- 
 tion, but does add to its adhesiveness and to the mechanical 
 condition which favors easy spraying. It may be materially 
 reduced or omitted altogether ; but I favor its retention. If 
 ground sulphur is used, the boiling should be continued a little 
 longer to make sure of a perfect solution. Many formulas de- 
 mand a greater proportion of lime, but I consider that a dis- 
 advantage, because it thickens the wash, makes it take more to 
 cover, prevents it from getting into crevices so well, and favors 
 early scaling off. The boiling may be done in open kettles, or 
 in barrels by steam, which may be furnished by any type of 
 boiler. 
 
 Instead of salt, blue vitriol is favored in Oregon and some 
 other localities as adding to the fungicidal qualities of the wash, 
 and four and one-half pounds of crystals may be used instead of 
 the fifty pounds of salt. The crystals are dissolved in hot water, 
 and the solution is added gradually to the . boiling lime and 
 sulphur. 
 
 Next to the boiled wash in effectiveness are the combinations 
 in which caustic soda is used to help the union of lime and 
 sulphur. The formula that has succeeded well in my hands 
 originated in New York State, and is as follows : 
 
 Lime, — stone or shell, — good quality 33 pounds 
 
 Sulphur flowers 17 pounds 
 
 Caustic soda, 75 per cent, or over 5 pounds 
 
 Water 50 gallons 
 
 Slake two-thirds of the lime with hot water enough to prevent 
 burning or drowning, and during the process sift over and stir in 
 half of the sulphur. Then add the remainder of the lime with 
 more hot water, and, as the boiling continues, stir in the balance 
 of the sulphur ; add water as needed, stirring to help the combi- 
 nation. While the mixture is yet steaming add two pounds of 
 caustic soda, which will cause a violent boiling, and before that is 
 
444 ^^ ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 over add two pounds more. If the mixture has not then reached 
 a brick-red color add the remainder. Care must be taken not to 
 use more water than necessary, otherwise the combination will be 
 delayed. When the proper color is obtained, add warm water 
 enough to make fifty gallons and use at once. 
 A Georgia modification is as follows : - 
 
 Stone lime i6 pounds 
 
 Sulphur flowers 8 pounds 
 
 Caustic soda, 75 per cent, or over 8 pounds 
 
 Water 50 gallons 
 
 Mix the sulphur into a thick paste with a small amount of boil- 
 ing hot water. Then add the caustic soda slowly, in lumps, 
 keeping the mixture thoroughly stirred. Continue the addition 
 of the soda and the stirring, adding hot water as may be neces- 
 sary to prevent the mixture from getting too thick. The soda 
 should dissolve all the sulphur in a few minutes, producing a 
 clear, deep red liquid ; if it does not, heat until no part of the 
 sulphur remains undissolved. To this clear liquid add the lime, 
 and while it is slaking keep well stirred. The compound mixture 
 will have the characteristic greenish-yellow tinge, and may then 
 be diluted with water to make up the fifty gallons for immediate 
 applications. 
 
 Yet another formula, originating in New York, is as follows : 
 
 Lime 20 pounds 
 
 Sulphur flowers 15 pounds 
 
 Sal soda 10 pounds 
 
 Water 50 gallons 
 
 Put five or six pails of hot water in a barrel, add the lime, fol- 
 low quickly with the sulphur and sal soda in the order named, and 
 stir until slaking is completed. Add a little cold water, if neces- 
 sary, to keep the mixture from boiling over. When the boiling 
 is done cover the barrel with burlap and allow it to stand half an 
 hour or more ; then strain and dilute with fifty gallons of cold 
 water. 
 
 The simplest combination is to use two parts good stone lime 
 to one part of flowers of sulphur ; place the lime in a barrel ; 
 make the sulphur into a thin paste with hot water and pour over 
 the lime ; add hot water enough to slake thoroughly and cover 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 445 
 
 with a blanket so as to retain all the heat. Stir from time to 
 time and add hot water until every particle of lime is reduced. 
 Then stir again and reduce with three gallons of water for every 
 pound of sulphur used. 
 A Connecticut formula is ; 
 
 Sulphide of potash 10 pounds 
 
 Lime 10 pounds 
 
 Water 20 gallons 
 
 Dissolve the sulphide of potash in warm water, and with the 
 solution slake the lime. Mix thoroughly and add water to make 
 up the full amount. 
 
 All these mixtures have their advocates, and all are useful to a 
 greater or less extent. A great deal depends upon the making, 
 and it becomes a matter of practice to recognize the completed 
 sulphide. Half an hour of boiling has been declared sufficient in 
 some cases, and two hours in others was not enough. 
 
 As to the best time for making such applications, that is just 
 before the trees become dormant in fall or before they begin to 
 make a start in the very early spring. The mixtures may be 
 employed in place of whitewash in hen-houses and stables, and 
 will prove useful in destroying lice and mites. They are also 
 good disinfectants and germicides for such organisms as are 
 readily affected by sulphur. 
 
 Sulphur alone is chiefly used against mites, in either green- 
 house or orchard. Red spider is sometimes controlled in houses 
 kept moist and warm by simply scattering flowers of sulphur on 
 the surface, the products of the slow decomposition being suf- 
 ficient to destroy the insects. In greenhouses, a barrel with 
 broken lump sulphur may be placed in a warm corner and filled 
 with water, stirring from time to time until the luke-warm liquid 
 becomes impregnated with decomposition products. This makes 
 an effective spray, and water may be added as fast as used so 
 long as any sulphur remains. In orange and other citrus groves 
 where mites are injurious, sulphur scattered over the soil is 
 useful, but more so in the moist climate of Florida than in CaH- 
 fornia. Sulphur dissolved with caustic potash, as described for 
 the Georgia wash on p. 444, may be directly diluted with water 
 so as to make one pound of sulphur for twenty-five gallons of 
 water, and this is useful as against mites and red spider of all kinds. 
 
446 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 Caustic soda or potash at the rate of one pound in from one to 
 five gallons of water makes an excellent winter wash for tree 
 trunks and branches, cleaning them of abnormal vegetable 
 growths, destroying fungus spores, and many of the insects that 
 hibernate on rough or lichen-covered bark. As against some of 
 the thinner scales it forms an excellent protection, but as against 
 the more densely armored forms it is useless. 
 
 On the Pacific coast resin washes are much used against scale 
 insects, usually with good results ; but in the East the mixtures 
 have not met with such favor. 
 
 A good summer wash is made as follows : 
 
 Resin 20 pounds 
 
 Caustic soda, 70 per cent, or above 5 pounds 
 
 Fish-oil 3 pints 
 
 Water sufficient to make . 100 gallons 
 
 This is effective against scale larvae and recent sets, plant-lice, 
 and other species of that character. It acts by clogging the 
 breathing pores, and sometimes by sealing recent sets to the sur- 
 face, this latter effect being much more marked in dry regions 
 than in those that are moist or rainy. It may be safely applied 
 to the foliage of most fruit trees. 
 
 The winter wash is as follows : 
 
 Resin 30 pounds 
 
 Caustic soda, 70 per cent, or over 9 pounds 
 
 Fish-oil ^yi pints 
 
 Water sufficient to make 100 gallons 
 
 This is really a thin varnish, and is fatal to foliage and young 
 shoots when applied at other than the dormant stage. As a 
 varnish it is readily soluble in water, hence in the wet East is not 
 so effective as in the dry West and Southwest. 
 
 To make these washes boil all the ingredients together with 
 about twenty gallons of water until thoroughly dissolved, adding 
 hot water from time to time as needed, but never enough to stop 
 the boiling after it once begins. Three hours will be required for a 
 complete mixture, hot water to make up fifty gallons being gradu- 
 ally added, and the stirring continuous. After this the balance 
 of the one hundred gallons may be added in cold water. 
 
 All soaps have an insecticide value, and they usually kill by 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 447 
 
 clogging the spiracles, and so choking the insects. It follows 
 that, as a rule, only those insects with exposed openings can be 
 reached, and that the application must be so made as to cover 
 completely. Soaps that are sticky and lather freely, leaving a 
 scum when dry, are better than those that are clean. Therefore, 
 fish-oil soaps are more useful than those made from animal fats. 
 Sometimes soaps serve only as carriers for petroleum, quassia, 
 tobacco, or carbolic acid ; but more usually only enough of such 
 materials is added to give a distinct odor, and nothing is gained 
 except a larger price by the makers. 
 
 There are several good fish-oil soaps on the market, — usually 
 called whale-oil, though there is no whale-oil in them, — and 
 these, whether emulsified with soda or potash, sell for from two 
 and one-half to five cents per pound according to the quantity 
 ordered ; in single pound lots for even a higher price. At a 
 strength of from one pound in four to one pound in six gallons of 
 water they reach most plant-lice and larval scales. One pound 
 in six is usually the extreme dilution that is effective against in- 
 sects, and when stronger it becomes necessary to watch for injury 
 to foliage. Mature foliage suffers less than such as is immature, 
 and in late summer most fruit trees will stand one pound in one 
 or two gallons when it is necessary to check scale development. 
 A very satisfactory soap can be made according to the following 
 formula, first suggested by the New York (Geneva) Station : 
 
 Caustic soda, 75 per cent, or over 6 pounds 
 
 Water 6 quarts 
 
 Fish-oil 22 pounds 
 
 Dissolve the caustic soda in warm water until it is thoroughly 
 fluid ; then pour in the oil slowly, stirring thoroughly and con- 
 stantly until the combination is complete. Complete and thor- 
 ough stirring is essential to success, and the oil should be warmed 
 to eighty degrees Fahrenheit, or thereabouts, so as to make it 
 thoroughly fluid before adding to the soda solution. Almost any 
 kind of fish-oil will answer, and the amounts above given will make 
 about forty pounds of soap. For smaller quantities, one-sixth of 
 the amount may be used, and one pint of oil may be reckoned as 
 a pound. This makes a cheesy mass when cold and is stronger 
 than the commercial article, so that one pound in seven gallons 
 of water will do as well as one pound in six gallons of the latter. 
 
448 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 For winter use as against armored scales, two pounds in one 
 gallon of water are necessary, and this must not be used until after 
 midwinter, as otherwise severe injury may be caused to fruit buds 
 or even twigs and branches. At this strength the application is 
 intensely caustic, and the scales are corroded, lifted, and dried 
 out, while the soap, dissolved by rains, penetrates through the 
 covering to the insect beneath. 
 
 Petroleum or naphtha soaps, or soaps containing a greater or 
 less percentage of mineral oil in solution, are better than ordinary 
 laundry soaps, but not so effective as fish- or ' ' whale-oil ' ' soaps. 
 The percentage of petroleum is usually small, and without a guide 
 as to the actual amount their use is uncertain. Besides, at the 
 prices charged, the ordinary kerosene emulsion is cheaper 
 
 Among the contact poisons none rank higher than the mineral 
 oils, whether in the form of the crude petroleum or the refined 
 kerosene ; but their effect on plant life is often severe and not 
 always identical. 
 
 As against scale insects that hibernate in the partly grown con- 
 dition, there is nothing better than crude petroleum of forty-three 
 degrees specific gravity on Beaume scale, and, when properly 
 applied, it is safe on almost all kinds of trees when they are dor- 
 mant. Given an oil of the proper gravity, with a vaseline base 
 like all those from the Allegheny region, it should be applied 
 slightly warm — about seventy degrees Fahrenheit — through a 
 fine vermorel nozzle, with a good force behind it, on a dry day 
 to a dry tree, and just enough to wet thoroughly. The oil is very 
 penetrating, soaking through the dry scale covering at once, and 
 coming into contact with the insects. The light oils evaporate in 
 a few minutes, and there remains a film of parafiline and vaseline 
 which is either absorbed in time by the surface or by the dust 
 that settles on it. The vaseline coating gives the application its 
 lasting power, and sooner or later it gets through the thickest 
 layer of scales ; but it also constitutes the danger, for when the 
 oil is applied in excess the outer bark becomes soaked, and on 
 the smaller twigs and branches the bast as well as the tissue 
 dies. In the hands of the experienced man there is no more 
 effective material than crude oil ; in the hands of the careless 
 laborer there is nothing more dangerous to plant life. 
 
 Emulsions of crude oil have not proved satisfactory and me- 
 chanical mi.xtures made by emulsion pumps are equally unreliable. 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 449 
 
 The best of the pumps that were supposed to spray definite 
 proportions of oil and water, failed under ordinary field con- 
 ditions, and after a period of popularity have been almost entirely 
 abandoned. 
 
 Of late, chemists have found means to treat the crude petro- 
 leum, both of paraffine and asphaltum base, in such a way as to 
 make it readily and directly miscible with water. These soluble 
 petroleums are still unduly high in price, and are sold under such 
 names as Kill-O-Scale, Scalecide, and the like ; but they have 
 really solved the problem of using petroleum safely and effec- 
 tively. They are essentially winter washes, but may be safely ap- 
 plied at almost winter strength (one to twenty-five) any time after 
 October i, and at full strength (one to twenty) up to the time 
 that the buds open in the spring. The range of usefulness for 
 summer work has not yet been determined ; but the way having 
 been opened, it seems probable that this most effective of insecti- 
 cides will shortly be developed so as to make it safe on all sorts 
 of plants at all times. 
 
 Kerosene is a distillate from crude petroleum, and equally fatal 
 to insects. It lacks the lighter oils and the parafitine, v^aseline, 
 asphaltum, and other heavy remnants, and hence evaporates com- 
 pletely and rather rapidly. I have used it in a fine spray, undi- 
 luted, on trees and plants in full foliage without causing the least 
 injury, and it has been so used by others ; but it is a dangerous 
 application in careless hands, and not to be resorted to unless 
 there is danger to the tree from the insect attack. Made into an 
 emulsion so as to mix with water, it has a great range of usefulness 
 wherever an active contact insecticide is needed. Kerosene 
 emulsions or preparations which make the oil readily miscible 
 with water may now be purchased from several manufacturers of 
 insecticides, or may be made as follows : 
 
 Hard soap, shaved fine % pound 
 
 Water i gallon 
 
 Kerosene 2 gallons 
 
 Dissolve the soap in boiling water ; warm the kerosene and 
 add the boiling hot suds to it ; then churn with a force-pump for 
 a few minutes, and we get first a milky appearance, which yields 
 rapidly to a cream, and this to a soft, butter-like mass. When 
 cold, it will adhere to glass without oiliness, and the emulsion 
 
 29 
 
450 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 thus made, containing sixty-six per cent, of kerosene, will remain 
 unchanged for some time, and may be mixed with water to any ex- 
 tent. Soft water must be used for best results, and with very hard 
 water a real emulsion cannot be obtained at all without the addi- 
 tion of borax sufficient to soften it. Diluted from nine to twelve 
 times, this emulsion is very effective against plant-lice, many scale 
 insects, and such others as yield to contact insecticides in general. 
 Plants vary in their resistance to this material, not only absolutely 
 but relatively, under different climatic conditions. Diluted nine 
 times, few insects resist its effects, and only the hardier plants can 
 be safely treated ; diluted fifteen times, only the green plant-lice 
 are affected, while some foliage shows material injury. Where 
 plants do not readily stand a dilution of twelve times it is better 
 not to use the emulsion at all. For winter use, the emulsion is 
 useless as against dormant scales, and more injurious to trees than 
 the undiluted oil. 
 
 In a mechanical mixture, applied with emulsion pumps, much 
 larger percentages of kerosene may be safely used, and as a 
 winter application, twenty to twenty-five per cent, of oil, is quite 
 effective against dormant scales when thoroughly applied. 
 
 Another method of mixing oil and water is by using one of the 
 prepared finely ground limes or the very fine dry hydrate as fol- 
 lows : Pour the kerosene into a barrel, and for each gallon stir in 
 four pounds of lime, keeping the mixture in continuous motion un- 
 til it forms a thin, sloppy mass. In case a little kerosene separates 
 add more lime to absorb it. To this add water in quantity equal 
 to the kerosene, stir vigorously to get it well mixed, then add as 
 much more water as is needed to get the desired percentage, 
 and pump the mixture back into itself until a thorough emulsion 
 is secured. It is then a smooth mixture, which flows freely 
 through any nozzle, provided it is well agitated and no foreign 
 matter gets in. 
 
 This kerosene lime, or K-L, reduced so that it contains twenty 
 to twenty-five per cent, kerosene, has been effectively used as a 
 winter wash against dormant scales, and it is safe if reasonably 
 used. As a summer wash, ten per cent, may be safely used on 
 most foliage. The lime here takes the place of soap as emulsify- 
 ing agent, but adds nothing to the effect against the insect nor 
 danger to the tree. Crude oil cannot be used in this way because 
 it forms clots. 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 451 
 
 The addition of pyrethrum extract to the kerosene emulsion 
 has been advised, but the increased effect has been small while 
 the cost is considerable ; hence the mixture is not now in use or 
 recommended. So the kerosene mixture of one quart of soft 
 soap, two quarts water, and one pint kerosene, where the water 
 is so hard as to make an emulsion impossible, has fallen into 
 practical disuse. 
 
 Speaking broadly, the mineral oils are extremely useful insecti- 
 cides in most portions of our country, when their use is under- 
 stood and the applications are intelligently made; otherwise, they 
 are better left alone. 
 
 Gasoline, a much lighter oil, is useful as a contact insecticide 
 in a limited number of cases. It can be applied to textiles 
 infested with "moths," or to carpets infested with "beetles." 
 It is very penetrating, kills everything it touches save eggs, and 
 evaporates rapidly without injury to the fabrics, or to the colors, 
 except of the poorest. It is also the best remedy for reaching 
 bed-bugs and other parasites that hide in crevices. The material 
 is very inflammable, and must be used with that fact in mind at 
 all times. 
 
 Turpentine is rarely used as an insecticide, but it is occasion- 
 ally added at the rate of one pint to a bushel of lime to keep off 
 the striped beetles from melon plants. 
 
 Carbolic acid is valuable to a limited extent. It may be added 
 to the whale-oil soapsuds at the rate of one ounce of crude acid 
 to one gallon of suds, and this adds materially to its effectiveness, 
 especially as against the black plant-lice ; but as the same result 
 can be obtained by using less water in the soap mixture, it becomes 
 a mere question of expense and simplicity. 
 
 Where lime is to be used as a repellent, the addition of one 
 pint of the crude acid to every hundred pounds of the dry 
 hydrate increases its efificiency, and very few insects will touch a 
 surface so protected. The acid is mixed with the water used in 
 slaking the lime. 
 
 As an emulsion it is prepared as follows : Dissolve one pound 
 of hard soap, shaved fine, in one gallon of boiling water ; add one 
 pint of crude carbolic acid, and churn with a force-pump until a 
 smooth, creamy emulsion is obtained. This remains stable for a 
 long time, and may be diluted with thirty parts of water for use 
 against root-maggots affecting cabbage, onions, and the like. It 
 
452 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 is to be applied freely around the base of the infested plants, and 
 probably, in part, depends for its effectiveness upon the large 
 amount of soap it contains. In any case, the earlier the appli- 
 cation is made the greater will be the effect. 
 
 Carbolic acid in varying proportions is often added to mixtures 
 that are applied to tree trunks to prevent the entrance of borers. 
 It does no harm, at any rate, and there is some evidence that the 
 carbolated applications are more completely protective than are 
 those that contain no such material. 
 
 Quassia, in the form of a decoction, has been recommended for 
 insects of various kinds, notably plant-lice, but in my own ex- 
 perience the results have been unsatisfactory. 
 
 Water, either hot or very cold, has some value as an insecticide ; 
 but the margin of safety is small. Boiling water is quickly fatal to 
 most insects and to vegetation as well. At one hundred and 
 twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit it is fatal to most insects and 
 safe on foliage generally ; at one hundred and forty degrees 
 Fahrenheit it is still safe on most foliage, but above that danger 
 begins, and, at one hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit it kills 
 all vegetation on which I tried it. At first blush this seems a 
 very simple remedy, but the practical difficulties of getting the 
 water on at the right temperature are so great that it is rarely 
 used, and then only when it can be applied at short range. 
 
 Very cold or ice-water is effective against plant-lice under 
 some circumstances, and I have known of trees and bushes com- 
 pletely cleaned by one application. But our present knowledge 
 of the effect of cold on insects and plants is too small to make 
 practical recommendations possible. 
 
 Repellents are those materials which are intended to prevent 
 insects from injuring plants that would otherwise be attacked, 
 and it is generally believed that it is the odor that repels. The 
 vapors of some substances, like turpentine, kerosene, naphthaline, 
 camphor, or the like, are absolutely poisonous when breathed, 
 and insects keep away because of the choking sensation pro- 
 duced. Therefore, lime or plaster with turpentine repel the 
 striped melon beetle, while tar-water will not. Other substances 
 have an odor so strong as to disguise that of the food plant so 
 that the insect does not recognize it ; therefore ground bone or 
 fish scraps will attract small rove beetles, but not melon beetles 
 to the melon hills so protected. 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 
 
 453 
 
 Gas-tar is sometimes used as a repellent, but is rarely of any 
 practical value ; it protects where it covers, but no further. So 
 tar-water has been used against plant-lice, sometimes with a 
 measure of success ; but it is not sufficiently reliable to make its 
 use advisable for general purposes. 
 
 Naphthaline in the form of crystals volatilizes slowly, and 
 in a close space makes the air unfit for insects ; therefore it is 
 used to protect stored products, and packed with clothing, 
 woollens, or other fabrics in a tight box or closet preserves 
 them from ' ' moths. ' ' It has been said that a sprinkling of 
 the crystals on the surface of grain in bins will keep of^ ' ' moths, ' ' 
 "weevils," and similar pests, and, no doubt, that is true to some 
 extent. 
 
 In all that is said here concerning insecticides and their effect, 
 the general experience is quoted ; but it should be remembered 
 that many of them are affected by differences of climate or 
 meteorological conditions. More correctly stated, both plants 
 and insects differ in different regions in their susceptibility to 
 certain insecticides ; hence the progressive and careful farmer 
 will, before trying any of the recommended materials on a large 
 scale, either test them in a small way or inquire of the experiment 
 station or other growers in his vicinity. In general, the state- 
 ments made are based upon the work done in the Eastern, Cen- 
 tral, and Northern United States. 
 
 Bisulphide of carbon is a foul-smelling liquid that volatilizes 
 readily at ordinary temperatures and produces a heavy vapor that 
 is deadly to insects of all kinds when they are confined in a closed 
 space and must breathe it. It is especially useful against species 
 infesting stored products, like grain and other seeds, or even in 
 mills and provision houses where they become overrun with 
 "skippers" or Dermestids. When used to kill insects in bins 
 and closed receptacles, a drachm or, roughly, a teaspoonful to 
 each cubic foot of space, will answer. It should be placed in 
 open vessels on top of the grain in the bin or other receptacle, 
 and the vapor, being heavier than the air, will sink to the bottom, 
 where there should be a few screened openings to permit the 
 escape of the material No length of exposure will injure grain 
 for milling or feeding purposes ; but seed grain may lose germi- 
 nating power if exposed longer than twenty-four hours. Its use 
 against certain plant-lice and other underground insects has been 
 
454 ^^ E&ONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 previously referred to. Bisulphide of carbon is very inflammable 
 and explosive, and in no building where it is used should a fire 
 or open light of any kind be allowed. Lighted pipes and cigars 
 must be avoided, because even a spark may cause an explosion; 
 but with ordinary precautions entire buildings may be safely and 
 effectively treated. In all cases where vapors are used their effect 
 depends on their poisonous action when breathed ; therefore, the 
 rooms, enclosures, bins, or other spaces must be as tightly closed 
 as possible, and in large spaces an excess of material should be 
 used, that they may be more rapidly and completely filled. 
 
 Hydrocyanic acid gas is a vapor exceedingly destructive to all 
 life ; but more fatal to animals than to plants. Its use has in- 
 creased to such an extent during recent years, that the general 
 term fumigation has come to have a specific application to the 
 exposure of infested plants to the action of this gas, produced as 
 follows : 
 
 Cyanide of Potassium, 98 per cent, pure i ounce 
 
 Sulphuric acid, specific gravity 1.83 . 2 ounces 
 
 Water 4 ounces 
 
 Use a glazed earthenware vessel of any kind. Put in first the 
 water, then pour in the acid slowly, then, in a thin paper bag, 
 drop in the cyanide broken into small lumps, and get out. The 
 amount above given is sufficient to fill one hundred cubic feet of 
 tightly closed space with a vapor that will kill dormant scales or, 
 in fact, any other animal life in an hour, and will be harmless to 
 all dormant stock save peach, and to most trees other than coni- 
 fers, which should never be fumigated. 
 
 This wholfe matter of fumigation has become so important that 
 Professor W. G. Johnson, now editor of the Ajnerican Agricul- 
 tmdst, has published a book to cover the subject. Naturally, a 
 brief reference is all that is possible here ; but a few well-estab- 
 lished points may be noted as essential : 
 
 First. — The fumigating house, box, tent, or cover must be as 
 nearly gas-tight as it can be made, and should hold the gas, 
 practically intact, for at least one hour. 
 
 Second. —The chemicals should be as nearly pure as possible, 
 and the cyanide, especially, should be of high grade. 
 
 Third.- The order of mixing should be followed absolutely ac- 
 cording to formula, to avoid unpleasant results. 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 455 
 
 Nurserymen can clear their trees of most of the scale pests by 
 fumigation, and almost all insects, not in the ^^<g stage, may be 
 killed by this process. In the orchard, the Pacific coast horti- 
 culturists have developed a practice that must be described at 
 length to be understood. In the East, fumigation has made little 
 headway, and there is no prospect of great improvement in the 
 near future. In the conservatory or greenhouse. Prof. Johnson's 
 book is a reliable guide ; but practically every kind of plant must 
 be separately studied before the gas can be safely and effectively 
 used. In factories, mills, or houses, when infested by insect pests 
 of any kind, this cyanide fumigation offers the best remedy, pro- 
 vided the inclosures can be made tight and no human beings are 
 exposed to the gas. It must always be remembered that this 
 combination is about the most poisonous mixture that can be 
 generated, and that it requires only a little carelessness to result 
 fatally. 
 
 For some unknown reason, the gas acts more fatally upon 
 insects and less harmfully upon plants in the dark ; hence fumi- 
 gation should be made at night, under black tents or in dark in- 
 closures. Where tents are used to cover trees, or where nursery 
 stock is to be covered in bulk, eight-ounce duck soaked in boiled 
 linseed oil is the best material and most nearly gas-tight. Treat- 
 ments should never be made in the middle of a hot day nor, when 
 it can be avoided, on deciduous trees when in foliage. 
 
 A few words must be said of patented insecticides or mixtures 
 sold under fancy names. In general such should be avoided, 
 for, though some are meritorious, they cost altogether too much. 
 The name has often covered a mere mixture of Paris green and 
 land plaster at druggist's rates, and, practically all of the combi- 
 nations intended to reach chewing insects have an arsenical 
 preparation as a base. It is also advisable to warn against 
 plausible schemes for preventing insect injury — i.e., placing some 
 substance into the body of a tree to be carried into the circulation 
 to repel or kill insects inclined to feed on the foliage. All such 
 preparations heretofore used have been frauds, and in the same 
 category belong those mixtures into which seeds or tubers are 
 to be dipped to prevent the attack of insects on the foliage that 
 comes later. 
 
456 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MACHINERY. 
 
 Having determined the character of an injurious insect and 
 the remedy to be applied, it remains to decide the method in 
 which the appUcation is to be made ; and that necessitates some 
 information concerning pumps, nozzles, bellows, and the like. A 
 few years ago advice was easy, for the choice was restricted ; now 
 there are dozens of pumps, ranging from bucket to power 
 sprayers, and each farmer must be left to select that type of 
 machine most suitable to his needs. Indeed, matters have pro- 
 gressed so far that many fruit-growers order outfits of their own 
 design to suit their particular conditions. Consequently, only 
 general principles can now be offered under this heading, and the 
 first of all is that, whatever the outfit, be sure that it is amply 
 sufficient for the purpose intended. Thoroughness is essential to 
 a satisfactory result in any case, and that is unattainable with in- 
 adequate machinery. The pump should have the working parts 
 of brass, the valves metal, the handle so adjustable as to give the 
 maximum leverage for the stroke ; the air chamber should be of 
 good size to secure equality of pressure, and the whole should be 
 put together in such a way as to be easily taken apart for clean- 
 ing or repair, in case that becomes necessary. Simplicity and 
 power, — the maximum effect with the minimum effort, — these are 
 the desiderata ! Too large a cylinder is not desirable, because 
 pressure rather than large capacity of discharge is desired. It is 
 better in all pumps of any size to provide for two discharge out- 
 lets, and half or three-quarter is better than full hose, because 
 the tubing can then be made both stronger and lighter. 
 
 For ordinary spraying work, nothing is better than the Ver- 
 morel nozzle, or one embodying the principle of a rotary chamber; 
 and where a group of three is employed, a great ball of fine 
 spray can be produced that will cover a large surface in a very 
 short time. . For geared machines used in the field to spray 
 several rows of potatoes or other crops at once, nozzles of the 
 Bordeaux type, throwing a fiat spray, are better, because they 
 are more readily cleared when they clog. Such nozzles are also 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 457 
 
 more desirable when lime or similar thick washes are to be 
 applied. 
 
 As to tanks, anything that holds water will serve ; and the 
 farmer should so arrange matters as to make the best use of what 
 outfit he already has. Nothing will be gained by describing the 
 various arrangements for reaching the tops of trees or all sides of 
 a row of any field crop. These are details that must be worked 
 out by the individual with the aid of the catalogues which manu- 
 facturers will be glad to send on request. 
 
 Gasoline and steam engines are used to produce power where 
 large orchards of large trees must be sprayed, and in cities 
 where shade trees are to be dealt with, such machines are usually 
 built for specific needs. A recent type is a machine in which the 
 axles are geared to an air-pump and the power is furnished by the 
 air so compressed. 
 
 The simplest type of power machine is a steel tank from which 
 the mixture is forced by the pressure of liquid carbonic acid 
 gas. This machine has the power under the most absolute con- 
 trol, and requires no exertion to produce it. 
 
 A good machine for applying an insecticide must distribute it 
 quickly, thoroughly, and economically ; and whatever the outfit 
 may be, it must be adapted to do its best work under the condi- 
 tions of the locality where it is to be used. 
 
 Brief mention may be made of the atomizers and compressed 
 air sprayers of small capacity for garden use, which may be 
 purchased of almost any seedsman or hardware dealer, so that 
 not even the city gardener need be without his spraying outfit. 
 
 Applications in dry form are gaining in favor in localities 
 where the water supply is limited ; and in place of the old- 
 fashioned hand bellows there are now fan-blowers of all sizes — 
 dusters that will cover half a dozen rows of potatoes or a large 
 apple-tree with equal ease and thoroughness ! Simple methods 
 of distributing dry Paris green in cotton fields through a pair of 
 sacks are in local use ; but are not available to an equal extent 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Combination or emulsion pumps, spraying oil and water in a defi- 
 nite percentage, have been on the market for some years, but have 
 not proved satisfactory in all respects. So long as they work 
 well the results obtained are good ; but the two pumps or suc- 
 tions do not always work evenly, and the least disturbance to one 
 
458 
 
 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 disturbs the proportion of oil and water, and the results are seen 
 in injury to trees and lack of effect on insects. 
 
 Practically, then, the whole matter of selecting an outfit for 
 applying insecticides from the wide range of those on the market 
 is on exactly the same plane as the selection of any other bit of 
 farm machinery. The lowest priced machine is not always the 
 cheapest, nor is the highest priced always the best — simplicity 
 and durability at a moderate cost should be aimed at. 
 
 Special apparatus for a special purpose is occasionally proposed, 
 placed upon the market, and then abandoned. Such was the 
 McGowen injector for applying bisulphide of carbon to under- 
 ground insects. The instrument was fully adapted to its purpose, 
 but the demand was not sufficient to warrant its continued manu- 
 facture. 
 
 So, local needs develop collectors for definite purposes; like 
 " hopper-dozers" for gathering grasshoppers or leaf-hoppers ; or 
 
 Fig. 474. 
 
 " Hopper-dozer" for man-power. 
 
 "curcuHo catchers " for collecting the pestiferous plum curculio ; 
 or fans or other machinery for gathering grape-leaf hoppers, etc., 
 etc. Such special devices are usually brought to the notice of 
 those that need them through the agency of the experiment 
 stations ; their detailed description would enlarge this chapter 
 out of all due bounds. 
 
 Finally, a few words as to fumigating outfits. Since the advent 
 of the San Jose or pernicious scale in the Eastern and Central 
 States, and the general adoption of the hydrocyanic acid gas 
 treatment for nursery stock, so many kinds of boxes, tents, and 
 other coverings have been described that even the mere enumera- 
 tion would make quite a page. Briefly stated, the requisites for 
 successful fumigation are a tight covering and pure chemicals. 
 
Fig. 475. 
 
 The Wolfskin fumigator. 
 
INSECTICIDES, PREVENTIVES, AND MACHINERY. 459 
 
 For the nurseryman this is an easy proposition, because he builds 
 a house of suitable size, of proper material, and so arranged that 
 it will close tightly, excluding light and air and retaining the gas. 
 For the orchardist the matter is less simple. He must have a 
 cover to fit around or over his trees, and the moving of a large 
 box always requires considerable help or mechanical aid. If the 
 trees to be treated are large, there must be a tent of oiled canvas 
 of great size and weight, and a special derrick or other me- 
 chanical contrivance to move it. No two trees being quite equal 
 in size, the amount of chemicals must be calculated for each. 
 
 Professor W. G. Johnson's, book covers all these points, and 
 should be consulted by anyone intending to consider orchard fumi- 
 gation in the East. On the Pacific coast conditions are so much 
 different that either a community owns an outfit and has trained 
 men to operate it, or it becomes a commercial matter, and outfits 
 may be hired, the owner of the trees simply footing the bills. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abdomen, how made up, 26. 
 Acanthia lectularia, 155. 
 Achatodes zeas, 299. 
 Acrididae, defined, 85. 
 
 life history, 89. 
 Acridium species, 89. 
 Acronycta americana, 289. 
 Actias luna, 282. 
 Aculeata, defined, 390. 
 Adaha bipuncta, 174. 
 Adephaga, defined, 165, 
 Adliesive mixture, 437 
 Agallia sanguinolenta, 147. 
 Agaristidag, 264. 
 Agricultural ants, 398. 
 Agrilus ruficollis, 186. 
 
 sinuatus, 187. 
 Air-sacs or bladders, 36. 
 
 -tubes, extensile, 37. 
 Alaus oculatus, 183. 
 Alder-blight, 133. 
 Aletia argillacea, 301. 
 Aleyrodes citri, 122. 
 Aleyrodidae, 121. 
 Allorhina, species, 203. 
 Alulet, 365. 
 
 Alypia octo-maculata, 263. 
 Ambulatoria, 81. 
 American blight, 133. 
 Amphicerus bicaudatus, 195. 
 Anabrus simplex, 97. 
 Anal glands and secretions, 30. 
 Anasa tristis, 160. 
 Anatis 15-punctata, 174. 
 Andrena species, 411. 
 Angoumois grain moth, 326. 
 Anisopteryx species, 307. 
 Anisota senatoria, 278. 
 Anomala lucicola, 202. 
 
 Anomis species, 300. 
 Antennas, function of, 20. 
 
 general characters, 19. 
 Anthocoridas, 156. 
 Anthomyiids, 360. 
 Anthonomus 4-gibbus, 232. 
 
 signatus, 231. 
 Anthrax, species of, 345. 
 Anthrenus scrophularias, 179. 
 Ant-lions, 76. 
 Ants, described, 390. 
 
 and plant-lice, 127, 394. 
 Apanteles species, 383. 
 Aphaniptera, 328. 
 Aphelinus mytilaspidis, 385. 
 Aphididas, 123. 
 Aphidius species, 384. 
 Aphis-lions, 74. 
 
 mali, 134. 
 
 parasites, 383. 
 
 persicse-niger, 134. 
 Aphodius, 198. 
 Apis mellifica, 414. 
 Apple, Anthonomus on, 232. 
 
 blight-louse, 133. 
 
 case-bearer, 324. 
 
 codling moth on, 322. 
 
 flat-head borer in, 186. 
 
 leaf-crumpler, 313. 
 
 long-horned twig-borers, 209, 
 
 -louse, 134. 
 
 -maggot, 366. 
 
 oyster-shell scale on, 115. 
 
 round-head borer in, 209. 
 
 tree-hoppers on, 138. 
 
 twig-borer, 195. 
 
 yellow-neck caterpillar, 275. 
 Aquatic forms, how they breathe, 36. 
 Aramigus fulleri, 228. 
 
 461 
 
462 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Arbor-vitse, bag-worm on, 273. 
 
 Arctiidas, 266. 
 
 Argynnis species, 244. 
 
 Arista of flies, 330. 
 
 Armored scales, 114. 
 
 Army-worm, 294. 
 
 Arsenate of lead and its use, 436. 
 
 Arsenic and lime combinations, 434. 
 
 Arsenic as an insecticide, 434. 
 
 Arsenites and their use, 433-438. 
 
 Ascalaphus species, 76. 
 
 Asilidas, 344. 
 
 Asopia costalis, 312. 
 
 Asparagus beetle, 211. 
 
 Aspidiotus perniciosiLS, ir8. 
 
 Atomaria species, 177. 
 
 Atomizer sprayers, 457. 
 
 Atropos species, 69. 
 
 Attacus species, 279, 
 
 Auditory sense of insects, 43. 
 
 Automeris io, 283. 
 
 Bag-worms, 273. 
 Balancers of flies, 327. 
 Balaninus species, 234. 
 Bandings of printers' ink, etc., 431. 
 Bark-beetles, 237. 
 
 -slippers, 207. 
 Beak of bug mouth, 16. 
 Bean lady-bird, 175. 
 
 -weevils, 223. 
 Bed-bug, 155. 
 Beech blight, 133. 
 Bees, 407. 
 
 long- and short-tongued, 410. 
 Bee-flies, 345. 
 
 -louse, 370. 
 
 -moth, 316. 
 
 mouth, 19. 
 Beet-leaf maggots, 365. 
 Beetles, chapter on, 164. 
 
 classification of, 165. 
 Bell moths, 319. 
 Belostoma americana, 150. 
 Bembecia marginata, 260. 
 Bembecidas, 403. 
 Bibionidae, 340. 
 Bichloride of mercurv, 439. 
 Bill-bugs in corn, 236. 
 
 Bipectinated antennae, 21. 
 
 Bisulphide of carbon, 453. 
 
 against hen-lice, 71. 
 against Termites, 67. 
 
 Biting lice, described, 70. 
 
 Bittacus, 77. 
 
 Black beetles, their habits, 82. 
 
 Blackberry cane-borer, 186. 
 crown-borer, 260. 
 pithy gall, 378. 
 root-borers, 206. 
 saw-fly borer, 375. 
 
 Black flies, 340. 
 
 Blattidae, described, 81. 
 
 Blennocampa pygmsea, 374. 
 
 Blissus leucopterus, 158. 
 
 Blister beetles, 225. 
 
 Blood of insects, 33. 
 
 Blow-fly, 257. 
 
 Blues and coppers, 245. 
 
 Body-louse, life history, 105. 
 
 Boiled lime wash, 442. 
 
 Boll-worm, 303. 
 Bombardier beetles, 168. 
 Bombyliidse, 345. 
 Bombylius species, 345. 
 Book-lice, 68. 
 Borax, against roaches, 82. 
 Bordeaux mixture and its uses, 43S. 
 Boreal lady-bird, 175. 
 Borers, remedies for, 188, 430. 
 Boreus, 77. 
 Bostrychus, 193. 
 Bots on cattle, 352. 
 Bot-flies, 351. 
 Brachinus, 168. 
 Brachystola magna, 91. 
 Braconidae, 382. 
 Brain in insects, 39. 
 Bran and Paris green, 438. 
 Braula caeca, 370. 
 Breast-bone of gall-gnats, 336. 
 Breathing of insects, 33. 
 Bristle-tails, 53. 
 Bristled antennae, 22. 
 Bruchidae, 223. 
 Brush-footed butterflies, 242. 
 Buffalo gnat, 340. 
 grasshopper, 91. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 463 
 
 Buffalo moth, 179. 
 
 tree-hoppers, 138. 
 Bugs, defined, 100. 
 Buhach, 439. 
 Bumble-bees, 411. 
 
 life history, 416. 
 Buprestidae, 185. 
 Buprestis, 185. 
 Butterflies, chapter on, 240. 
 
 classified, 241. 
 
 mouth of, 16. 
 Byturus unicolor, 180. 
 
 Cabbage butterflies, 246. 
 
 harlequin bug on, 162. 
 
 -lice, 134. 
 
 -maggot, 361. 
 
 Plusia, 302. 
 
 thrips, 102. 
 
 -worms, parasites on, 385. 
 Caccecia fervidana, 321. 
 
 rosaceana, 321. 
 Caddice-flies. 'jj. 
 Cadelles, 182. 
 
 Caecal tubes or pouches, 30. 
 Calandra, species of, 237. 
 Calliphora vomitoria, 357. 
 Camel crickets, 97. 
 Canker-worms, 307. 
 Capsidag, 156. 
 Carabidse, 166. 
 
 Carbolic acid and its uses, 451. 
 Carbon disulphide and its uses, 453. 
 Carnivorous beetles, 165. 
 Carolina locust, 88. 
 Carpenter ants, 391. 
 
 bees, 412. 
 Carpet beetle, 179. 
 Carpocapsa pomonella, 322. 
 Carpophilus hemipterus, 181. 
 Carrion beetles, 171. 
 Cassida bivittata, 222. 
 Cassidae, 222. 
 Catch crops, use of 426. 
 Caterpillar hunters, 168. 
 Catocala species, 306. 
 Caustics, how they kill, 39. 
 Caustic potash and soda washes, 446. 
 Cecidomyia destructor, 336. 
 
 Cecidomyia leguminicola, 338. 
 Cecidomyidae, 336. 
 Cecropia moth, 280. 
 Cephalo-thorax, defined, 34. 
 Cephus pygmseus, 376. 
 Cerambycidag, 205. 
 Ceraphron triticum, 388. 
 Ceratocampidse, 278. 
 Ceratomia amyntor, 257. 
 Ceratopogon species, 334. 
 Ceratopsyllus serraticeps, 329. 
 Ceresa bubalus, 139. 
 Cerci, defined, 26. 
 Cercopidse, defined, 146. 
 Ceroplastes, 112. 
 Chagtocnema confinis, 219. 
 Chalcididse, 384. 
 Chalcophora, 185. 
 Chauliodes pectinicornis, 72. 
 Chauliognathus, 191. 
 Chermesinae, defined, 128. 
 Cherry-louse, 134. 
 Chestnut weevils, 234. 
 Chicken-fleas, 329. 
 
 -lice, 71. 
 Chickens versus insects, 426. 
 Chilo species, 317. 
 Chilocorus bivulnerus, 174. 
 Chinch-bug, life history, 158. 
 Chinese silkworm, 286. 
 Chionaspis furfurus, 119. 
 Chironomidge, 333. 
 Chitine, peculiarities of, 14, 38. 
 Chortophaga viridifasciata, 88. 
 Chrysalis, defined, 50. 
 Chrysanthemum fly, 348. 
 Chrysididse, 390. 
 Chrysobothris, 186. 
 Chrysomelidae, 205, 210. 
 Chrysopa, 74. 
 
 Chrysophanus, species of, 245, 
 Chylific ventricle, 30. 
 Cicada, defined, 139. 
 
 septendecim, 140. 
 Cicindelidse, 166. 
 Cigarette beetle, 193. 
 Ciliated antennae, 22. 
 Cimbex americana, 374. 
 Circulation in insects, 33. 
 
464 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Citheronia regalis, 278. 
 
 Classification in general, 52. 
 
 Clavate antennae, 21. 
 
 Clavicornia, defined, 165. 
 
 Cleanliness, to check insects, 423. 
 
 Clear-wing moths, 259. 
 
 Cleridse, 192. 
 
 Clerus apivorus, 192. 
 
 Click-beetles, 182. 
 
 Climbing cut-worms, 292. 
 
 Clisiocampa americana, 284. * 
 
 Clothes moths, 324. 
 
 Clothilla, 69. 
 
 Clothing of bees, 408. 
 
 Clover hay-worm, 312. 
 leaf-beetle, 229. 
 seed-midge, 338. 
 stem-borer, 176. 
 
 Coccidas, defined, 106. 
 
 Coccinella 9-notata, 174. 
 
 Coccinellidae, 172. 
 
 Cochineal insect, 106. 
 
 Cockchafer, 201. 
 
 Cockscomb gall on elm, 132 
 
 Cocoon, described, 50. 
 
 Codling moth, 322. 
 
 Coleoptera, defined, 54, 55. 
 chapter on, 164. 
 classification of, 165. 
 Colias philodice, 250. 
 Colon, described, 30. 
 Colopha ulmicola, 132. 
 Colorado potato-beetle, 213. 
 Commercial fertilizers as insecticides, 
 
 427. 
 Complemental sexes of Termites, 66. 
 Complete metamorphosis, 50. 
 Compound eyes, 42. 
 Cone-nosed grasshoppers, 96. 
 Conocephalus, 96. 
 Conopidfe, 351. 
 Conorhinus sanguisuga, 152. 
 Conotrachelus cratsegi, 234. 
 
 nenuphar, 232. 
 Contact poisons, how they act, 38. 
 Coppers and blues, 245. 
 Copris Carolina, 198. 
 Coptocycla aurichalcea, 223. 
 Coreidue, defined, 160. 
 
 Corimelsenidae, defined, 163. 
 Corn bill-bugs, 236. 
 
 -root Diabrotica, 215. 
 -root-louse, 134. 
 -root web-worm, 317. 
 -worm, 303. 
 Cornicles, defined, 126. 
 Corisa, habits of, 150. 
 Coriscus, 153. 
 Corrodentia, 68. 
 Corrosive sublimate, 439. 
 Corticaria, 177. 
 Corydalus cornutus, 72. 
 Corynetes rufipes, 193. 
 Cossidae, 286. 
 Cotalpa lanigera, 202, 
 Cotton boll-worm, 303. 
 red-bug on, 157. 
 -stainer, 157. 
 -worms, 300. 
 Cottony cushion scale, 108. 
 
 maple scale, no. 
 Cow-lice, how destroyed, 71. 
 Coxa, defined, 26. 
 Coxal cavity, defined, 26. 
 Crab-louse, 105. 
 Crambids, 316. 
 Crambus species, 317. 
 Cranberry fire-worm, 320. 
 fruit-worm, 313. 
 span-worm, 309. 
 Teras, reflowing for, 428. 
 Crane-flies, 330. 
 Cremastogaster lineolata, 392. 
 Crepidodera, 219. 
 Crickets, 97. 
 Crioceris asparagi, 211. 
 i2-punctatus, 211. 
 Crop, described, 30. 
 
 of lepidoptera, 31. 
 Crop remnants should be removed, 424. 
 Croton bugs, 82. 
 Cruciferous weeds, lice on, 134. 
 Crude petroleum, 448. 
 Cryptophagus. 177. 
 Cuckoo-bees, 390. 
 Cucumber caterpillar borer, 311. 
 flea-beetle, 219. 
 striped beetle, 214. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 465 
 
 Cucujidse, 176. 
 Culicidae, 332. 
 Curculio, defined, 228. 
 Currant borer, 263. 
 
 4-lined plant bug on, 156. 
 
 long-horned borer in, 208. 
 
 worm, 372. 
 Cursoria, defined, 81. 
 Cuterebera emasculator, 352. 
 Cut-worms, life history, 290. 
 
 remedies for, 293. 
 Cyanide fumigation, 454. 
 Cyclone nozzle, 456. 
 Cydnidse, defined, 162. 
 Cyllene pictus, 208. 
 
 robiniae, 208. 
 Cymatophora pampinaria, 309. 
 Cynipidae, defined, 376. 
 Cyrtophyllum concavum, 94. 
 
 Dagger moths, 289. 
 
 Danais archippus, 242. 
 
 Darkling beetles, 224. 
 
 Dascyllidse, 182. 
 
 Datana ministra, 276. 
 
 Day-flies, 59. 
 
 Death-watch, 69. 
 
 Delta moths, 306. 
 
 Deltoids, 306. 
 
 Dendrolene and raupenleim, 431. 
 
 Dermaptera, 79. 
 
 Dermestes lardarius, 178. 
 
 vulpinus, 178. 
 Dermestidse, 178. 
 Devil's darning-needles, 60. 
 Diabrotica longicornis, 215, 
 
 i2-punctata, 215. 
 
 vittata, 214. 
 Diapheromera femorata, 86. 
 Diaspinae, defined, 114. 
 Diaspis rosae, 119. 
 Diastrophus nebulosus, 378. 
 Diatraea saccharalis, 318. 
 Dicerca, 185. 
 
 Dictyophorus reticulatus, 91. 
 Digestive system, described, 28-30. 
 Digger wasps, 399, 403. 
 Diplosis pyrivora, 339. 
 
 tritici, 338. 
 
 Diptera, chapter on, 327. 
 
 defined, 54, 55. 
 Diseases of insects, 418. 
 Dissosteira Carolina, 85. 
 
 longipennis, 85. 
 Dobson, 72. 
 Dog-flea, 328. 
 Dorsal surface, 25. 
 Dorsum, is upper surface, 25. 
 Doryphora lo-lineata, 213. 
 Dragon-flies, 60. 
 Drasteria crassiuscula, 305. 
 
 erechtea, 305. 
 Drone-fly, 348. 
 Drosophila species, 367. 
 Dryocampa rubicunda, 279. 
 Dry powders, how applied, 457. 
 
 how they kill, 39. 
 Dynastes, 203. 
 Dysdercus suturellus, 157. 
 Dytiscidae, 169. 
 
 Ears of insects, 43. 
 Earwigs, life history, etc., 79. 
 Economic entomology, development of, 
 
 9- 
 Ectobia germanica, 82. 
 Edema albifrons, 277. 
 Eggs, number laid by insects, 45, 
 
 of mantidae, 84. 
 
 of roaches, 81. 
 
 stage described, 48. 
 Eight-spotted forester, 263. 
 Elaphidion species, 207. 
 Elateridae, 182. 
 Electric-light bugs, 151. 
 Elm, cockscomb gall on, 132. 
 
 leaf-beetle, 217. 
 
 4-horned sphinx on, 257. 
 Elytra, 164. 
 Emasculating bot, 352. 
 Empretia stimulea, 271. 
 Enemies of insects, 45. 
 Ephemeroptera, described, 59. 
 Ephestia kiihniella, 315. 
 Epidapus scabei, 335. 
 Epicauta cinerea, 227. 
 
 pennsylvanica, 227. 
 
 vittata, 225. 
 
466 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Epidemics among insects, 45. 
 Epilachne borealis, 175. 
 
 corrupta, 175. 
 Epipharynx, function of, 15, 43. 
 Epitrix, 219. 
 Eriocampa cerasi, 372. 
 Eristalis tenax,348, 350. 
 Erotylidae, 175. 
 Erythroneura vitis, 148. 
 Euchromia ipomaeae, 264. 
 Eucleidae, 271. 
 Eumenes, nests of, 404. 
 Euphoria inda, 204. 
 Euplexoptera, 79. 
 Eupogonius, 209. 
 Eurycreon rantalis, 311. 
 Eyes, compound, 22. 
 
 of insects, 41. 
 
 Fall army-worm, 297. 
 
 plowing, effect of, 425. 
 
 web-worm, 266. 
 Family, defined, 52. 
 Farm practice to prevent insect attack, 
 
 423- 
 Feather-wing moths, 318. 
 Feeding habits, how determined, 14. 
 Feelers are antennag, 19. 
 Femur, defined, 26. 
 Fenesica tarquinius, 246. 
 Fertilizers as insecticides, 427. 
 Fidia viticida, 211. 
 Filicornia, defined, 165, 
 Filiform antennas, 21. 
 Fire-flies, described, 190 
 Fish-moth, 53, 56. 
 
 -oil soap, use and formula, 447. 
 Flat-head borers, 185. 
 Flax-seed stage of Hessian fly, 336. 
 Flea-beetles, 219. 
 Fleas, described, 328. 
 Flesh-flies, 356. 
 Flies, chapter on, 327. 
 Flower-beetles, 192. 
 
 -flies, 347. 
 Fly, experiments with, 41. 
 Foraging ants, 399. 
 ForficulidEe, defined, 79. 
 Formicidae, 391. 
 
 Fossores, 399. 
 Four-lined plant-bug, 156. 
 Fowls, affected by lice, 71. 
 Frog-hoppers, 146. 
 Fruit bark-beetle, 238. 
 Fulgoridae, defined, 146. 
 F"uller's rose-beetle, 228. 
 Fumigating apparatus, 458. 
 Funicle of antenna, 22. 
 Fungus diseases of insects, 418, 422. 
 gnats 334. 
 
 Galeruca xanthomelaena, 217. 
 Gall-flies, 376. 
 
 -gnats, 336. 
 
 -lice, described, 132. 
 Galls, ink from, 378. 
 Galleria melonella, 316. 
 Ganglia, described, 39. 
 Garden web-worm, 311. 
 Gas sprayer, 457. 
 Gas-tar as an insecticide, 431, 453. 
 Gasoline as an insecticide, 451. 
 Gastrophilus equi, 351. 
 Geared machines, 457. 
 Gelechia cereallella, 326. 
 Geniculate antennae, 22. 
 Genus, defined, 52. 
 Geometridas, 307. 
 Geotrypes, 198. 
 Gills, of aquatic insects, 37. 
 Gizzard, described, 30. 
 Glow-worms, 190. 
 Gnats, 334, 340. 
 Goat-moths, 286. 
 Goldsmith beetle, 202. 
 Gouty gall on blackberry, 186. 
 Grain-weevils, 237. 
 Grape, American Procris on, 264. 
 
 chafers on, 202. 
 
 8-spotted forester on, 263. 
 
 flea-beetle, 219. 
 
 leaf-hopper, 148. 
 
 phylloxera, 128. 
 
 plume-moth, 318. 
 
 Pyrophila on, 299. 
 
 -root-worm, 206, 212. 
 
 -slug, 373. 
 Grapta comma, 244. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 467 
 
 Grass, leaf-hoppers in, 147. 
 
 thrips on. 102. 
 Grasshoppers, life-history, etc., 89. 
 
 long-horned, 93. 
 
 short-horned, 85. 
 Green-striped locust, 88. 
 Ground-beetles, described, 166. 
 Grouse locusts, life-history, 92. 
 Gryllidse, defined, 97. 
 Gryllotalpa, 98. 
 Gryllus, species, 99. 
 Gypsy moth, 270. 
 Gyrinidae, 170. 
 
 Haematobia serrata, 358. 
 Hair-streaks, 245. 
 Halisidota, species, 268. 
 Halteres, of flies, 327. 
 Haltica chalybea, 219. 
 Ham-beetle, 193. 
 Hammer-head borers, 185. 
 Harlequin cabbage-bug, 162. 
 Harrisina americana, 264. 
 Harvest-flies, 139. 
 Haustellate mouth-structures, 16. 
 Hawk-moths, 254. 
 Head and its appendages, 14. 
 
 -louse, 103. 
 Hearing of insects, 43. 
 Heart, described, 32. 
 Heliothini, 303. 
 Heliothis armiger, 303. 
 Hellebore and its use, 440. 
 Hellgrammites, 72. 
 Hemerobiidag, described, 72. 
 Hemerobius, 74. 
 Hemiptera, chapter on, 100. 
 
 defined, 53, 55. 
 Hen-lice, 71. 
 Hermaphrodites, 46. 
 Hesperidoe, 254. 
 Hessian fly, 336. 
 
 eff'ect of late planting, 428. 
 Heterocera, 241, 254. 
 Heteromera, defined, 165, 224. 
 Heteroptera, defined, 53, 100. 
 
 treated, 150. 
 Hickory horned devil, 278. 
 
 phylloxera on, 130. 
 
 Hippiscus discoideus, 88. 
 Hippoboscidae, 369. 
 Hippodamia, 174. 
 Hispidae, 221. 
 Histeridae, 180. 
 Hive-bee, 414. 
 Hog-caterpillars, 257. 
 
 -louse, 104. 
 Homoptera, defined, 53, 100, 106. 
 Honey-ants, 396. 
 
 -bee, 414. 
 
 -dew, 126. 
 
 -tubes of plant-lice, 126. 
 Hop, Grapta on, 244. 
 
 -louse, life history, 125. 
 
 snout-moth, 306. 
 Hopper-dozers, 92, 458. 
 Horn-fly, 358. 
 
 -tails, 371, 374. 
 Hornets, 406. 
 Horse-bot, 351. 
 
 -flies, 342. 
 House-fly, 356. 
 
 Household pests, 56, 82, 155, 356, 396. 
 Humming-bird hawk-moths, 257. 
 Hybernia tiliaria, 308. 
 Hydrate of lime, dry, 438, 441. 
 Hydrobatidae, defined, 151. 
 Hydrocyanic acid gas, 454. 
 Hydrophilidae, 170. 
 Hymenoptera, chapter on, 370. 
 
 defined, 54, 55. 
 Hypena humuli, 306. 
 Hyperchiria io, 283. 
 Hyper-parasites, 388. 
 Hyphantria cunea, 266. 
 Hypoderma lineata, 352. 
 Hypopharynx, structure and function, 
 16, 43- 
 
 Icerya, Vedalia against, 421. 
 
 purchasi, 108. 
 Ichneumon flies, 381. 
 Ichneumonidae, 381. 
 Ileum, described, 30. 
 Indian Cetonia, 204. 
 Incomplete metamorphosis, 50. 
 Injectors, 458. 
 Inoculation of trees, 455. 
 
468 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Insect powder, 439. 
 Insecticide, chapter on, 431-455. 
 Insects, defined, 11, 12, 54. 
 Insidious flower-bugs, 156. 
 Introduced insects, 421. 
 Introductory, 9. 
 lo moth, 284. 
 Ipomaea, larvae on, 264. 
 Ips fasciatus, 181. 
 Isabella moth, 266. 
 Isomera, defined, 165. 
 Isoptera, 64. 
 Isosoma species, 386. 
 
 jassidae, defined, 147. 
 Jigger-fleas, 329. 
 Joint-worms, 386. 
 Jug-handle grubs, 254. 
 Jumping plant-lice, 137, 
 June-bugs, 200. 
 
 Kainit, against root-lice, 131. 
 Katydids, described, 94. 
 Kermes, described, no. 
 Kerosene as an insecticide, 449. 
 
 how it kills, 38. 
 Kerosene-Lime-K-L; 450. 
 
 Labium, structure and function, 16. 
 Labrum, structure and function, 15. 
 Lace-wing flies, their habits, etc., 74. 
 Lachnosterna, 201. 
 Lady-birds, described, 172. 
 Lsetilia coccidivora, 315. 
 Lamellate attennae, 21. 
 Lamellicornia, defined, 165, 196. 
 Lampyridae, 190. 
 Lancets of fly mouth, 18. 
 Languriamozardi, 176. 
 Lantern-flies, described, 146. 
 Laphria, species, 344. 
 Laphygma frugiperda, 297. 
 Larder-beetles, 178. 
 Larridae, 403. 
 
 Larvae distinguished from worms, 11. 
 Larval stage, 48. 
 Lasioderma serricorne, 193. 
 Lasius species, 394. 
 Lawns, ants on, 395. 
 
 Leaf-beetles, described, 210. 
 
 -chafers, 199. 
 
 -hoppers, described, 146. 
 life-history, 147. 
 
 -roller caterpillars, 319. 
 Leather-beetle, 178. 
 Lebia grandis, 168. 
 Lecanium, defined, 112. 
 Legs, where located, 25. 
 
 structure of, 25. 
 Lema.trilineata, 211. 
 Leopard-moth, 287. 
 Lepidoptera, chapter on, 240. 
 
 defined, 54, 55. 
 Lettuce, root-lice on, 127. 
 Leucania albilinea, 296. 
 
 unipuncta, 294. 
 Lice, biting, their habits, etc., 70. 
 
 on domestic animals, 71, 105. 
 
 sucking, 104. 
 Life -history, defined, 50. 
 
 economic importance of, 50, 
 Ligyrus rugiceps, 203, 
 Limacodidae, 271. 
 Lime and kerosene, 450. 
 
 and sulphur washes, 442-445. 
 
 as a preventive, 432. 
 
 as an insecticide, 438, 447. 
 
 -tree moth, 308. 
 Limnophilus rhombicus, 78. 
 Litargus, 177. 
 Lixus concavus, 230. 
 Locomotion, organs of, 25. 
 Locust borer, 287. 
 
 leaf-beetle, 222. 
 Locustidoe, defined, 93. 
 Locusts or cicadas, 140. 
 Locusts, destructive species, 90. 
 
 remedial measures, 92. 
 London purple, 436. 
 Long-horned beetles, 205. 
 Loopers, 307. 
 
 Losses caused by insects, 9. 
 Louse-flies, 369. 
 Loxostege similalis, 311. 
 Lubber grasshoppers, 91. 
 Lucanidae, 196. 
 Lucanus species, 197. 
 Lucillia macellaria, 357. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 469 
 
 Luna-moth, 282. 
 Lycsena, species of, 245. 
 Lycaenidae, 242. 
 Lygaeidae, defined, 158. 
 Lymantriidae defined, 268. 
 
 Machinery, chapter on, 456-459. 
 
 Macrobasis unicolor, 227. 
 
 Macrodactylus subspinosus, 199. 
 
 Malachiidae, 191. 
 
 Mallophagidas, 70. 
 
 Malpighian tubules, 30. 
 
 Mandibles, structure and function, 15. 
 
 Mandibulate mouth, 15. 
 
 Mantidae, described, 83. 
 
 Mantis religiosa, 84. 
 
 Mantispidae, 76. 
 
 Manure, favors insects, 428. 
 
 podurids breed in, 57. 
 Maple-borer, 208. 
 
 clear-wing borer, 262. 
 
 scale, life-history, no. 
 March-flies, 340. 
 Margaronia nitidalis, 311. 
 Mask of dragon-fly larva, 62. 
 May-beetles, 200. 
 
 -flies, their habits, etc., 59. 
 Maxillae, structure and function, 15. 
 McGovven injector, 458. 
 Meadow-grasshoppers, 96. 
 Meal-worms, 224. 
 Mealy-bugs, described, 106. 
 
 remedies for, 108. 
 Measuring-worms, 307. 
 Mechanical preventives, 430. 
 Mecoptera, 77. 
 
 Mediterranean flour-moth, 315. 
 Megachile species, 412. 
 Megathymus yuccae, 254. 
 Megatoma, 179. 
 Megilla, 174. 
 Melanophila, 185. 
 Melanoplus atlanis, 90. 
 
 femur- rubrum, 90. 
 
 spretus, 90. 
 Melitara dentata, 313. 
 
 prodenialis, 313. 
 Melittia ceto, 259. 
 Meloidae, 225. 
 
 Melon-louse, iife history, 126. 
 Melophagus ovinus, 369. 
 Membracidae, defined, 138. 
 Mesothorax, 23. 
 Mesograpta polita, 350. 
 Metathorax, 23. 
 Metamorphosis, defined, 48. 
 Microcentrum retinervis, 94. 
 
 laurifolium, 94, 95. 
 Microgaster, 383. 
 Micro-lepidoptera, 310. 
 Micropyle, defined, 47. 
 Midaidae, 344. 
 Midges, 334, 336. 
 Migration in plant-lice, 126. 
 Milk-weed butterfly, 242. 
 Mineola indiginella, 313. 
 
 vaccinii, 313. 
 Mole-crickets, 98. 
 Monilicornia, defined, 165. 
 Moniliform antennae, 22. 
 Monomorium pharaonis, 396. 
 Monophadnus rubi, 374. 
 Monostegia rosae, 374. 
 Mormon cricket, habits of, 97. 
 Mosquitoes, 332. 
 Mosquito-hawks, 61. 
 Moths, chapter on, 240. 
 Moulting of insects, 48. 
 Moults, number of, 49. 
 Mourning-cloak butterfly, 244. 
 Mouth of bees and wasps, 19. 
 
 importance of, 14, 16. 
 
 indicates remedies, 16. 
 
 of flies, 18. 
 
 types of, 14. 
 Mud-daubers, 402. 
 Multicellular gall, 378. 
 Murgantia histrionica, 162. 
 Muscidae, 353, 356. 
 Muscles, structure and character, 28. 
 Mushroom-gnat, 334. 
 Mutillidae, 400. 
 Mycetophilidae, 334. 
 Myrmecocystus melliger, 396. 
 Myrmeleonidae, described, 75. 
 Myrmicidae, 396. 
 Mytilaspis pomorum, 115. 
 Myzus cerasi, 134. 
 
470 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Nabidae, defined, 153. 
 
 Nabis fusca, 154. 
 
 Naphthaline against book-hce, 69. 
 
 and its uses, 453. 
 Natural checks to insect increase, 418. 
 Necrophorus, 171. 
 Negro-bug, 163. 
 Nematus ribesii, 372. 
 Nervous centre in flies, 41. 
 
 system of insects, 39. 
 Neuroptera, defined, 53, 54. 
 
 chapter on, 58. 
 
 described, 72. 
 Neuters in ants, 391. 
 Newspaper barriers against borers, 431. 
 Nisoniades, species of, 254. 
 Nitidulidae, 181. 
 Nits of lice, 105. 
 Noctuidas, 288. 
 Notodontidte, 275. 
 Notolophus leucostigma, 268. 
 Nozzles, types of, 456. 
 Nut-weevils, 234. 
 Nymph, defined, 49. 
 Nymphalidae, 242. 
 
 Oak, Edema albifrons on, 277. 
 
 galls, 377. 
 
 leaf-rollers, 321. 
 
 orange-striped worm on, 278. 
 
 pruners, 207. 
 Ocelli, described, 41. 
 
 location of, 22. 
 Ocneria dispar, 270. 
 Odonata, described, 60. 
 Odontota dorsalis, 222. 
 CEcanthus species, 100. 
 CEdemasia concinna, 277. 
 CEdipodince, described, 87. 
 Oesophagus, described, 30. 
 CEstridse, 351. 
 Oestrus ovis, 352. 
 Oil of Citronello, 333. 
 Olfactory organs, described, 44. 
 Olfersia, species, 369. 
 Oncideres species, 210. 
 Onion maggot, 363. 
 
 thrips, 102. 
 Ophion species, 382. 
 
 Orange, Aleyrodes on, 122. 
 
 cottony-cushion scale, 108. 
 
 -dog, 253. 
 
 mealy-bugs on, 106. 
 
 oyster-shell scales on, 116. 
 
 red-bug on, 157. 
 
 Termite attack on, 67. 
 Orange-striped oak-worm, 278. 
 Orbicular spot, 289. 
 Orchelimum species, 96. 
 Orcus, 174. 
 
 Orders of insects, 52, 54. 
 Orgyia leucostigma, 268. 
 Ortalids, 365. 
 Orthoptera, chapter on, 79. 
 
 defined, 53, 54. 
 Orthosoma brunneum, 206. 
 Ovaries, described, 46. 
 Oviduct, described, 46. 
 Oviposition of Acridiidae, 89. 
 
 Chrysopa, 74 
 
 dragon-flies, 62. 
 
 field-crickets, 99. 
 
 grasshoppers, 89. 
 
 katydids, 96. 
 
 locusts, 94. 
 
 tree-crickets, 100. 
 Ovipositor, described, 46. 
 
 in crickets, 97. 
 
 of parasites, 379. 
 Owlet moths, 288. 
 Ox-louse, 104. 
 Ox-warble, 352. 
 
 Oxyptilusjieriscelidactylus, 318. 
 Oyster-shell bark-hce, 115. 
 
 Pain in insects, 40. 
 Pale-striped flea-beetle, 221. 
 Paleacrita species, 308. 
 Palm-weevil, 236. 
 Palpi, structure and function, 16. 
 Pamphila, species of, 254. 
 Panorpida;, described, 77. 
 Paper-making wasps, 406. 
 Papilio asterias, 250. 
 
 cresphontes, 253. 
 
 philenor, 251. 
 
 turnus, 252. 
 Papilionidae, 246. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 471 
 
 Papilioninas, 250. 
 Parasites on plants, 377. 
 Parasitic hymenoptera, 379. 
 
 insects, chapter on, 418. 
 Parasitica, defined, loi, 103. 
 Paria aterrima, 212. 
 Paris green, analysis of, 435- 
 Paroxya, 90. 
 
 Parthenogenesis in plant-lice, 123. 
 Passalus cornutus, 197. 
 Pea-weevils, 223. 
 Peach-borer, 261. 
 
 -louse, 134. 
 Peacock-flies, 365. 
 Pear-midge, 339. 
 
 -psylla, life history, 137. 
 
 sinuate borer in, 187. 
 
 -slug, 372. 
 Pectinated antennae, 21. 
 Peddlers, 222. 
 Pediculus species, 103. 
 Pelecinus polyturator, 389. 
 Pelidnota punctata, 202. 
 Pelopceus species, 402. 
 Pemphigus, described, 132. 
 Penis of insects, 47. 
 Pentatomidae, defined, 162. 
 Pentilia misella, 174. 
 Pepsis species, 401. 
 Perception, sense of, 45. 
 Periodical cicada, 140. 
 Periplaneta orientalis, 82. 
 Perlidae, described, 64. 
 Pernicious scale, 118. 
 Persian insect powder, 439. 
 Pezotettix, 91. 
 Phasmidae, described, 84. 
 Philampelus achemon, 258. 
 
 pandorus, 258. 
 Phorbia brassicae, 361. 
 
 ceparum, 363. 
 Phosphorus against roaches, 82. 
 Photinus pyralis, 190. 
 Phthirius inguinalis, 105. 
 Phycitinae, 312. 
 Phyllodromia germanica, 82. 
 Phylloecus flaviventris, 373. 
 Phyllotreta vittata, 221. 
 Phylloxera, life history, 128. 
 
 Phymata, habits of, 154. 
 Phymatodes amoenus, 207. 
 
 variabilis, 207. 
 
 varius, 207. 
 Physopoda, loi. 
 Phytonomus punctatus, 229. 
 Phytophaga, described, 205. 
 Phytophagous beetles, defined, 165. 
 Pickle-moth, 311. 
 Pierinse, 246. 
 Pieris protodice, 248. 
 
 rapas, 246. 
 Pigeon tremex, 375. 
 Pimpla conquisitor, 381. 
 Piophila casei, 368. 
 Pissodes strobi, 230. 
 Plagionotus speciosus, 208. 
 Plant-lice, defined, 123. 
 
 life history, 124. 
 
 on roots, 127. 
 
 remedies against, 135. 
 Planting, date of, important, 428. 
 Platyptera, described, 64. 
 Platysamia cecropia, 280. 
 Plecoptera, described, 63. 
 Pleurum or side, 25. 
 Ploughing, to reduce insect injury, 
 
 425- 
 Plum curculio, 232. 
 Plume-moths, 318. 
 Plumose antennae, 21. « 
 Plusia brassicae, 302. 
 
 species, 302. 
 Podurids, 56. 
 
 Poecilocapsus lineatus, 156. 
 Poisers, of flies, 327. 
 Polistes species, 406. 
 Pollen basket, 408. 
 Pollination, due to bees, 408. 
 Polyphemus moth, 282. 
 Pomace-flies, 367. 
 Pompilidae, 400. 
 Potash as a winter wash, 450. 
 Potato-beetle, old-fashioned, 225. 
 striped, 213. 
 three-lined, 211. 
 
 flea-beetle, 219. 
 
 stalk-borer, 234. 
 
 scab-gnat, 335. 
 
472 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Potato-sphinx, 256. 
 Poultry-lice, 71. 
 Power pumps, 457. 
 Praying Mantis, habits of, 84. 
 Predaceoiis bugs, 152. 
 
 insects, chapter on, 418. 
 Preventives, chapter on, 430—433. 
 Printers-ink bands, 431. 
 Prionidus cristatus, 152. 
 Prionoxystus robinias, 287. 
 Prionus laticollis, 206. 
 Proctotrypidae, 387. 
 Prolegs, defined, 12. 
 Prominents, 275. 
 Prothorax, 23. 
 Protoparce Carolina, 256. 
 
 celeus, 256. 
 Psenocorus supernotatus, 208. 
 Pseudo-neuroptera, defined, 53, 54, 58, 
 Pseudo-trachea of fly, 20. 
 Psocidas, described, 68. 
 Psocus hneatus, 69. 
 Psychidas, 273. 
 
 Psychomorpha epimenis, 264. 
 Psylla pyricola, 137. 
 Psyllidoe, defined, 137. 
 Pteromalus puparum, 385. 
 Pterophoridag, 318. 
 Ptinidas, 193. 
 Pubescent antennas, 22. 
 Pulvilli, defined, 26. 
 Pulvinaria innumerabilis, no. 
 Pumps, for spraying, 456-459- 
 Punkies, 334. 
 Pupa, defined, 49. 
 Pupipara, 369. 
 Pyralididas, 310. 
 Pyralis farinalis, 312. 
 Pyrausta species, 311. 
 Pyraustidse, 310. 
 
 Pyrethro-kerosene emulsion, 451. 
 Pyrethrum and its uses, 459. 
 Pyrophila pyramidoides, 299. 
 Pyrrharctia Isabella, 266. 
 
 Quassia as an insecticide, 452. 
 Queen bees, 415. 
 Quince-borer, 209. 
 -curculio, 234. 
 
 Radish-maggot, 362. 
 Raphidia, 72. 
 Raptoria, defined, 81. 
 Raspberry, Byturus, 180. 
 
 -slug, 374. 
 Rat-tailed larvae, 350. 
 
 how they breathe, 37. 
 Raupenleim and dendrolene, 431. 
 Receptaculum seminis, 46. 
 Rectum, described, 30. 
 Red-bug on cotton, 157. 
 
 -humped prominent, 277. 
 
 -legged locust, 90. 
 
 -necked cane-borer, 186. 
 Reduviidoe, defined, 151. 
 Reflowing cranberry bogs, 428. 
 Regal walnut-moth, 278. 
 Reniform spot, 289. 
 Reproduction among insects, 45. 
 Resin washes, use and formulas, 446. 
 Respiration in insects, 33. 
 
 in dragon-fly larvae, 51. 
 
 in water-beetles, 36. 
 
 economic bearing of, 33, 38. 
 Retina, described, 41. 
 Rhipiceridae, 182. 
 Rhizobiinse, described, 127. 
 Rhizobius, 174. 
 Rhopalocera, defined, 241. 
 Rhopobota vacciniana, 320, 
 Rhubarb, weevil on, 230. 
 Rhynchophora, 165, 228. 
 Rhynchophorus palmarum, 236. 
 Roaches, life history, 81. 
 Robber-flies, 344. 
 Rocky Mountain locust, 90. 
 Root-lice, remedies for, 130, 
 
 -maggots, 360. 
 
 web-worms, 317. 
 Rose-beetle, Fuller's, 228. 
 
 -bug, 199. 
 
 -chafer, 199. 
 
 leaf-hopper, 148. 
 
 leaf-rollers, 321. 
 
 -scale, 119. 
 
 -slug, 374. 
 Rosy Dryocampa, 279. 
 Rostrum, defined, 17. 
 Rotation, use of, 426. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 473 
 
 Round-headed borers, 205. 
 Rove-beetles, 172. 
 
 Saliva and its uses, 31. 
 Salivary glands, 30, 31, 
 Saltatoria, defined, 81. 
 San Jose scale, 118. 
 Sand-crickets, 97. 
 
 -flies, 334. 
 Sannina exitiosa, 261. 
 Sap-beetles, 181. 
 Saperda Candida, 209. 
 Sarcophaga carnaria, 355. 
 Sarcopsylla, species of, 329. 
 Saw-flies, 371. 
 Scale insects, 106. 
 
 remedies for, 108, 120. 
 Scape of antenna, 22. 
 Scavenger beetles, 172, 197. 
 Scarabasidae, 197. 
 Scenopinidae, 347. 
 Scenopinus fenestralis, 347. 
 Schistocerca americana, 89. 
 
 peregrinum, 89. 
 Schizoneura, described, 133. 
 
 lanigera, 133. 
 Sciara species, 334. 
 Sclerites, defined, 23. 
 Scoliidse, 400. 
 Scolytidse, 237. 
 Scolytus rugulosus, 238. 
 Scorpion flies, their habits, etc., ^^. 
 Screw-worm fly, 357. 
 Scudderia species, 94. 
 Scurfy scale, described, 119. 
 Scutelleridae, defined, 163. 
 Scymnus species, 174. 
 Segments in insects, 311. 
 Semi-loopers, 300. 
 Seminal receptacle, 46. 
 Sensation in insects, 40. 
 Sericaria mori, 286. 
 Serrate antennas, 21. 
 Serricornia, defined, 165. 
 Sesia acerni, 262. 
 
 tipuliformis, 263. 
 Sesiidae, 259. 
 
 Seventeen-year locust, 140. 
 Sex in insects, 46. 
 
 Sheep-bot, 352. 
 
 -tick, 369. 
 Sialidae, described, 72. 
 Silk-worm, 286. 
 Silpha species, 171. 
 Silphidae, 171. 
 Silvanus surinamensis, 176. 
 Silver-fish, 56. 
 Simuliidae, 341. 
 Sinoxylon, 193. 
 Sinuate pear-borer, 187. 
 Sitodrepa panicea, 193. 
 Skippers, 254. 
 
 in cheese, 368. 
 Slugs, beetle larvae, 211. 
 
 saw-fly larvae, 372. 
 Smell, sense of, 43. 
 
 organs of, in antennae, 20. 
 Snake-doctors, 60. 
 Snapping beetles, 182. 
 Snout-beetles, described, 228. 
 
 what are, 165. 
 Soap mixtures, how they kill, 38. 
 Soaps as insecticides, 446. 
 Social bees, 414. 
 
 life among Termites, 64. 
 
 wasps, 405. 
 Soft scales, described, 110. 
 Soldier beetles, 191. 
 
 flies, 343. 
 Solitary bees, 407. 
 Spanish flies, 225. 
 Span-worms, 307. 
 Species, defined, 52. 
 Sphecidae, defined, 402. 
 Sphecius speciosus, 403. 
 Sphenophorus, species of, 236. 
 Sphex ichneumonea, 403. 
 Sphingidae, 254. 
 Sphinx Carolina, 256. 
 
 celeus, 256. 
 Spilosoma virginica, 266. 
 Spiracles, described, 33. 
 
 how protected, 34. 
 Spittle insects, 146. 
 Spraying machinery, 456. 
 Spring-beetles, 182. 
 
 -tails, S3, 56. 
 Spotted vine-chafer, 202. 
 
474 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Squash-borer, 259. 
 
 -bug, 160. 
 
 lady-bird, 175. 
 Stable-fly, 358. 
 Stag-beetles, 196. 
 Stagmomantis Carolina, 84. 
 Staphylinidse, 172. 
 Stem-mother in plant-lice, 123. 
 Stenopalmatus, 97. 
 Sternum or breast, 25. 
 Stinging Hymenoptera, 390. 
 Stomach poisons, how they act, 32. 
 Stomoxys calcitrans, 358. 
 Stone-flies, 63. 
 
 Stored produce. Termites in, 67. 
 Strategus, 203. 
 Strationiyidas, 343. 
 Strawberry-root borers, 212. 
 
 weevil, 231. 
 Stridulating organs, 93. 
 Striped cucumber-beetle, 214. 
 Structure in general, 11. 
 Subterranean forms, breathing, 36. 
 Sucking lice, 103. 
 
 mouth, 17, 
 Sugar-cane beetle, 203. 
 
 borers, 317. 
 
 Termite injury to, 67. 
 Sulphur as an insecticide, 445. 
 Sutures, defined, 23. ^ 
 Swallow-tail butterflies, 250. 
 Swarming of bees, wRat is, 415. 
 Sweet-potato flea-beetle, 219. 
 tortoise-beetles, 222. 
 Syrphidae, 347. 
 Systena blanda, 221. 
 
 Tabanidae, 342. 
 Tachina flies, 354. 
 
 vivida, 354. 
 Tactile organs, what are, 44. 
 Tarantula hawk, 401. 
 Tarred paper against borers, 431. 
 Tarsus, defined, 26. 
 Taste in insects, 43. 
 Tegmina, defined, 79. 
 Telea pol5'phemus. 281. 
 Telephorus, 191. 
 Tendon, described, 28. 
 
 Tenebrionidae, 224. 
 Tenebrioides, 182. 
 Tent-caterpillars, 284. 
 i Tenthredinidae, 371. 
 Teras and its parasites, 420. 
 
 minuta, 319. 
 Termes flavipes, 65, 67. 
 Termites, their habits, etc., 64. 
 Testes, described, 47. 
 Tettiginae, described, 91. 
 Thalessa species, 379. 
 Thecla, species ol, 245. 
 Thick-head flies, 351. 
 Thorax, structure and function, 23. 
 Three-lined potato-beetle, 211. 
 Thripidas, defined, loi. 
 Thrips, life history, 102. 
 
 remedies for, 102. 
 Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, 273. 
 Thysanoptera, defined, loi. 
 Thysanura, defined, 53, 54. 
 
 chapter on, 55. 
 Tibia, defined, 26. 
 Tiger-beetles, described, 166. 
 Time of planting, important, 428. 
 Tingitidag, defined, 154. 
 Tinea pellionella, 325. 
 Tineina, defined, 323. 
 Tiphia inornata, 400. 
 Tipulidae, 330. 
 Tobacco and its uses, 440. 
 
 against root-lice, 131. 
 
 beetle, 193. ^ 
 
 sphinx, 256. 
 
 thrips on, 102. 
 Tomato fruit-worm, 303. 
 Tortoise beetles, 222. 
 Tortricids, 319. 
 Touch in insects, 44. 
 Tracheae, described, 34. 
 Tracheal gills, 37. 
 Tracheates, defined, 34. 
 Transformations, how observed, 50. 
 Trap crops, 428. 
 Tree-crickets, 100. 
 
 -hoppers, 138. 
 Tremex columba, 375. 
 Tribolium species, 225. 
 Trichobaris 3-notata, 234. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 475 
 
 Trichogramma pretiosa, 386. 
 Trichoptera, defined, 77. 
 Triphleps insidiosus, 156. 
 Triungulin of meloid larva, 227. 
 Trochanter, defined, 26. 
 
 in parasites, 379. 
 Trogoderma, 179. 
 Trogositidae, 182. 
 Trogus exesorius, 381. 
 Trox, 199. 
 
 Trypeta pomonella, 366. 
 Tryxalinae, described, 87. 
 Tubulifera, 390. 
 Tumble-bugs, 198. 
 Turkey-gnat, 340. 
 Turkeys versus grasshoppers, 427. 
 Tussock moths, 268. 
 Twig-girdlers, 207, 210. 
 Two-striped tortoise beetle, 222. 
 
 Uroceridae, 371, 374. 
 Urticating hairs, 273. 
 
 Vagina, described, 46. 
 Valves of the heart, 32. 
 Vanessa antiopa, 244. 
 Vaporer moths, 268. 
 Vedalia cardinalis, 173. 
 
 versus Icerya, 421. 
 Velvet ants, 400. 
 Venation, defined, 25. 
 Vermipsylla, species of, 329. 
 Vermorel nozzle, 456. 
 Vespa species, 405, 406. 
 Vespidae, 404. 
 Vestiture of bees, 408. 
 Vitriol, lime and sulphur, 443. 
 Viviparous plant-lice, 123. 
 
 scale insects, 114. 
 Vision of insects, 41, 42. 
 
 Walking-leaves, life history, 85. 
 
 -sticks, life history, 85. 
 Washing trees in winter, 432. 
 Wasps are beneficial, 407. 
 Water as an insecticide, 452. 
 
 -beetles, 169. 
 
 Water-boatman, 150. 
 
 -scavengers, 170. 
 
 -stridors, 151. 
 Wavy-striped flea-beetle, 221. 
 Waxy scales, 108, 112. 
 Web-worms, 266, 311, 317. 
 Weevils, defined, 228. 
 Whale-oil soap, 447. 
 Wheat-head army-worm, 296. 
 
 Hessian fly in, 336. 
 
 -midge, 338. 
 
 saw-fly borer, 376. 
 
 stalk-borer, 299. 
 Wheel-bug, described, 152. 
 White ants, life history, 64. 
 
 ermine moth, 266. 
 
 -faced wasp, 406. 
 
 -grubs, 196. 
 
 -pine weevil, 230. 
 Whitewash, usefulness of, 432. 
 Whirligig beetles, 169. 
 Willow saw-fly, 374. 
 Window flies, 371. 
 Winglet, defined, 366. 
 Wings, number and location, 12. 
 
 structure of, 25. 
 Wings of the heart, 33. 
 Winter washing of fruit-trees, 432. 
 Wire netting against borers, 430. 
 Wire-worms, crane-fly larvae, 331. 
 described, 182. 
 remedies for, 184. 
 Woolly apple-louse, 133. 
 
 bears, 265. 
 
 plant-lice, 133. 
 Worker-ants, 391. 
 Wrigglers, 332. 
 
 Xiphidium species, 96. 
 Xylina antennata, 300. 
 
 species, 300. 
 Xylocopa virginica, 412. 
 Xyloryctes, 203. 
 
 Yellow-jackets, 405. 
 
 -necked caterpillar, 275. 
 
 Zeuzera pyrina, 287. 
 
 31 
 
Xf.d J iJU6