In the Cecropia moth it is difficult to trace the rudiments of the maxillæ at all, and thus we have in the whole range of the moths, every gradation from the wholly aborted maxillæ of the Platysamia Cecropia, to those of Macrosila cluentius of Madagascar, which form a tongue, according to Mr. Wallace, nine and a quarter inches in length, probably to enable their owner to probe the deep nectaries of certain orchids. These changes in form and size are certainly correlated with important differences in habits, and the evolutionist can as rightly say that the structural changes were induced by use and disuse and change of habits and the environment of the animal, as on the other hand the advocate of special creation claims that the two are simply correlated, and that is all we know about it.
Another set of organs, placed on quite another region of the body, unite to form the sting of the bee, or its equivalent the ovipositor of other hymenopterous insects, such as the Ichneumon fly (Fig. 214), the "saw" of the saw fly, and the augur of the Cicada. These are all formed on the same plan, arising early in the larval stage as three pairs of little tubercles, which ultimately form long blades, the innermost constituting the true ovipositor. We have found that one pair of these organs forms the "spring" of the Podura, and that in these insects it is three jointed, and thus is morphologically a pair of legs soldered together at their base. We would venture to regard the ovipositor of insects as probably representing three pairs of abdominal legs, comparable with those of the Myriopods, and even, as we have suggested in another place, the three pairs of jointed spinnerets of spiders. Thus the ovipositor of the bee has a history, and is not apparently a special creation, but a structure gradually developed to subserve the use of a defensive organ.
So the organs of special sense in insects are in most cases simply altered hairs. The hairs themselves are modified epithelial cells. The eyes of insects, simple and compound, are at first simply epithelial cells, modified for a special purpose, and even the egg is but a modified epithelial cell attached to the walls of the ovary, which in turn is morphologically but a gland. Thus Nature deals in simples, and with her units of structure elaborates as her crowning work a temple in which the mind of man, formed in the image of God, may dwell. Her results are not the less marvellous because we are beginning to dimly trace the process by which they arise. It should not lessen our awe and reverence for Deity, if with minds made to adore, we also essay to trace the movements of His hand in the origin of the forms of life.
Some writers of the evolution school are strenuous in the belief that the evolution hypothesis overthrows the idea of archetypes, and plans of structure. But a true genealogy of animals and plants represents a natural system, and the types of animals, be they four, as Cuvier taught, or five, or more, are recognized by naturalists through the study of dry, hard, anatomical facts. Accepting, then, the type of articulates as founded in nature from the similar modes of development and points of structure perceived between the worms and the crustacea on the one hand, and the worms and insects on the other, have we not a strong genetic bond uniting these three great groups into one grand subkingdom, and can we not in imagination perceive the successive steps by which the Creator, acting through the laws of evolution, has built up the great articulate division of the animal kingdom?
CHAPTER XIV.
INSECT CALENDAR.
In this calendar I propose to especially notice the injurious insects. References to the times of their appearance must be necessarily vague, and apply only, in a very general way, to the Northern States. Insects appear in Texas about six weeks earlier than in Virginia, in the Middle States six weeks earlier than in northern New England and the North-western States, and in New England about six weeks earlier than in Labrador. The time of the appearance of insects corresponds to the time of the flowering or leafing out of certain trees and herbs; for instance, the larvæ of the American Tent caterpillar and of the Canker worm hatch just as the apple tree begins to leaf out; a little later the Plant lice appear, to feast on the tender leaves; and when, during the first week in June, our forests and orchards are fully leafed out, hosts of insects are marshalled to ravage and devour their foliage.
The Insects of Early Spring.
In April the gardener should scrape and wash thoroughly all his fruit trees, so as to rub off the eggs of the bark lice which hatch out early in May. Many injurious caterpillars and insects of all kinds winter under loose pieces of bark, or under matting and straw at the base of the trees. Search should also be made for the eggs of the Canker worm and the American Tent caterpillar, which last are laid in bunches half an inch long on the terminal shoots of many of our fruit trees. A little labor spent in this way will save many dollars' worth of fruit. The "castings" of the Apple Tree Borer (Saperda bivittata) should be looked for at the base of the tree, and its ravages be promptly arrested. Its presence can also be detected, it is said, by the dark appearance of the bark, where the grub is at work: cut in and pull out the young grub. It is the best time of the year to catch and kill this pest. Cylindrical bark borers, which are little round, black, weevil-like beetles, often causing "fire-blight" in pears, etc., are now flying about fruit trees to lay their eggs; and many other weevils and boring beetles, especially the Pea weevil (Bruchus pisi, Fig. 215), the Pine weevil (Pissodes strobi, Fig. 216), and Hylobius pales and Hylurgus terebrans, also infesting the pine, now abound, and the collector can obtain many specimens not met with at other times.
The housewife must now guard against the intrusion of Clothes moths (Tinea), while many other species of minute moths (Tineids) and of Leaf-rollers (Tortricidæ) will be flying about orchards and gardens just as the buds are beginning to unfold; especially the Coddling moth (Carpocapsa pomonella). On warm days myriads of these and other insects may be seen filling the air; it is the busiest time of their lives, as all are on errands of love to their kind, but of mischief to the agriculturist.
When the May Flower—"O commendable flowre and most in minde"—blooms, and the willows hang out their golden catkins, we shall hear the hum of the wild bee, and the insect hunter will reap a rich harvest of rarities. Seek now on the abdomen of various wild bees, such as Andrena, for that most eccentric of all our insects, the Stylops Childreni. The curious larvæ of the Oil beetle may be found abundantly on the bodies of various species of Bombus, Andrena and Halictus, with their heads plunged in between the segments of the bee's body.
The beautiful moth, Adela, with its immensely long antennæ, may be seen, with other smaller moths, feeding on the blossoms of the willow. The Ants wake from their winter's sleep and throw up their hillocks, and the "thriving pismire" issues from his vaulted galleries constructed in some decaying log or stump, while the Angle worms emulate late their six-footed neighbors. During the mild days of March, ere the snow has melted away—
"The dandy Butterfly,
All exquisitely drest,"
will visit our gardens. Such are various kinds of Vanessa and Grapta (Fig. 217, G. c-argenteum[30]). The beautiful Brephos infans flies before the snow disappears.
"The Gnat, old back-bent fellow,
In frugal frieze coat drest,"
will celebrate the coming of Spring, with his choral dance. Such is Trichocera hyemalis, which may be seen in multitudes towards twilight on mild evenings. Many flies are now on the wing, such as Tachina (Fig. 218) and its allies; the four spotted Mosquito, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, and the delicate species of Chironomus, whose males have such beautifully feathered antennæ, assemble in swarms. Now is the time for the collector to turn up stones and sticks by the river's side and in grassy damp pastures, for Ground beetles (Carabidæ), and to frequent sunny paths for the gay Cicindela and the Bombylius fly, or fish in brooks and pools for water beetles and various larvæ of Neuroptera and Diptera; while many flies and beetles are attracted to freshly cut maples or birches running with sap; indeed, many insects, rarely found elsewhere, assemble in quantities about the stumps of these trees, from which the sap oozes in March and April.
In April the injurious insects in the Northern States have scarcely begun their work of destruction, as the buds do not unfold before the first of May. We give an account, however, of some of the beneficial insects which are now to be found in grass-lands and in gardens. The farmer should know his true insect friends as well as his insect foes. We introduce to our readers a large family of ground-beetles (Carabidæ, from Carabus, the name of the typical genus) which prey on those insects largely injurious to crops. A study of the figures will familiarize our readers with the principal forms. They are dark-colored, brown or black, with metallic hues, and are seen in spring and throughout the summer, running in grass, or lurking under stones and sticks in damp places, whence they sally forth to hunt by night, when many vegetable-eating insects are most active.
The larvæ are found in much the same situations as the mature beetles. They are, elongate, oblong, and rather broad, the terminal ring of the body being armed with two horny hooks, and having a single fleshy leg beneath; and are usually black in color. The larva of Calosoma (C. calidum, Fig. 220; a, the beetle; and Fig. 219, C. scrutator) ascends trees to feed on caterpillars, such as the Canker worm. When about to transform to the pupa state, it forms a rude cocoon in the earth. The beetle lies in wait for its prey in shallow pits excavated in pastures. We once saw it fiercely attack a May beetle (Lachnosterna fusca) nearly twice its size; it tore open the hard sides of its clumsy and helpless victim with tiger-like ferocity. Carabus (Fig. 221, C. serratus Say, and pupa of Carabus auronitens of Europe, after Westwood) is a closely allied form, with very similar habits.
A much smaller form is the curious Bombardier beetle, Brachinus (Fig. 222, B. fumans), with its narrow head and heart-shaped prothorax. It is remarkable for discharging with quite an explosion from the end of its body a pungent fluid, probably as a protection against its enemies. An allied genus is Casnonia (Fig. 223, C. Pensylvanica), which has a long neck and spotted wing covers. Figure 224, Pangus caliginosus, and figure 225, Agonum cupripenne, represent two common forms. The former is black, while the latter is a pretty insect, greenish, with purplish-red wing-covers, and black legs.
Figure 226, enlarged about three times, represents a singular larva found by Mr. J. H. Emerton under a stone early in spring. Dr. LeConte, to whom we sent a figure, supposes that it may possibly be a larva of Harpalus, or Pangus caliginosus. It is evidently a young Carabid. The under side is represented.
The Insects of May.
During this month there is great activity among the insects. As the flowers bloom and the leaves appear, multitudes wake from their long winter sleep, and during this month pass through the remainder of their transformations, and prepare for the summer campaign. Most insects hibernate in the chrysalis or pupa state, while many winter in the caterpillar or larva state, such as the larvæ of several Noctuidæ and the "yellow-bear," and other caterpillars of Arctia and its allies. Other insects hibernate in the adult or imago form, either as beetles, butterflies or certain species of bees.
It is well known that the Queen Humble bee winters under the moss, or in her old nest. During the present month her rovings seem to have a more definite object, and she seeks some deserted mouse's nest, or hollow in a tree or stump, and there stows away her pellets of pollen, containing two or three eggs apiece, which, late in the summer, are to form the nucleus of a well-appointed colony. The Carpenter bees (Ceratina and Xylocopa, the latter of which is found in abundance south of New England) are busy in refitting and tunnelling the hollows of the grape; while the Ceratina hollows out the stem of the elder, or blackberry. This little upholsterer bee carpets her honey-tight apartment, storing it with food for her young, and later in the season, in June, several of these cartridge-like cells, whose silken walls resemble the finest and most delicate parchment, may be found in the hollow stems of these plants. The Mason bee (Osmia) places her nest in a more exposed site, building her earthen cells of pellets of moistened mud, either situated under a stone, or in some more sheltered place; for instance, in a deserted oak-gall, ranging half a dozen of them side by side along the vault of this strange domicile. Meanwhile their more lowly relatives, the Andrena and Halictus bees, are engaged in tunnelling the side of some sunny bank or path, running long galleries underground, sometimes for a foot or more, at the farthest end of which are to be found, in summer, little earthen urn-like cells, in which the grubs live upon the pollen stored up for them in little balls of the size of a pea. Later in the month, the Gall flies (Cynips), those physiological puzzles, sting the leaves of our oaks of different species, giving rise to the strange excrescences and manifold deformities which deface the stems and leaves of our most beautiful forest trees.
When the Kalmia, Rhodora, and wild cherries are in bloom, many of our most beautiful butterflies appear; such are the different species of Chrysophanus (Fig. 227), Lycæna, Thecla and Argynnis (Fig. 228). At this time we have found the rare larva of Melitæa Phaeton (Fig. 229) clothed in the richest red and velvety black, feeding daintily upon the hazel nut, and tender leaves of the golden rod. In June, it changes to the chrysalis state, and early in July the butterfly rises from the cold, damp bogs, where we have oftenest found it, clad in its rich dress of velvety black and red.
231. Diabrotica vittata.
Later still, when the lilac blooms, and farther south the broad-leaved Kalmia, the gaily-colored Humming Bird moth (Sesia) visits the flowers in company with the Swallow-tail butterfly (Papilio Turnus). At twilight, the Hawk moth (Sphinx) darts noiselessly through our gardens, as soon as the honeysuckles, pinks and lilies are in blossom.
Among the flies, mosquitoes now appear, though they have not yet, perhaps, strayed far from their native swamps and fens; and their mammoth allies, the Daddy-long-legs (Tipula), rise from the fields and mould of our gardens in great numbers.
Of the beetles, those which feed on leaves now become specially active. The Squash beetle (Diabrotica vittata, Fig. 231, and Fig. 230, D. 12-punctata) now attacks the squash plants before they are fairly up; and the Plum weevil (Conotrachelus nenuphar, Fig. 232) will sting the newly formed fruit, late in the month, or early in June. Many other weevils now abound, stinging the seeds and fruit, and depositing their eggs just under the skin. So immense are the numbers of insects which fill the air and enliven the fields and woodlands just as summer comes in, that a bare enumeration of them would overcrowd our pages, and tire the reader.
A word, however, about our water insects. Late in the month the May fly (Ephemera, Fig. 233) appears, often rising in immense numbers, from the surface of pools and sluggish brooks. In Europe, whole clouds of these delicate forms, with their thin white wings, have been known to fall like snow upon the ground, when the peasants gather them up in heaps to enrich their gardens and farms.
The Case worms, or Caddis flies (Fig. 234), begin now to leave their portable houses, formed of pieces of leaves, or sticks and fine gravel, or even of shells, as in an European species, and fly over the water, resting on the overhanging trees.
A few busy Mosquito Hawks, or Dragon flies (Libellula), herald the coming of the summer brood of these indefatigable friends of the agriculturist. During their whole life below the waters, these entomological Herods have slain and sucked the blood of myriads of infant mosquitoes and other insects; and now in their new world above the waters, with still more intensified powers of doing mischief, happily, however, to flies mostly obnoxious to man, they riot in bloodshed and carnage.
This is the season to stock the fresh-water aquarium. Go to the nearest brook, gather a sprig or two of the water cress, which spreads so rapidly, a root of the eel grass, and plant them in a glass dish or deep jar. Pour in your water, let the sand and sediment settle, and then put in a few Tadpoles, a Newt (Salamander), Snails (Limnæa, Planorbis and Valvata), Caddis flies and Water beetles, together with the gatherings from a thicket of eel grass, or other submerged plants, being rich in the young of various flies, Ephemeras, Dragon flies and Water fleas (Entomostraca, Fig. 235), which last are beautiful objects for the microscope, and in a few days the occupants will feel at home, and the aquarium will be swarming with life, affording amusement and occupation for many a dull hour, by day or at night, in watching the marvels of insect transformations, and plant-growth.
Among the injurious hymenoptera, which abound late in this month, is the Rose Saw fly (Selandria rosæ, Fig. 236) and S. cerasi. The eggs are then laid, and the last of June, or early in July, the slug-like larvæ mature, and the perfect insects fly in July. Various Gall flies now lay their eggs in the buds, leaves and stems of various kinds of oaks, blackberries, blueberries and other plants.
Dipterous Gall flies are now laying their eggs in cereals. The Hessian fly (Cecidomyia destructor) has two broods, the fly appearing both in spring and autumn. The fly lays twenty or thirty eggs in a crease in the leaf of the young plant. In about four days, in warm weather, they hatch, and the pale-red larvæ crawl down the leaf, working their way in between it and the main stalk, passing downward till they come to a joint, just above which they remain, a little below the surface of the ground, with the head towards the root of the plant. Here they imbibe the sap by suction alone, and, by the simple pressure of their bodies become imbedded in the side of the stem. Two or three larvæ thus imbedded serve to weaken the plant and cause it to wither and die. The second brood of larvæ remains through the winter in the flax-seed, or puparium. By turning the stubble with the plough in the autumn and early spring, its imago may be destroyed, and thus its ravages may be checked. (Figure 237 represents the female, which is about one-third as large as a mosquito: a, the larva; b, the pupa; and c represents the joint near the ground where the maggots live.) The same may be said of the Wheat midge (Cecidomyia tritici), which attacks the wheat in the ear, and which transforms an inch deep beneath the surface.
Among the butterflies which appear this month are the Turnip butterfly (Pontia oleracea, Fig. 238,) which lays its eggs the last of the month. The eggs hatch in a week or ten days, and in about two weeks the larva changes to a chrysalis. Thanaos junevalis and T. Brizo fly late in May. The caterpillars live on the pea and other papilionaceous plants. Thecla Auburniana, T. Niphon, and other species fly in dry, sunny fields, some in April. Argynnis Myrina flies from the last of May through June, and a second brood appears in August and September. Vanessa J-album and V. interrogationis appear in May, and again in August and September. The caterpillars of the latter species live on the elm, lime and hop-vine. Grapta comma also feeds on the hop. Alypia 8-maculata (Fig. 49) flies at this time, and in August its larva feeds on the grape. Sphinx gordius, S. 5-maculata (Fig. 239) and other Sphinges and Sesia (the Clear-winged moth), appear the last of May. Arctia Arge, A. virgo, A. phalerata and other species fly from the last of May through the summer. Hyphantria textor, the Fall-weaver, is found in May or June. The moth of the Salt-marsh caterpillar appears at this time, and various Cut worms (Agrotis, Fig. 240) abound, hiding in the daytime under stones and sticks, etc., while various Tineids and Tortrices, or Leaf-rolling caterpillars, begin to devour tender leaves and buds and opening blossoms of flowers and fruit trees.
The White-pine weevil flies about in warm days. We have found its burrows winding irregularly over the inner surface of the bark and leading into the sap-wood. Each cell, in which it hibernates, in the middle of March, contains the yellowish white footless grub. Early in April it changes to a pupa, and a month after the beetle appears, and in a few days deposits its egg under the bark of old pine trees. It also oviposits in the terminal shoots of pine saplings, dwarfing and permanently deforming the tree. Associated with this weevil we have found the smaller, rounder, more cylindrical, whitish grubs of the Hylurgus terebrans, which mines the inner layers of the bark, slightly grooving the sap-wood. Later in April it pupates, and its habits accord in general with those of Pissodes strobi. Another Pine weevil also abounds at this time, as well as Otiorhynchus picipes (Fig. 241), which injures beans, etc.
Cylindrical bark-borers, which are little, round, weevil-like beetles, are now flying about fruit trees, to lay their eggs in the bark. Associated with the Pissodes, we may find in April the galleries of Tomicus pini, branching out from a common centre. They are filled up with fine sawdust, and, according to Dr. Fitch, are notched in the sides "in which the eggs have been placed, where they would remain undisturbed by the beetle as it crawled backwards and forth through the gallery." These little beetles have not the long snouts of the weevils, hence they cannot bore through the outer bark, but enter into the burrows made the preceding year, and distribute the eggs along the sides (Fitch). Another Tomicus, more dangerous than the preceding, feeds exclusively in the sap-wood, running solitary galleries for a distance of two inches towards the centre of the tree. We figure Tomicus xylographus Say (Fig. 242, enlarged). It is the most formidable enemy to the white pine in the North, and the yellow pine in the South that we have. It also flies in May. Ptinus fur (Fig. 243, much enlarged) is now found in out-houses, and is destructive to cloth, furs, etc., resembling the Larder-beetle (Dermestes) in its habits. It is fourteen hundredths of an inch in length.
The Insects of June.
Early in the month the Parsnip butterfly (Papilio Asterias) may be seen flying about, preparatory to laying its eggs for the brood of caterpillars which appear in August. At the time of the flowering of the raspberry and blackberry, the young larva of Vanessa Antiopa, one of our most abundant butterflies, may be found living socially on the leaves of the willow; while the mature larva of another much smaller butterfly, the little Copper skipper (Chrysophanus Americans), so abundant at this time, may sometimes be found on the clover. It is a short, oval, greenish worm, with very short legs. The dun-colored skippers (Hesperia) abound towards the middle of the month, darting over the flowers of the blueberry and blackberry, in sunny openings in the forests.
The family of Hawk moths (Sphinges) now appear in greater abundance, hovering at twilight over flower-beds, and, during this time, deposit their eggs on the leaves of various fruit-trees. The American Tent caterpillar makes its cocoon, and assumes the pupa state. The caterpillar passes several days within the cocoon, in what may be called the semi-pupa states during which period the chrysalis skin is forming beneath the contracted and loosened larva skin. We once experimented on a larva which had just completed its cocoon, to learn how much silk it could produce. On removing its cocoon it made another of the same thickness; but on destroying this second one it spun a third but frail web, scarcely concealing its form. A minute Ichneumon parasite, allied to Platygaster, lays its eggs within those of this moth, as we once detected one under a bunch of eggs, and afterwards reared a few from the same lot of eggs. A still more minute egg-parasite (Fig. 244) we have seen ovipositing in the early spring, in the eggs of the Canker-worm.
Egg-parasite.
Among that beautiful family of moths, the Phalænidæ, comprising the Geometers, Loopers, or Span-worms, are two formidable foes to fruit growers. The habits of the Canker worm should be well known. With proper care and well-directed energy, we believe their attacks can be in a great measure prevented. The English sparrow, doves and other insectivorous birds, if there are any others that eat them, should be domesticated in order to reduce the number of these pests. More care than has yet been taken should be devoted to destroying the eggs laid in the autumn, and also the wingless females, as they crawl up the trees in the spring and autumn to lay their eggs. The evil is usually done before the farmer is well aware that the calamity has fallen upon him. As soon as, and even before the trees have fairly leafed out, they should be visited morning, noon and night, shaken and thoroughly examined and cleared of the caterpillars. By well-concerted action among agriculturists, who should form a Board of Destruction, numbering every man, woman and child on the farm, this fearful scourge may be abated by the simplest means, as the cholera or any epidemic disease can in a great measure be averted by taking proper sanitary precautions. The Canker worms hatch out during the early part of May, from eggs laid in the fall and spring, on the branches of various fruit-trees. Just as the buds unfold, the young caterpillars make little holes through the tender leaves, eating the pulpy portions, not touching the veins and midribs. When four weeks old they creep to the ground, or let themselves down by spinning a silken thread, and burrow from two to six inches in the soil, where they change to chrysalids in a day or two, and in this state live till late in the fall, or until the early spring, when they assume the imago or moth form. The sexes then unite, and the eggs are deposited for the next generation.
The Canker worm is widely distributed, though its ravages used to be confined mostly to the immediate vicinity of Boston. We have seen specimens of the moth from Illinois. Riley has found it in Missouri.
The Abraxas ribearia of Fitch (Fig. 245, moth), the well-known Currant worm, defoliates whole rows of currant bushes. This pretty caterpillar may be easily known by its body being of a deep golden color, spotted with black. The bushes should be visited morning, noon and night, and thoroughly shaken (killing the caterpillars) and sprinkled with ashes.
Among multitudes of beetles (Coleoptera) injurious to the crops, are the May beetle (Lachnosterna fusca, Fig. 246), whose larva, a large white grub, is injurious to the roots of grass and to strawberry vines. The Rose beetle appears about the time of the blossoming of the rose. The Fire-flies now show their light during mild evenings, and on hot sultry days the shrill rasping song of the male Cicada, for "they all have voiceless wives," cuts the air: The Chinch-bug, that fell destroyer of our wheat crops, appears, according to Harris, in the middle of the month, and "may be seen in their various stages of growth on all kinds of grain, on corn and herds-grass during the whole summer." So widely spread is this insect at present, that we have even detected it in August on the summit of Mount Washington.
The Diptera, or two-winged flies, contain hosts of noxious insects, such as the various Cecidomyians, or two-winged Gall flies, which now sting the culms of the wheat and grasses, and various grains, and leaves of trees, producing gall-like excrescences of varying form. Legions of these delicate minute flies fill the air at twilight, hovering over wheat fields and shrubbery. A strong north west wind, at such times, is of incalculable value to the farmer. Moreover, minute flies, allied to the house fly, such as Tephritis, Oscinis, etc., now attack the young cereals, doing immense injury to grain.
Millions of Aphides, or Plant lice, now infest our shade and fruit trees, crowding every green leaf, into which they insert their tiny beaks, sucking in the sap, causing the leaves to curl up and wither. They also attack the stems and even the roots of plants, though these latter (Pemphigus, Fig. 247) differ generically from the true Plant lice. Fruit trees should be again washed and rubbed to kill off the young Bark lice, of which the common apple Bark louse (Aspidiotus conchiformis, Fig. 248), whose oyster-shaped scales may be found in myriads on neglected trees, is a too familiar example. Another pest of apple trees is the woolly Blight (Eriosoma lanigera). These insects secrete from the surface of the body a downy, cottony substance which conceals the animal, and when they are, as usual, grouped together on the trees, makes them look like patches of mould. The natural insect enemies of the Plant lice now abound; such are the Lady bugs (Coccinella, Fig. 249); the larva of the Syrphus fly (Fig. 76), which devours immense quantities, and the larva of the Golden-eyed, Lace-winged fly (Chrysopa, Fig. 256).
The last days of June are literally the heyday and jubilee of insect life. The entomological world holds high carnival, though in this country they are, perhaps, more given to mass-meetings and caucuses. The earth, the air, and the water teem with insect life. The insects of mid-summer, now appear. Among the butterflies, the Wood Satyrus (Neonympha Eurythris) skips in its low flight through the pines. The larva of Grapta Progne appears on the currants, and feeds beneath the leaves on hot sunny days. The larva of Cynthia cardui may be found on the hollyhocks; the pupa state lasts twelve days, the butterfly appearing in the middle or last of July. The Hyphantria textor now lays its smooth, spherical eggs in broad patches on the under side of the leaves of the apple, which the caterpillar will ravage in August; and its ally, the Halesidota caryæ, we have found ovipositing the last week in the month on the leaves of the butternut. The Squash bug, Coreus (Gonocerus) tristis (Fig. 250) is now very abundant, gathering about the roots of the squash vines, often in immense numbers, blackening the stems with their dark, blackish-brown bodies. This insect is easily distinguished from the yellow striped Squash beetle previously mentioned, by its much greater size, and its entirely different structure and habits. It is a true bug (Hemipter, of which the bed-bug is an example), piercing the leaves and stalks, and drawing out the sap with its long sucker.
In June, also, we have found that beautiful butterfly, Militæa Phaeton rising from the low, cold swamps. Its larva transforms early in June or the last week in May, into a beautiful chrysalis. The larva hibernates through the winter, and may be found early in spring feeding on the leaves of the aster, the Viburnum dentatum and hazel. It is black and deep orange-red, with long, thick-set, black spines.
The Currant borer, Trochilium tipuliforme (Fig. 251), a beautiful, slender, agile, deep blue moth, with transparent wings, flies the last of the month about currant bushes, and its chrysalids may be found in May in the stems. Among moths, that of the American Tent caterpillar flies during the last of June and July, and its white cocoons can be detected under bark, and in sheltered parts of fences and out-houses.
Among others of the interesting group of Silk worms (Bombycidæ) are Lithosa, Crocota and allies, which fly in the daytime, and the different species of Arctia, and the white Arctians, Spilosoma, and Leucarctia, the parent of the Salt-marsh Caterpillar.
Many Leaf rollers, Tortrices, are rolling up leaves in various ways for their habitations, and to conceal them from too prying birds; and hosts of young Tineans are now mining leaves, and excavating the interior of seeds and various fruits. Grape-growers should guard against the attacks of a species of Tortrix (Penthina vitivorana) which rolls the leaves of the grape, and, according to Mr. M. C. Reed, of Hudson, Ohio, "in mid-summer deposits its eggs in the grape; a single egg in a grape. Its presence is soon indicated by a reddish color on that side of the yet green grape, and on opening it, the winding channel opened by the larva in the pulp is seen, and the minute worm, which is white, with a dark head, is found at the end of the channel. It continues to feed upon the pulp of the fruit, and when it reaches the seeds, eats out their interior; and if the supply from one grape is extinguished before its growth is completed, it fastens this to an adjoining grape with a web, and burrows into it. It finally grows to about one-half of an inch in length, becomes brown, almost black, the head retaining its cinnamon color. When it leaves the grape it is very active, and has the power of letting itself down by a thread of silk. All my efforts to obtain the cocoons failed until I placed fresh grape leaves in the jar containing the grapes. The larvæ immediately betook themselves to these, and, cutting a curved line through the leaf thus), sometimes two lines thus (), folded the edge or edges over, and in the fold assumed the chrysalis form. From specimens saved, I shall hope to obtain the perfect insect this season, and perhaps obtain information which will aid in checking its increase. Already it is so abundant that it is necessary to examine every branch of ripe grapes, and clip out the infested berries before sending them to the table. A rapid increase in its numbers would interfere seriously with the cultivation of the grape in this locality."
The Rose beetle (Macrodactyla subspinosa) appears in great abundance. The various species of Buprestis are abundant; among them are the Peach-borer (Dicerca divaricata), which may be now found flying about peach and cherry trees; and Chrysobothris fulvogutta, and C. Harrisii, about white pines. A large weevil (Arrhenodes septentrionalis), which lives under the bark of the white oak, appears in June and July. The Chinch bug begins its terrible ravages in the wheat fields. The various species of Chrysopa or Lace-winged flies, appear during this month.
The Insects of July.
During mid-summer the bees and wasps are very busy building their nests and rearing their young. The Humble bees, late in June and the first of this month, send out their first broods of workers, and about the middle of the month the second lot of eggs are laid, which produce the smaller-sized females and males, while eggs laid late in the month and early in August, produce the larger-sized queens, which soon hatch. These hibernate. The habits of their peculiar parasite, Apathus, an insect which closely resembles the Humble bee, are still unknown.
The Leaf-cutter bee (Megachile) may be seen flying about with pieces of rose-leaf, with which she builds, for a period of twenty days, her cells, often thirty in number, using for this purpose, according to Mr. F. W. Putnam's estimate,[32] at least one thousand pieces! The bees referred to "worked so diligently that they ruined five or six rose-bushes, not leaving a single unblighted leaf uncut, and were then forced to take the leaves of a locust tree as a substitute."
The Paper-making wasps, of which Vespa maculata (Fig. 252), the "White-faced wasp," is our largest species, are now completing their nests, and feeding their young with flies. The Solitary wasp (Odynerus albophaleratus) fills its earthen cells with minute caterpillars, which it paralyzes with its poisonous sting. A group of mud-cells, each stored with food for the single larva within, we once found concealed in a deserted nest of the American Tent caterpillar. Numerous species of Wood wasps (Crabronidæ) are engaged in tunnelling the stems of the blackberry, the elder, and syringa, and enlarging and refitting old nail holes, and burrowing in rotten wood, storing their cells with flies, caterpillars, aphides and spiders, according to the habit of each species. Eumenes fraterna, which attaches its single, large, thin-walled cell of mud to the stems of plants, is, according to Dr. T. W. Harris, known to store it with Canker worms. Pelopæus, the Mud-dauber, is now building its earthen cells, plastering them on old rafters and stone walls.
The Saw flies (Tenthredo), etc., abound in our gardens this month. The Selandria vitis attacks the vine, while Selandria rosæ, the Rose slug, injures the rose. The disgusting Pear slug-worm (S. cerasi), often live twenty to thirty on a leaf, eating the parenchyma, or softer tissues, leaving the blighted leaf. The leaves should be sprinkled with a mixture of whale-oil soap and water, in the proportion of two pounds of soap to fifteen gallons of water.