Our Common Insects / A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses

Among the butterflies, Melitæa Ismeria, in the south, and M. Harrisii, in the north, are sometimes seen. A second brood of Colias Philodice, the common sulphur-yellow butterfly, appears, and Pieris oleracea visits turnip-patches. It lays its eggs in June on the leaves, and the full-grown, dark-green, hairy larva may be found in August. The Pieria rapæ, or imported cabbage butterfly (Fig. 253, male) is now also abundant. Its green hairy larva is fearfully prevalent about Boston and New York. The last of the month a new brood of Grapta comma appears, and a second brood of the larva of Chrysophanus Americanus may be found on the sorrel.

The larvæ of Pyrrarctia Isabella hatch out the first week in July, and the snuff-colored moth enters our windows at night, in company with a host of night-flying moths. These large moths, many of which are injurious to crops, are commonly thought to feed on clothes and carpets. The true carpet and clothes moths are minute species, which flutter noiselessly about our apartments. Their narrow, feathery wings are edged with long silken fringes, and almost the slightest touch kills them.

Among beetles, the various borers, such as the Saperda, or apple tree borer (Fig. 254) are now pairing, and fly in the hot sun about trees. Nearly each tree has its peculiar enemy, which drives its galleries into the trunk and branches of the tree. Among the Tiger beetles, frequenting sandy places, the large Cicindela generosa and the Cicindela hirticollis are most common. The grotesque larvæ live in deep holes in sand-banks.

The nine-spotted Lady Bug, Coccinella novemnotata (Fig. 255, with pupa) is one of a large group of beetles, most beneficial from their habit of feeding on the plant lice. We figure another enemy of the Aphides, Chrysopa, and its eggs (Fig. 256), mounted each on a long silken stalk, thus placed above the reach of harm.

Among other beneficial insects belonging to the Neuroptera, is the immense family of Libellulidæ, or Dragon flies. The Forceps-tail, or Panorpa, P. rufescens (Fig. 257), is found in bushy fields and shrubbery. They prey on smaller insects, and the males are armed at the extremity of the body with an enormous forceps-like apparatus.

The Insects of August.

During this month great multitudes of bugs (Hemiptera) are found in our fields and gardens; and to this group of insects the present chapter will be devoted. They are nearly all injurious to crops, as they live on the sap of plants, stinging them with their long suckers. Their continued attacks cause the leaves to wither and blight.

The grain Aphis, in certain years, desolates our wheat fields. We have seen the heads black with these terrible pests. They pierce the grain, extract the sap, causing it to shrink and lose the greater part of its bulk. It is a most insidious and difficult foe to overcome.

The various leaf-hoppers, Tettigonia (Fig. 258) and Ceresa, abound on the leaves of plants, sadly blighting them; and the Tettigonias frequent damp, wet, swampy places. A very abundant species on grass produces what is called "frog's spittle." It can easily be traced through all its changes by frequently examining the mass of froth which surrounds it. Tettigonia Vitis blights the leaf of the grape-vine. It is a tenth of an inch long, and is straw-yellow, striped with red. Tettigonia rosæ, a still smaller species, infests the rose, often to an alarming extent.

The Notonecta, or water boatman, is much like a Tettigonia, but its wings are transparent on the outer half, and its legs are fringed with long hairs, being formed for swimming. It rows over the surface in pursuit of insects. Notonecta undulata Say (Fig. 259) is a common form in New England.

Another insect hunter is the singular Ranatra fusca (Fig. 260). It is light brown in color, with a long respiratory tube which it raises above the surface of the water when it wishes to breathe. This species connects the Water-boatman with the Water-skaters, or Gerris, a familiar insect, of which Gerris paludum (Fig. 261) is commonly seen running over the surface of streams and pools.

Reduvius and its allies belong to a large family of very useful insects, as they prey largely on caterpillars and noxious insects. Such is Pirates picipes (Fig. 262), a common species. It is an ally of Reduvius personates, a valued friend to man, as in Europe it destroys the bed-bug. Its specific name is derived from its habit while immature, of concealing itself in a case of dust, the better to approach its prey.

Another friend of the agriculturist is the Phymata erosa (Fig. 263). Mr. F. G. Sanborn states that "these insects have been taken in great numbers upon the linden trees in the city of Boston, and were seen in the act of devouring the Aphides, which have infested the shade trees of that city for several years past. They are described by a gentleman who watched their operations with great interest, as 'stealing up to a louse, coolly seizing and tucking it under the arm, then inserting the beak and sucking it dry.' They are supposed to feed also on other vegetable-eating insects as well as the plant louse."

Phytocoris lineolaris swarms in our gardens during this month. It is described and figured in "Harris's Treatise on Insects." Closely allied, though generally wingless, is that enemy of our peace, the bed-bug. It has a small somewhat triangular head, orbicular thorax, and large, round, flattened abdomen. It is generally wingless, having only two small wing-pads instead. The eggs are oval, white; the young escape by pushing off a lid at one end of the shell. They are white, transparent, differing from the perfect insect in having a broad, triangular head, and short, thick antennæ. Indeed, this is the general form of lice (Pediculus Vestimenti, and P. capitis), to which the larva of Cimex has the closest affinity. Some Cimices are parasites, infesting pigeons, swallows, etc., in this way also showing their near relation to lice. Besides the Reduvius, the cockroach is the natural enemy of the bed-bug, and destroys large numbers. Houses have been cleared of bugs after being thoroughly fumigated with brimstone.

During this month the ravages of grasshoppers are, in the West, very wide-spread. We have received from Major F. Hawn, of Leavenworth, Kansas, a most interesting account of the Red-legged locust (Caloptenus femur-rubrum). "They commence depositing their eggs in the latter part of August. They are fusiform, slightly gibbous, and of a buff-color. They are placed about three-fourths of an inch beneath the surface, in a compact mass around a vertical axis, pointing obliquely up and outwards, and are partially cemented together, the whole presenting a cylindrical structure, not unlike a small cartridge. They commence hatching in March, but it requires a range of temperature above 60º F. to bring them to maturity, and under such conditions they become fledged in thirty-three days, and in from three to five days after they enter upon their migratory flight.

"Their instincts are very strong. When food becomes scarce at one point, a portion of them migrate to new localities, and this movement takes place simultaneously over large areas. In their progress they stop at no obstacle they can surmount. In these excursions they often meet with other trains from an opposite direction, when both join in one.

"The insects are voracious, but discriminating in their choice of food, yet I know of no plant they reject if pressed by hunger; not even the foliage of shrubs and trees, including pine and cedar."

During this month the Seventeen-year locust (Cicada septendecim of Linnæus, Fig. 264) has disappeared, and only a few Harvest flies, as the two other species we have are called, raise their shrill cry during the dog-days. But as certain years are marked by the appearance of vast swarms in the Middle States, we cannot do better than to give a brief summary of its history, which we condense in part from Dr. Harris' work.

The Seventeen-year locust ranges from South-eastern and Western Massachusetts to Louisiana. Of its distribution west of the Mississippi Valley, we have no accurate knowledge. In Southern Massachusetts, they appear in oak forests about the middle of June. After pairing, the female, by means of her powerful ovipositor, bores a hole obliquely to the pith, and lays therein from ten to twenty slender white eggs, which are arranged in pairs, somewhat like the grains on an ear of wheat, and implanted in the limb. She thus oviposits several times in a twig, and passes from one to another, until she has laid four or five hundred eggs. After this she soon dies. The eggs hatch in about two weeks, though some observers state that they do not hatch for from forty to over fifty days after being laid. The active grubs are provided with three pairs of legs. After leaving the egg they fall to the ground, burrow into it, and seek the roots of plants whose juices they suck by means of their long beaks. They sometimes attack the roots of fruit trees, such as the pear and apple. They live nearly seventeen years in the larva state, and then in the spring change to the pupa, which chiefly differs from the larva by having rudimentary wings. The damage done by the larvæ and pupæ, then, consists in their sucking the sap from the roots of forest, and occasionally fruit trees.

Regarding its appearance, Mr. L. B. Case writes us (June 15) from Richmond, Indiana: "Just now we are having a tremendous quantity of locusts in our forests and adjoining fields, and people are greatly alarmed about them; some say they are Egyptian locusts, etc. This morning they made a noise, in the woods about half a mile east of us, very much like the continuous sound of frogs in the early spring, or just before a storm at evening. It lasted from early in the morning until evening." Mr. V. T. Chambers writes us that it is abounding in the vicinity of Covington, Kentucky, "in common with a large portion of the Western country." He points out some variations in color from those described by Dr. Fitch, from New York, and states that those occurring in Kentucky are smaller than those of which the measurements are given by Dr. Fitch, and states that "these differences indicate that the groups, appearing in different parts of the country at intervals of seventeen years, are of different varieties." A careful comparison of large numbers collected from different broods, in different localities, and different years, would alone give the facts to decide this interesting point. Mr. Riley has shown that in the Southern States a variety appears every thirteen years.

Regarding the question raised by Mr. Chambers, whether the sting of this insect is poisonous, and which he is inclined to believe to be in part true, we might say that naturalists generally believe it to be harmless. No hemiptera are known to be poisonous, that is, to have a poison-gland connected with the sting, like that of the bee, and careful dissections by the eminent French naturalist, Lacaze-Duthiers, of three European species of Cicada, have not revealed any poison apparatus at the base of the sting. Another proof that it does not pour poison into the wound made by the ovipositor is, that the twig thus pierced and wounded does not swell, as in the case of plants wounded by Gall flies, which, perhaps, secrete an irritating poison, giving rise to tumors of various shapes. Many insects sting without poisoning the wound; the bite of the mosquito, black fly, flea, the bed bug, and other hemipterous insects, are simply punctured wounds, the saliva introduced being slightly irritant, and to a perfectly healthy constitution they are not poisonous, though they may grievously afflict some persons, causing the adjacent parts to swell, and in some weak constitutions induce severe sickness. Regarding this point, Mr. Chambers writes: "I have heard—not through the papers—within a few days past of a child, within some twenty miles of this place, dying from the sting of a Cicada, but have not had an opportunity to inquire into the truth of the story, but the following you may rely on. A negro woman in the employment of A. V. Winston, Esq., at Burlington, Boone County, Ky., fifteen miles distant from here, went barefooted into his garden a few days since, and while there was stung or bitten in the foot by a Cicada. The foot immediately swelled to huge proportions, but by various applications the inflammation was allayed, and the woman recovered. Mr. Winston, who relates this, stands as high for intelligence and veracity as any one in this vicinity. I thought, on first hearing the story, that probably the sting was by some other insect, but Mr. Winston says that he saw the Cicada. But perhaps this proves that the sting is not fatal; that depends on the subject. Some persons suffer terribly from the bite of a mosquito, while others scarcely feel them. The cuticle of a negro's foot is nearly impenetrable, and perhaps the sting would have been more dangerous in a more tender part." It is not improbable that the sting was made by a wasp (Stizus) which preys on the Cicada. Dr. Le Baron and Mr Riley believe the wound to be made by the beak, which is the more probable solution of the problem.

A word more about the Seventeen-year Cicada. Professor Orton writes us from Yellow Springs, Ohio, that this insect has done great damage to the apple, peach, and quince trees, and is shortening the fruit crop very materially. By boring into twigs bearing fruit, the branches break and the fruit goes with them. "Many orchards have lost full two years' growth. Though the plum and cherry trees seemed exempt, they attacked the grape, blackberry, raspberry, elm (white and slippery), maple, white ash, willow, catalpa, honey-locust and wild rose. We have traces of the Cicada this year from Columbus, Ohio, to St. Louis. Washington and Philadelphia have also had a visitation."

We figure the Hop-vine moth and the larva (Fig. 265) which abound on hops the last of summer. Also, the Ilythia colonella (Fig. 266, a, pupa), known in England to be a parasite of the Humble bee. We have frequently met with it here, though not in Humble bees' nests. The larvæ feed directly upon the young bees, according to Curtis (Farm Insects). The Spindle-worm moth (Gortyna zeæ), whose caterpillar lives in the stalks of Indian corn, and also in dahlias, flies this month. The withering of the leaves when the corn is young, shows the presence of this pest. The beetles of various cylindrical Bark borers and Blight beetles (Tomicus and Scolytus) appear again this month. During this month the Tree cricket (Œcanthus niveus, Fig. 267) lays its eggs in the branches of peach trees. It will also eat tobacco leaves.

We figure (268) the moth of Ennomos subsignaria, the larva of which is so injurious to shade trees in New York City. It is a widely diffused species, occurring probably throughout the Northern States. We have taken the moth in Northern Maine. We have received from Mr. W. V. Andrews the supposed larvæ of this moth. They are "loopers," that is, they walk with a looping gait, as if measuring off the ground they walk over, whence the name "Geometers," more usually applied to them. They are rather stout, brown, and roughened like a twig of the tree they inhabit, with an unusually large rust-red head, and red prop-legs, while the tip of the body is also red. They are a little over an inch long.

The Insects of September.

Few new insects make their first appearance for the season during this month. Most of the species which abound in the early part of the month are the August forms, which live until they are killed by the frosts late in the month. From this cause there is towards the end of the month a very sensible diminution of the number of insects.

The early frosts warn these delicate creatures of approaching cold. Hence the whole insect population is busied late in the month in looking out snug winter quarters, or providing for the continuance of the species. Warned by the cool and frosty nights, multitudes of caterpillars prepare to spin their dense silken cocoons, which guard them against frost and cold. Such are the "Spinners," as the Germans call them, the Silk moths, of which the American Silk worm is a fair example. The last of September it spins its dense cocoon, in which it hibernates in the chrysalis state.

The larvæ of those moths, such as the Sphinges, or Hawk moths, which spin no cocoon, descend deep into the earth, where they transform into chrysalids and lie in deep earthen cocoons.

The wild bees may now be found frequenting flowers in considerable numbers. Both sexes of the Humble bee, the Leaf-cutter bee, and other smaller genera abound during the warm days.

One's attention during an unusually warm and pleasant day in this month is attracted by clouds of insects filling the air, especially towards sunset, when the slanting rays of the sun shine through the winged hosts. On careful investigation these insects will prove to be nearly all ants, and, perhaps, to belong to a single species. Looking about on the ground, an unusual activity will be noticed in the ant-hills. This is the swarming of the ants. The autumnal brood of females has appeared, and this is their marriage day.

The history of a formicarium, or ant's nest, is as follows: The workers, only, hibernate, and are found early in the spring, taking care of the eggs and larvæ produced by the autumnal brood of females. In the course of the summer these eggs and larvaæ arrive at maturity, and swarm on a hot sultry day, usually early in September. The females, after their marriage flight, for the small diminutive males seek their company at this time, descend and enter the ground to lay their eggs for new colonies, or, as Westwood states, they are often seized by the workers and retained in the old colonies. Having no more inclination to fly, they pluck off their wings and may be seen running about wingless.

Dr. C. C. Abbot gives us the following account of the swarming of a species in New Jersey: "On the afternoon of Oct. 6th, at about 4 P. M., we were attracted to a part of the large yard surrounding our home, by a multitude of large sized insects that filled the air, and appeared to be of some unusual form of insect life, judging of them from a distance. On closer inspection these creatures proved to be a brood of red ants (Formica) that had just emerged from their underground home and were now for the first time using their delicate wings. The sky, at the time, was wholly overcast; the wind strong, southeast; thermometer 66º Fahr. Taking a favorable position near the mass, as they slowly crawled from the ground, up the blades of grass and stems of clover and small weeds, we noted, first, that they seemed dazed, without any method in their movements, save an ill-defined impression that they must go somewhere. Again, they were pushed forward, usually by those coming after them, which seemed to add to their confusion. As a brood or colony of insects, their every movement indicated that they were wholly ill at ease.

"Once at the end of a blade of grass, they seemed even more puzzled as to what to do. If not followed by a fellow ant, as was usually the case, they would invariably fall down again to the earth, and sometimes repeat this movement until a new comer joined in the ascent, when the uncertain individual would be forced to use his wings. This flight would be inaugurated by a very rapid buzzing of the wings, as though to dry them, or prove their owner's power over them, but which it is difficult to say. After a short rest, the violent movement of the wings would recommence, and finally losing fear, as it were, the ant would let go his hold upon the blade of grass and rise slowly upwards. It could, in fact, scarcely be called flight. The steady vibration of the wings simply bore them upwards, ten, twenty or thirty feet, until they were caught by a breeze, or by the steadier wind that was moving at an elevation equal to the height of the surrounding pine and spruce trees. So far as we were able to discover, their wings were of the same use to them, in transporting them from their former home, that the 'wings' of many seeds are, in scattering them; both are wholly at the mercy of the winds.

"Mr. Bates, in describing the habits of the Saüba ants (Œcodoma cephalotes) says,[33] 'The successful début of the winged males and females depends likewise on the workers. It is amusing to see the activity and excitement which reign in an ant's nest when the exodus of the winged individuals is taking place. The workers clear the roads of exit, and show the most lively interest in their departure, although it is highly improbable that any of them will return to the same colony. The swarming or exodus of the winged males and females of the Saüba ant takes place in January and February, that is, at the commencement of the rainy season. They come out in the evening in vast numbers, causing quite a commotion in the streets and lanes.' We have quoted this passage from Mr. Bates' fascinating book, because of the great similarity and dissimilarity in the movements of the two species at this period of their existence. Remembering, at the time the above remarks concerning the South American species, we looked carefully for the workers, in this instance, and failed to discover above half a dozen wingless ants above ground, and these were plodding about, very indifferent, as it appeared to us, to the fate or welfare of their winged brothers. And on digging down a few inches, we could find but comparatively few individuals in the nest, and could detect no movements on their parts that referred to the exodus of winged individuals, then going on.

"On the other hand, the time of day agrees with the remarks of Mr. Bates. When we first noticed them, about 4 P. M., they had probably just commenced their flight. It continued until nearly 7 P. M., or a considerable time after sundown. The next morning, there was not an individual, winged or wingless, to be seen above ground; the nest itself was comparatively empty; and what few occupants there were seemed to be in a semi-torpid condition. Were they simply resting after the fatigue and excitement of yesterday?

"It was not possible for us to calculate what proportion of these winged ants were carried by the wind too far to return to their old home; but certainly a large proportion were caught by the surrounding trees; and we found, on search, some of these crawling down the trunks of the trees, with their wings in a damaged condition. How near the trees must be for them to reach their old home, we should like to learn; and what tells them, 'which road to take?' Dr. Duncan states,[34] 'It was formerly supposed that the females which alighted at a great distance from their old nests returned again, but Huber, having great doubts upon this subject, found that some of them, after having left the males, fell on to the ground in out-of-the-way places, whence they could not possibly return to the original nest!' We unfortunately did not note the sex of those individuals that we intercepted in their return (?) trip; but we can not help expressing our belief that, at least in this case, there was scarcely an appreciable amount of 'returning' on the part of those whose exodus we have just described; although so many were caught by the nearer trees and shrubbery. Is it probable that these insects could find their way to a small underground nest, where there was no 'travel' in the vicinity, other than the steady departure of individuals, who, like themselves, were terribly bothered with the wings they were carrying about with them?" (American Naturalist.)

We have noticed that those females that do not return to the old nest found new ones. In Maine and Massachusetts we have for several successive years noticed the swarming of certain species of ants during an unusually warm and sultry day early in September.

The autumnal brood of Plant lice now occur in great numbers on various plants. The last brood, however, does not consist exclusively of males and females, for of some of the wingless individuals previously supposed to be perfect insects of both sexes, Dr. W. I. Burnett found that many were in reality of the ordinary gemmiparous form, such as those composing the early summer broods.

The White Pine Plant lice (Lachnus strobi) may be seen laying their long string of black oval eggs on the needles of the pine. They are accompanied by hosts of two-winged flies, Ichneumons, and in the night by many moths which feed on the Aphis-honey they secrete, and which drops upon the leaves beneath.

INDEX.

• Abraxas ribearia, 202.
• Acarus, 124.
• Acceleration, theory of evolution by, 167.
• Achorutes, 145.
• Adela, 189.
• Agrion, 109.
• Agrion, egg-parasite of, 164.
• Agrotis, 197.
• Alternation of generations, 168.
• Alypia, 57, 197.
• American tent caterpillar, 187.
• Amnion, 166.
• Ancestral forms, 151.
• Andrena, 31, 45, 192.
• Angle worms, 189.
• Annelida, 161, 170.
• Anopheles, 189.
• Ant, 217.
• Antenna, origin of, 174.
• Antherophagus, 49.
• Ant lion, 115, 182.
• Ants, 189.
• Anura, 136, 145, 147.
• Anurida, 146.
• Apathus, 47.
• Aphis, 151, 203.
• Aphis eater, 75.
• Aphis of grain, 209.
• Apple borer, 208.
• Apple insects, 83.
• Apple tree borer, 187.
• April, insects of, 187.
• Agonum, 191.
• Aquarium, 195.
• Arachnida, ancestry of, 189.
• Archetype, 186.
• Archetypes in Insects, 150.
• Arctia, 197.
• Argas, 123.
• Argynnis, 193, 197.
• Army worm, 55.
• Arrhenodes, 206.
• Arthropoda, 166.
• Aspidiotus, 203.
• Assmus, Edward, on parasites of honey bee, 39.
• Astoma, 122, 159.
• August, insects of, 209.
• 
  
• Band, primitive, 163, 167.
• Bark borer, 188, 216.
• Bark louse, 203.
• Barnacle, 155.
• Bed bug, 96, 183.
• Bees, 17, 168, 206.
• Bee louse, 41.
• Beneficial insects, 190.
• Billings on Eophyton, 158.
• Bird tick, 84.
• Black fly, 73.
• Blight insect, 203.
• Bombardier beetle, 191.
• Borer, 187.
• Bot fly, 77.
• Botrytis, 47.
• Brachinus, 191.
• Brauer, F., on ancestry of insects, 157.
• On two larval forms, 175.
• Braula, 41.
• Breeze fly, 74.
• Brephos, 189.
• Bristle tail, 127.
• Bruchus, 188.
• Buprestis, 206.
• 
  
• Cabbage butterfly, 55, 207.
• Caddis fly, 153.
• Caddis fly larva, 178.
• Caddis worm, 195.
• Calendar, Insect, 187.
• Caloptenus, 211.
• Calosoma, 190.
• Campodea, 133, 159, 170, 178.
• Campodea-stage of insects, 157.
• Canker worm, 187, 201.
• Carabidæ, 189, 190.
• Carabus, 191.
• Carboniferous insects, 158.
• Myriopods, 158.
• Scorpion, 158.
• Carpenter bee, 192.
• Carpet fly, 75.
• Case worms, 195.
• Casnonia, 191.
• Caterpillar, origin of, 175, 179.
• Cecidomyia, 168, 196, 203.
• Cecidomyia tritici, 197.
• Centipede, 149.
• Ceratina, 24, 192.
• Ceresa, 209.
• Cestodes, 162.
• Cheese maggot, 83.
• Cheese mite, 124.
• Cheyletus, 119.
• Chigoe, 86.
• Chinch bug, 55, 203.
• Chionea, 85.
• Chironomus, 168, 189.
• Chloëon, 170, 180.
• Chrysobothris, 206.
• Chrysopa, 171, 182, 208.
• Chrysophanus, 193, 207.
• Cicada, 212.
• Cicindela, 189.
• Clothes moth, 64, 188.
• Coccinella, 204.
• Coddling moth, 188.
• Coleopterous larvæ, 175.
• Collembola, 133, 159.
• Comprehensive type, 154.
• Compsidea, 90.
• Conotrachelus, 194.
• Copepoda, 167.
• Corydalus, mandibles of, 182.
• Crab, 155, 156.
• Crustacea, differences of from insects, 157.
• Currant borer, 204.
• Currant worm, 202.
• Cut worm, 197.
• Cyclops-like stage, 162.
• Cynips, 193.
• 
  
• Daddy-long-legs, 194.
• Dawson's discovery of fossil myriopods, 159.
• Dawson on fossil land plants of Upper Silurian, 158.
• Degeeria, 143.
• Demodex, 125, 148, 160.
• Devil's darning-needle, 106.
• Devonian formation, insects in, 158.
• Diabrotica, 194.
• Dicerca, 206.
• Dicyrtoma, 142.
• Diplax, 113, 154.
• Dipterous gall fly, 196.
• Dipterous larvæ, 175.
• Dohrn, Anton, on ancestry of insects, 169.
• Dragon fly, 106, 171, 195.
• Dujardinia, 170.
• Dytiscus, 182.
• 
  
• Ear wig, 136.
• Echinoderes, 169.
• Egg parasites, 201.
• Egg parasite of Agrion, 164.
• Eggs of canker worm, 187.
• Elm tree insects, 90.
• Embryology, comparative. 167.
• Embryology of Podura, 140.
• Ennomos, 216.
• Ephemera, 154, 194.
• Ephydra, 174.
• Eruciform larva, 175.
• Euphorberia, 158.
• Evolution theory, 152.
• Eyes of insects, 185.
• 
  
• Fabre on hyper-metamorphosis, 43.
• Fall weaver, 197.
• Fire fly, 202.
• Flea, 86.
• Forceps Tail, 171.
• Forficula, 136.
• Fossil insects, 158.
• Myriopods, 158.
• Scorpion, 158.
• Foul brood, 40.
• 
  
• Gad fly, 74.
• Galley worm, 149.
• Gall flies, 193.
• Gall fly, 72, 203.
• Gall fly, two-winged, 196.
• Gamasus, 120.
• Ganin on embryology of insects, 161.
• Gegenbaur on tracheæ, 172.
• Generalized types, 154.
• Generation, alternate, 168.
• Gerris, 210.
• Gerris, egg-parasite of, 166.
• Gills of insects, 172.
• Gnat, 71, 189.
• Gonocerus, 204.
• Gordius, 46.
• Gortyna, 215.
• Grain Aphis, 209.
• Grape insects, 57.
• Grape leaf roller, 205.
• Grape saw fly, 207.
• Grapta, 189, 204, 207.
• Grasshopper, 181, 211.
• Green head, 74.
• Grimm on parthenogenesis, 168.
• 
  
• Hæckel, Ernst, on ancestry of insects, 156.
• Hairs of insects, 185.
• Hair worm, 46.
• Halictus, 31, 192.
• Handily, A. H., on Thysanura, 133.
• Hartt's discovery of fossil insects in New Brunswick, 158.
• Harvest bugs, 122.
• Haustellate insects, 183.
• Hawk moth, 194, 200.
• Head of insects, mode of formation of, 174.
• Heart, iv.
• Hemiptera, 209.
• Hemipterous larvæ, 175.
• Hessian fly, 72, 196.
• Heteropus, 126.
• Hibernation of insects, 192.
• Hirudo, 166.
• Histolysis, 168.
• Histriobdella, 166.
• Histriobdella stage of Polynema, 164.
• Hop vine moth, 215.
• Horse tick, 84.
• House fly, 80.
• Humble bee parasite, 215.
• Humming bird moth, 194.
• Hunt on organic life in the Laurentian period, 158.
• Hylobius pales, 188.
• Hylurgus terebrans, 188.
• Hymenopterous larvæ, 175.
• Hyper-metamorphosis of insects, 166.
• Hyphantria, 204.
• Hypodermis, 163.
• 
  
• Ichneumon, 161, 201.
• Illinois, fossil insects of, 159.
• Ilythia, 215.
• Injurious insects, 190.
• Insects, ancestry of, 150.
• Insects, archetypes of, 150.
• Insects, beneficial, 190.
• Insect calendar, 187.
• Insects, embryology of, 154, 155.
• Insects, flight of, ix.
• Insects in the Devonian formation, 158.
• Insects, metamorphosis of, 166.
• Insects, origin of, 156.
• Insects, reason in, 30, 37.
• Insects, respiration of, 171.
• Insects, senses of, xiii.
• Insects, sexes in, 52.
• Insects, transformations of, xiv, 50.
• Insects, wingless, 171.
• Intestinal worms, 161.
• Isotoma, 140, 143.
• Itch mite, 125.
• Ixodes, 117, 123.
• 
  
• Japyx, 132.
• Jaws of insects, origin of, 174.
• Jelly fishes, 168.
• Joint worm, 55.
• Julus, 149, 169.
• Julus, embryology of, 164.
• July, insects of, 206.
• June, insects of, 200.
• 
  
• Kowaleusky's researches on embryology of worms, 169.
• 
  
• Labium, vi, 165.
• Lachnosterna fusca, 202.
• Lachnus, 220.
• Lady bird, 208.
• Larva, ernciform, 175.
• Leptiform, 175.
• Two kinds of, 175.
• Larval skin of crustacea, 166.
• Leaf cutter bee, 26, 206.
• Leaf roller, 188, 197, 205.
• Leeches, 166.
• Legs of insects, 173.
• Leidy, J., on internal parasites of insects, 39, 46.
• Lepidocyrtus, 144.
• Lepidopterous larvæ, 175.
• Lepisma, 128.
• Leptiform larva, 175.
• Leptus, 120, 155, 159.
• Lespès, on sense of hearing in insects, xiv.
• Leucania, 55.
• Leuckart on embryology of Hirudo, 168.
• Parthenogenesis, 168.
• Libellula, 107, 195.
• Linden tree insects, 90.
• Linguatula, 160.
• Lipura, 145.
• Lithobius, 178.
• Locust tree insects, 93.
• Louse, 96, 154.
• Lubbock's discovery of Pauropus, 149.
• Lubbock, Sir John, on Thysanura, 133;
• on the origin of insects, 159, 173.
• 
  
• Machilis, 128.
• Macrodactylus, 206.
• Macrosila cluentius, 184.
• Maggot, origin of, 175, 178.
• Mandible, vi.
• Mandibles of moths, 183.
• Mandibulate insects, 183.
• Mange mite, 125.
• Marey on the flight of insects, ix.
• Mason bee, 192.
• Maxillæ, vi.
• Maxilla of moths, 184.
• May beetle, 202.
• May fly, 194.
• May, insects of, 192.
• Mazonia, 158.
• Meat fly, 82.
• Meek's discovery of fossil insects in Illinois, 158.
• Megachile, 26.
• Melipona, 18.
• Melitæa, 193, 207.
• Melitæa Phaeton, 204.
• Meloë, 21, 42.
• Metamorphosis of insects, 166, 175;
• origin of, 179.
• Miastor, 168.
• Microgaster, 49.
• Mites, 116, 149.
• Mosquito, 68.
• Mosquito hawk, 195.
• Mouth-parts of insects, origin of, 173.
• Mucor, 47.
• Mud dauber, 207.
• Müller, Fritz, on ancestry of insects, 156, 169.
• Müller, J., on sight in insects, xiii.
• Murray's discovery of Eophyton in America, 158.
• Musca, 80, 168.
• Muscardine, 47.
• Mycetobia, 73.
• Myobia, 169.
• Myriopoda, 149.
• Ancestry of, 159.
• 
  
• Nannophya, 114.
• Nauplius, 155, 160.
• Nebalia, 182.
• Nephelis, 166.
• Nephopteryx, 49.
• Neuropterous larvæ, 175.
• New Brunswick, fossil insects of, 158.
• Newport, on embryology of Julus, 164.
• Nicoletia, 131.
• Nomada, 38.
• Notonecta, 209.
• Nova Scotia, fossil insects of, 159.
• 
  
• Ocypete, 159.
• Odynerus, 207.
• Œcanthus, 216.
• Oil beetle, 188.
• Onion fly, 49.
• Ophioneurus, embryology of, 165.
• Orchesella, 143.
• Ornithomyia, 84.
• Orthopterous larvæ, 175.
• Osmia, 27.
• Otiorhynchus, 199.
• Ovipositor of Cicada, 185.
• 
  
• Palpus, vi.
• Origin of, 174.
• Pangus, 191.
• Panorpa, 171, 209.
• Paper wasp, 207.
• Papilio Asterias, 200.
• Papirins, 142.
• Parasite of insect eggs, 164.
• Parsnip butterfly, 200.
• Parthenogenesis, 168.
• Pasteur on the silk worm disease, 63.
• Pauropus, 149, 154, 158, 171.
• Peach borer, 206.
• Pear slug, 207.
• Pea weevil, 188.
• Peck, W. D., on the habits of Stylops and Xenos, 45, 46.
• Pelopæus, 207.
• Pentastoma, 148, 160.
• Peripatus, 161.
• Perla, 154.
• Phora, 40.
• Phymata, 211.
• Phytocoris, 211.
• Pickle worm, 57.
• Pieris, 55, 197, 207.
• Pieris brassicæ, egg parasite of, 165.
• Pine plant louse, 220.
• Pine weevil, 188, 199.
• Piophila, 83.
• Pirates, 210.
• Pissodes strobi, 188.
• Plan of structure, 186.
• Plant louse, 220.
• Platygaster, embryology of, 161.
• Plum weevil, 194.
• Podura, 133, 135, 144, 153, 154, 159, 170.
• Catch of, 139.
• Spring of, 137.
• Podurids, the ancestors of the true insects, 157.
• Poisonous insects, 214.
• Polynema, embryology of, 164.
• Poplar tree insects, 92.
• Potato insects, 63.
• Prelarval stage of ichneumons, 168.
• Primitive band, 163, 166.
• Primitive insects, 175.
• Prionus, 93.
• Procris, 60.
• Protoleptus, 172, 174.
• Pseudoneuroptera, 178.
• Ptinus fur, 200.
• Putnam, F. W., on habits of the bees, 19, 26.
• Pyrrharctia, 207.
• 
  
• Ranatra, 210.
• Rat-tailed fly, 76.
• Reduvius, 210.
• Reproduction, virgin, 168.
• Respiration of insects, 171.
• Retardation, theory of evolution by, 167.
• Rose beetle, 206.
• Rose saw fly, 196.
• Rose slug, 207.
• Rotatoria, ancestors of crustacea, 169.
• 
  
• Salpa, 168.
• Saperda, 91, 208.
• Sarcoptes, 125.
• Saw fly, 196, 207.
• Saw of saw fly, 185.
• Schiödte on the mouth-parts of the louse, 96.
• Scolopocryptops, 149.
• Scorpion, fossil, 158.
• Scudder on fossil insects of New Brunswick and Illinois, 158.
• Seira, 143.
• Selandria, 207.
• Selandria rosæ, 196.
• September, insects of, 216.
• Sesia, 194.
• Seventeen year locust, 212.
• Sexes, origin of, 152.
• Sheep tick, 85.
• Shrimp, 155.
• Siebold, T. von, on the ears of grasshoppers, xiv.
• Siebold on parthenogenesis, 168.
• Silk worm, 51.
• Silver witches, 128.
• Simulium, 73.
• Sitaris, 44.
• Smith, F., on stingless bees, 18.
• On parasitic bees, 37.
• Smynthurus, 142.
• Species, origin of, 152.
• Sphinx, 194, 197, 200, 207.
• Spider, 155.
• Spider fly, 85.
• Spindle worm, 215.
• Spinneret of caterpillars, 183;
• of spiders, 185.
• Spring, insects of, 187.
• Spring of Podura, 185.
• Spring tail, 127.
• Squash beetle, 194.
• Squash bug, 204.
• Sting of bee, 185.
• Sting, origin of, 165.
• Stylops, 21, 45, 152, 179, 188.
• Sucker of insects, 183.
• Sugar mite, 124.
• Swarming of ants, 217.
• Syllis, 170.
• Syrphus, 75.
• 
  
• Tabanus, 74.
• Tachina, 39, 189.
• Tailor bee, 26.
• Tardigrade, 150, 160.
• Teleas, embryology of, 166.
• Templetonia, 143.
• Tent caterpillar, 187.
• Tenthredo, 207.
• Tettigonia, 209.
• Thanaos, 197.
• Thecla, 197.
• Thorax of insects, 173.
• Thysanura, 127, 154.
• Ticks, 116.
• Tinea, 64, 188.
• Tipula, 194.
• Tomicus, 199.
• Tomocerus, 137, 143.
• Tongue of insects, 183.
• Torell's discovery of Eophyton in Sweden, 158.
• Tortrices, 205.
• Tortricidæ, 188.
• Trachea, iv.
• Tracheæ, absence of in Polynema, 165.
• Tracheæ, origin of, 171.
• Tree cricket, 216.
• Trichocera hyemalis, 189.
• Trichodes, 42.
• Trigona, 18.
• Trochilium tipuliforme, 205.
• Trombidium, 120, 159.
• Trouvelot, L., on amount eaten by silk worms, vii, 60.
• Turnip butterfly, 197.
• 
  
• Uhler, P. R., on habits of the dragon fly, 107, 110.
• 
  
• Verrill, A. E., on the parasites of man and the domestic animals, 84.
• Vine dresser, 59.
• Virgin reproduction, 168.
• 
  
• Wasp, 206.
• Water bear, 150.
• Water boatman, 166, 209.
• Waterhouse, G. R., on habits of Osmia, 27.
• Weevil, 179, 188, 194.
• Weismann on growth of insects, 164.
• West, Tuffen, on the foot of the fly, viii.
• Wheat midge, 197.
• Wine fly, 83.
• Wingless insects, 171.
• Wings of insects as respiratory organs, 165.
• Wings, origin of, 172.
• Worthen's discovery of fossil insects in Illinois, 158.
• Worms, the ancestors of insects, 160, 169.
• Wyman, Jeffries, on the cells of the honey bee, 17.
• 
  
• Xenos, 46.
• Xylobius, 159.
• Xylocopa, 21.
• 
  
• Zaddach on development of worms, insects and crustaceans, 169.
• Zoëa, 156.