imagined, separating it from the level of the Mancos river flowing at the foot of the precipice. The remains of an old tower are to be seen in the valley below, the walls of which are several feet in height, having the plaster crumbled almost entirely away from the interstices between the stones. The mounds of decay which lie within and without, show conclusively that the building at one time was many times as high as it now appears. In the vicinity quantities of highly glazed and ornamented pottery lies scattered around, but all of it in a fragmentary condition. Through the neighboring cañons occur thousands of these interesting mural remains, but space forbids the mention of more than a few of the most characteristic. -:0: THE NEW CARPET BEETLE-ANTHRENUS SCROPHULARIÆ.1 BY J. A. LINTNER. DURING newspapers of the ravages of a carpet-beetle, quite different in its appearance and in the character of its depredations from the well-known carpet-moth, Tinea tapetzella, which for so long a time had been the only known insect depredator on our carpets. Its habitat was stated to be beneath the borders of carpets where nailed to the floor, eating in those portions numerous holes of an inch or more in diameter. Occasionally it made its way into the crevices left by the joinings of the floor, following which, entire breadths of carpet would be cut across as by scissors. In several instances carpets had been destroyed-new ones as readily as older—and it was questioned whether their use could be continued, in view of a prospective increase of the alarming ravages. The insect was new to every one, and no one could form a rational conjecture as to what order of the Insecta it belonged. It was described as a small ovate object, about one eighth of an inch in length, thickly clothed with numerous short bristle-like hairs, and terminating in a pencil of these, forming a tail. It was exceedingly active in its motions, and when disturbed in its con 1 From advance sheets of the Thirteenth Annual Report on the New York State Museum of Natural History. cealment would glide away beneath the base-boards or some other convenient crevice so quickly as in most instances to elude. capture for its closer inspection. They were found only during the summer months. In 1876 it was reported in many dwellings in Schenectady, and in the month of July examples of it, for the first time, came under my observation, taken, upon search having been instituted, under the carpets of my residence at Schenectady, where its presence had not been suspected. It was evident, on the first inspection, that it was the larva of a beetle, and in all probability a member of the very destructive family of Dermestide, which comprises several of our most injurious depredators on animal substances. A number of the larva were secured and fed upon pieces of carpet 'in order to rear them. In September they had evidently matured, and had assumed their quiescent pupal state within the skin of the larva, first rent by a split along the back for the escape of the perfect insect. At this stage they presented characters which led me to refer them, in all probability, to the genus Anthrenus, In October, the first perfect insect emerged. Being entirely new to me, they were sent to Dr. LeConte, the distinguished coleopterist of Philadelphia, for determination. He returned answer that they were the Anthrenus scrophularia Linn.—a species well known in Europe for its destructiveness, but now for the first time detected in this country Notice of the discovery was communicated by me to the Albany Institute at its meeting of October 17, 1876, and a report of the same published in the Albany Argus of October 21st. Owing to the interest attached to the introduction in our country of another addition to the already formidable list of injurious insects of European origin,, the paper, or extracts therefrom, appeared in several of the journals of this and adjoining States. Through the publicity given it, I became informed of the presence of the insect in many localities in New York and other States. Examples of a beetle, believed to conform to the brief description which I had given of A. scrophulariæ, and known to possess the like habit of feeding upon carpets, were sent to me by Mr. A. S. Fuller of the Rual Nero-Yorker, for comparison. The species had been in his cabinet for some time, under the name of Anthrenus lepidus LeConte, having received the first examples from Oregon in 1871 or 1872. Later, in 1874, spécimens referred by him to the same species were found abundantly in a dwelling in Market street, New York, and thereafter in various parts of the city and neighboring localities. The examples reared by Mr. Fuller from larvæ taken in New York city were clearly identical with A. scrophularia. Upon informing Dr. LeConte that examples of this species were in cabinets under the name of A. lepidus and requesting an explanation, he wrote me that the latter name had been given by him to a form which he had found on flowers at San Francisco and San Jose in 1850;1 that it differed from the A. scrophularia of Europe in its sutural line being white instead of red; but that in all probability it should only be regarded as a variety of the European species. Dr. LeConte suggests that it may have been imported into California from Southern Europe during the Spanish occupation of that country. The eastern invasion of the insect, he believes to have been within a few years through the importation of carpets at New York. The accompanying figures, very faithfully drawn by Prof. Riley, represent A. scrophularia in three of its stages, viz: a the larva, c the pupa, and d the imago or beetle. At b the skin of the larva, after the beetle has emerged from the fissure on the back, is shown. The figures are enlarged, the lines beside them representing the natural size. The larva-the form in which it is usually found when pursuing its ravages beneath the carpets-measures, at maturity, about 1 A. lepidus, breviter ovatus, supra niger, thoracis lateribus albo-squamosis, gutta nigra inclusa, elytris fasciis tribus angustis suturaque albo-squamosis, macula antica suturali aureo-squamosa ornatis, basi parce albo-squamosis. Long. .11 in San Diego, Cal.-Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1854, p. 112. three-sixteenths of an inch in length. A number of hairs radiate from its last segment in nearly a semicircle, but are more thickly clustered in line with the body, forming a tail-like projection almost as long as the body; this terminal pencil of hairs is not shown in its full extent in the figure, doubtless taken from an immature individual. The entire length of the insect, including the pencil of hairs, is, in the largest specimens, nearly threeeighths of an inch. Measured across the body and the lateral hairs, its breadth just equals the length of the body. An ordinary magnifier will show the front part of the body, where no distinct head is to be seen, thickly set with short brown hairs, and a few longer ones. Similar short hairs clothe the body-somewhat longer on the sides, where they tend to form small tufts. Towards the hinder end may be seen on each side three longer tufts (thrice as long) projecting laterally; but these are not always visible, as the insect by the aid of a peculiar muscular arrangement, has the power of folding them out of sight along its sides. The body has the appearance of being banded in two shades of brown-the darker band being the central portion of each ring, and the lighter, the connecting portion of the rings, known as the incisure. By turning it upon its back, the six little legs, of which it makes such good use, can be seen, in vigorous efforts to regain its former position-its struggles while in this condition sometimes producing a series of jumps of about an eighth of an inch in length. Having attained its full growth, it prepares for its pupal change without the construction of a cocoon or any other provision than merely seeking some convenient retreat. Here it remains in a quiet state, unaltered in external appearance, except somewhat contracted in length, until it has nearly completed its pupation, when the skin is rent along its back, and, through the fissure, the pupa is seen. A few weeks having passed, the pupal skin in its turn is split dorsally, and the brightly colored wing-covers of the beetle are disclosed. Still a few additional days of repose are required for its full development, when the now fully matured beetle crawls from its protective coverings of pupal case and larval skin, and appears in its perfect form-its final stage. The earliest beetles emerge in the month of October, and continue to make their appearance during the fall, winter and spring months. Soon after their appearance probably, they pair, and the |