Page:VCH Kent 1.djvu/158

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A HISTORY OF KENT although so few locaHties for them have actually been recorded, no doubt Sympetrum striolatum, JEschna grandis and Ischnura elegans are all over the county, and probably the same may be said of Libellula depressa, JEschna cyanea and Agrion puella} HYMENOPTERA PHYTOPHAGA SawJJies, IFood-ivasps and Gall-flies The saw-flies, wood-wasps and gall-flies are chiefly vegetable feeders, but some of the species belonging to the group of gall-flies occur as parasites inside the bodies of other insects. The larvae of the sawflies [T^enthredinidce) somewhat resemble the caterpillars of the Lepidoptera ; they can however be distinguished from these by the larger number of legs. Most of them feed upon the leaves of various plants and trees, and some of the species are very destructive. Amongst these may be mentioned the Turnip Fly {Athalia spinarum, F.), also Nematus ribesia. Scop., which attacks gooseberry and currant bushes and sometimes almost strips them of their foliage. In the Cephida the larvs are maggot-like and live inside the stems and buds. Cephas pygmaus, L., inhabits corn-stalks and occasionally injures the crops seriously, but it has not been reported as having done much damage in this country. The wood-wasps [Siricidce) are the largest insects in this section. The larvas bore galleries in the wood of fir-trees. The two species of Sirex that have occurred in Kent are probably not truly indigenous, but were originally introduced in timber coming from abroad. Most of the gall-flies [Cynipidce) produce morbid growths or swellings known as galls on the stems, leaves, buds, flowers or roots of the plants on which they feed. A few species do not make galls, but feed on those produced by others. With regard to the parasitic Cynipidce^ these mostly attack the larvEe of certain Diptera and Aphides. Few entomologists have up to the present interested themselves in this section of the Hymenoptera, consequently the following list is prob- ably far from complete : — LIST OF KENTISH PHYTOPHAGA Tenthredinid^ Tenthredinid^ {continued) Tenthredo livida, L. Maidstone (Frisby), Tenthredo mandibularis, Pz. Darenth Darenth (Chitty), Ripple (Sladen) IVood (Stephens) — velox, Fab. Kent (Stephens) — maculata, Fourc. Darenth (Chitty), — rufiventris, Pz. Darenth (Chitty), Maidstone (Frisby) Maidstone (Frisby) — bicincta, L. Throwley (Chitty), Ripple — atra, L. Darenth (Stephens) (Sladen), Maidstone (Frisby) 1 Of dragonflies not yet taken Sympetum scoticum, Don. ; Cordulia anea, Linn. ; Cordukgaster annu- latus, Latr. ; jEschna juncea, Linn. ; Calopleryx spkndens, Harr. ; C. virgo, Linn. ; and Erythromma naias, Hansem, are almost certainly present ; while Gomphus vulgatissimus, Linn. ; Lestes dryas, Kirb. ; Pyrrhosoma tenellum, Vill. ; Ischnura pumilis, Charp. ; and Jgrion mercuriale, Charp., are not unlikely to be found. loS