in Victoria, Australia. On investigating the matter, the writer noticed that a parasite had been at work and all the live caterpillars had clusters of larvae on their backs. When the eggs of the parasite (a chalcid fly) are first deposited on the caterpillars, they are exceedingly small, but soon develop. The larvae grow fairly rapidly, and spread all over the backs of the caterpillars. The time occupied from the eggs being deposited until the larvae are fully grown, is about a week. About the second day after the larvae are hatched, the caterpillars cease eating, and remain in one place, and at the end of the week they are simply sucked dry by the parasite. When the caterpillars are dried up, the parasites cover them with a silken covering, and form their cocoons, emerging as perfect insects in a couple of weeks' time. When the perfect Hymenopterous insects were hatched out in the observation box, live caterpillars of the Emperor Gum Moth (Antherea eucalypti Scott) and several species of Cutworm Moth larvae (Mamestra ewingi and Agrotis sp.) were placed in the box, but the parasite did not deposit eggs on them. These parasites are reported to be doing good work this season in many parts of Victoria, and it is hoped that they will keep the Vine Moth in check. 81- The Life History and Habits of Cheyletus seminivorus Packard. EWING, H. E. in Journal of Economic Entomology, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 416-420. Concord, N. H., October 1912. Cheyletus seminivorus Packard was first found in stored cabbage seed; the species, however, is not an enemy to seeds or to stored grains, for it is entirely carnivorous. When this acarid is found among seeds or in stored grain it is here only to prey upon some other species, which is the real pest. During the winter 1911-1912 the writer came into possession of a sample of milled wheat which was badly infested by Tyroglyphid mites. Associated with these were found at first only a few individuals of Cheyletus seminivorus Pack. Some of these were selected to be used in a series of experiences upon the life history and habits of this species, and the results so obtained are here detailed. A few days after, the same sample was examined and it was found that out of 100 Tyroglyphids counted, 96 had been sucked by the Cheyletus and were dead, and only 4 were alive and active. Thus in a short period of only a few days this predaceous species had multiplied and destroyed about 95 per cent. of the pernicious Tyroglyphids. 82- Lime-Sulphur Wash an Inefficient Ovicide for Codling Moth. SAFRO, V. I. in Journal of Economic Entomology, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 385-395. Concord, N. H., October 1912. Reports have occasionally been published showing a decrease in codling moth infestation following applications of a lime-sulphur wash. Until within the past few years a coating of lime-sulphur upon insect eggs has generally been considered fatal. Only recently have experiments shown a surprising lack of insecticidal power in spraying aphid and red spider eggs with lime-sulphur mixtures. The paper under review is a report of a preliminary series of experiments conducted during the fall of 1911, in order to obtain data on the possible efficiency of lime-sulphur in killing the eggs of the codling. moth. From an infested orchard, more than two hundred apples were collected upon which codling moth eggs had been deposited. These were examined and only the apparently healthy eggs were used in the experiment, which was carried on in a laboratory. At first an attempt was made to spray the apples by means of an atomiser. This method was given up as a failure because the spray collected in drops covering only a small portion of the surface of the apple, in which case the egg was more frequently missed than hit. When the drops of spray were too large they would roll from the apple leaving a practically dry surface. The same would frequently occur on shaking the fruit. This was the first indication of the inefficiency of a lime-sulphur spray for killing codling moth eggs. The failure of a spray to cover the eggs deposited on the fruit is sufficient to exclude it as an ovicide, regardless of its efficiency in the laboratory. The method finally adopted was to place a drop of the spray material directly upon the eggs. These were divided into four lots: 1) untreated; 2) treated with a one-to-30 dilution of lime-sulphur testing 300 B (1); 3) treated with lime-sulphur one-to-30 with arsenate of lead added at the rate of four pounds to 100 gals. of the diluted spray ; 4) treated with a 5% solution of calcium polysulphides containing a slight amount of CaS2O3. The eggs were treated on the day collected. The detailed results are tabulated. They may be summarised as follows: 1) 90 of 93 eggs hatched; 2) 85 of 100 eggs hatched; 3) 16 of 23 eggs hatched; 4) 8 of 28 eggs hatched. With these results, then, it is evident that lime-sulphur, even too strong for use on foliage and fruit, is at best an uncertain ovicide, and its effectiveness is of doubtful value economically. " (1) This method of specification of the « strength » of lime-sulphur, so often encountered in the literature, is uncertain, because a specific gravity determination of a limesulphur solution is really a reading of two (at least) solutions of unknown densities, present in unknown proportions and of different degrees of chemical activity. These two solutions are the calcium polysulphides (Ca S and Ca Sɲ) and the calcium thiosulphate (CaS,O). The polysuphides are by far the most active chemically and undoubtedly the most important insecticidal ingredient in lime-sulphur. The nearest approach, at present, to a logical determination of the strength of lime-sulphur is a statement of the amounts present of calcium polysulphide and calcium thiosulphate. The writer used a 5 % solutiom of calcium polysulphide as a more certain test in addition to « a one-to-30 dilution of lime-sulphur, testing 30o B. ». (The Author). 83- Campaign against Agrotis ypsilon in India (1). A Communication from the Director of Agriculture, Behar and Orissa, to the International Institute of Agriculture. In the Entomological Section of the Agricultural College at Sabour the most important work during September and October 1912 was the campaign against Agrotis ypsilon. When the land was under water, the traps were set up on high lands near villages, and with the receding of the flood water they have been moved down lower and arranged according to our scheme of work. During the last two months, up to the end of October, 68 000 moths have been captured, which would, in the ordinary course of things, have given rise to 10 millions of caterpillars. Some first attacked areas have been picked off, and the number of caterpillars destroyed is 53 000. Owing to the abnormal weather conditions prevailing in the Province, the crop on the land is not as satisfactory as it should be. The campaign work is getting on satisfactorily. The effect of the work will be evident in another month's time. The potato-storing demonstrations have been wound up, as the season is over. A report on this work will be published later. 84 - Insects injurious to Rice in the Philippines. See above, No. 271 85 Moth Borer in Castor Oil. The Rhodesta Agricultural Journal, Vol. X, No. 1, pp. 102-104. Salisbury, October, 1912. Experimental plantings of castor oil in the Transvaal and Rhodesia have shown that the insect factor is one of the more serious handicaps to success. This view has been amply supported by the results of a small planting made in the spring of 1909 at the Experimental Station, Salisbury. By the 1911-1912 season practically every plant of the original planting was infested by Duomites capensis. It should be noted, that plants which had grown from dropped seeds germinating in the spring of 1910 had not yet been attacked. Several species of insects have been observed to damage the castor oil in Rhodesia, but by far the most harmful is the Moth Borer (Duomites capensis), which bores the stems and branches. The eggs are laid in masses on the stem of the plants near the ground level and are yellowish in colour, smooth-surfaced and shiny. The method by which the young larvae obtain entrance to the stem has not been observed, but it is possible that they make their first few meals inside the leaf buds and penetrate thence into the stems. The exit holes of the moths are nearly always on the lower part of the stem or branches and the first damage is usually on the lower part of the stem. The full-grown larva measures rather over 2 1⁄2 inches in length; it is thick and fleshy with prominent segments. The period of the larval INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VARIOUS CROPS (1) See No. 1586, B. Nov. 1912. (Ed.). stage has not been accurately determined, but in this family (Zeuzeridae) this period is sometimes prolonged over more than a year. This species does not produce only one well-defined brood in the year, as half-grown larvae and full-fed larvae and pupae have been found in the same plant at the same time, and some adult moths have bred out in May and August, while the moths in the Transvaal have been recorded by Thomsen to have emerged in September and October. The female pupa is nearly 1 3 inches in length and is a little larger than that of the male, which sometimes measures as little as 1 1/4 inches. The female moth is considerably larger than the male and is provided with a prominent ovipositor with which to insert its eggs into crevices in the plant. The attacks of these insects are frequently followed by those of white ants", which complete the work of destruction very thoroughly. Borers are amongst the most difficult of insects to attack, and several methods are suggested for their destruction; probably the measures which are used in England against the "Goat Moth" would be effective a thick paste made of clay, lime and soft soap is smeared over the stems and branches to prevent egg deposition. To destroy the borer in the stems, a small piece of cyanide is inserted into the hole and the latter is stopped with clay. A few cubic centimetres of carbon disulphide injected into the burrow and the hole plugged is a method also likely to be very effective. When the borers are killed by one or other method, the holes should finally be stopped up with grafting-wax, or some other substance, to prevent the ingress of other insect-enemies and injurious fungi. 86 - Leucoptera coffeella, an Insect Parasitic on the Coffee Plant at THERING, RODOLPHO (von). Nossos cafezaes ameaçados de una praga que ja' arruinou The coffee plant in Brazil is, at present, one of the least subject to pests; nevertheless, it did not enjoy this total immunity in the past. Thus from 1880 to 1890 Heterodera radicicola infested the roots of the coffee plant in the State of Rio Janeiro to such an extent, that the crop in some cases was reduced by 95 per cent. The nematode afterwards disappeared suddenly. About the same time, there appeared in this State the "bicho do café (the insect which the present article mentions as occurring in the State of Sao Paulo); its ravages were estimated by Delacroix as affecting 35 per cent. of the crop, and by Van Delden Laerne as destroying the whole crop in some plantations. This dangerous parasite is a microlepidopter belonging to the family of the Tineidae, subfamily Lyonetianae. It was observed for the first time in the Antilles by Perrotet and determined in 1848 by Guérin-Minerville, who named it Elachista coffeella. In 1861, Stainton placed it in the genus Coniostoma. Lord Walsingham (Proc. Zool. Society, London, 1897, p. 141) recognized that this genus is identical with Leucoptera. As the latter appellation had the priority, the writer gave the insect the name of Leucoptera coffeella Guérin. He mentions among related species, L. scitella, which does great injury in Europe to the leaves of apple, pear, etc. The havoc is wrought by the larvae; these are scarcely visible to the naked eye, and they penetrate through the cuticle of the upper surface into the leaves and devour the parenchyma situated between the two layers of epidermis. The latter in the end separate from the parenchyma, becoming somewhat prominent, and assume a brown or reddish hue, hence the name of "rust" given to the disease in the Antilles and that of "iron spot" (mancha de hierro) by which it is known in Venezuela. A single leaf can support several larvae (as many as 25 have been counted). The larvae remain in the leaf from 7 to 8 days, according to Perrotet (whose observations were made in the Antilles) and from 18 to 20 days, according to Pickmann Mann, who studied the larvae at Vassouras, in the State of Rio Janeiro. The discrepancy in the data is doubtless due to the differences of the localities and the climate. The larvae escape from the leaf by making on the latter an aperture I mm. in size, most often upon the lower surface, where the cocoon is usually attached. The chrysalis period lasts barely 6 days (only one observation has been made on this subject). There are several generations in the year; these are most numerous in mild winters. Leucoptera coffeella has a wide area of diffusion; in America, it is found in the Antilles, in Venezuela and in Brazil (where it was probably introduced from the Isle of Bourbon towards 1860); it also occurs, amongst other places, in Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius. Some observers believe that the insect is indigenous in Abyssinia, where it lives on the wild coffee plant. It appears that Coffea arabica is alone attacked, C. liberica being immune. The amount of damage caused by this pest is very variable, being sometimes very slight, when a few leaves are a little injured; at other times much injury is done, and the plant is so much weakened by loss of sap that one-fifth of the flowers fall off. The present limitation of the injuries is probably attributable to the action of the parasites of L. coffeella, viz. Eulophus cemiostomatis, Exothecus letifer, a species of Apanteles, and another, hitherto undetermined, species of Eulophus. The writer has succeeded in breeding a hyperparasitic chalcid. Lamp traps are recommended as a means of control (for the moths are nocturnal); also the collection of all fallen leaves containing larvae, which should be burnt, or at once buried; another measure is the rearing of the natural parasites of the pest. This is effected in small breeding boxes provided with nets with meshes fine enough to prevent the escape of the parasite of the plant, while at the same time permitting |