1908.] 



PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 73. 



IT:; 



Dexodes nigripes Fallen. 

 Hemimasicera sp. aff. ferruginea 



Meigen. 



Parexorista cheloniae Rondani. 

 Parexorista susurrans Rondani. 

 Parexorista gnava Meigen. 

 Parexorista sp. 

 Nemorilla sp. 



Blepliaridea vulgaris Fallen. 

 Blepharipa scutellata Rondani. 

 Argyrophylax gilva Hartig. 



A riiiffi) jilt t/lax sp. (non galii B. 

 & von B.) 



Chaetotyga sp. aff. cilicrura Ron- 

 dani. 



Sisyropu hicorum Rondani. 



Myxexorista libatrix Panzer. 



TacMna larvarum Linne. 



Tachina sp. (non glossatorum 

 Rondani.) 



Eupeleteria magnicornis Zetter- 

 stedt. 



REPORT ON PARASITES, BY DR. L. O. HOWARD. 



At our request Dr. L. O. Howard has prepared the follow- 

 ing summary of his efforts in introducing parasites of the moths 

 during the year just ended: 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

 BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY, WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 20, 1908. 



Mr. A. H. KIRKLATSTD, Superintendent for Suppressing the Gypsy and 



Brown-tail Moths, 6 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 

 SIR:--! have the honor to submit a brief report of my efforts dur- 

 ing the period since I submitted my last report to you, on Nov. 24, 1906, 

 to import the foreign parasites of the gypsy and brown-tail moths into 

 Massachusetts. Respectfully yours, 



L. 0. HOWARD, Chief of Bureau. 



During the winter following the last report many thousands of nests 

 of the brown-tail moth were received from agents engaged by me in 

 different parts of Europe. These nests were cared for in the large 

 breeding cages which had been found successful the previous winter, 

 and from them large numbers of parasites were reared. They issued 

 mainly during the month of May. As it happened, the month of May 

 in-New England, as well as in other parts of the United States, was phe- 

 nomenally cold and wet. As a result of this unlooked-for condition, 

 very many of the parasites refused to leave the nests until they were 

 so weakened as to be unable to survive the close confinement and careful 

 scrutiny to which they were necessarily subjected in order to eliminate 

 the danger of introducing secondary parasites. As a result, a smaller 

 number of this group (Pteromahts) was colonized than in the summer 

 of 1906, but 40,000 specimens were put out in several localities, the 

 principal colonies consisting respectively of 13,000, 11,000 and 7,000 

 individuals. 



In this important work with the introduced hibernating nests of the 



