312 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [July, 'l6 



A strong cyanide bottle freshly prepared with potassium 

 cyanide and plaster of paris was used in comparison with a 

 paradichlorobenzene bottle. In the cyanide bottle a honey 

 bee was rendered inactive in three-quarters of a minute, a 

 house fly one-half minute, a cockroach (P. genwnica} one 

 minute, a carabid two minutes and Troinbidium sp. two min- 

 utes. In the paradichlorobenzene bottle the honey bee re- 

 quired four minutes, house fly two and one-half minutes, a 

 cockroach (P. gennanica) ten minutes, a carabid ten minutes 

 and a Tronibidium sp. five minutes. This time was for the 

 cessation of all violent motions since slight movements of the 

 legs or antennae were noticed for a much longer period of 

 time. Probably the greatest value of the paradichlorobenzene 

 bottle will be for students' use, because of its non-poisonous 

 nature, but they should be warned that large insects such as 

 beetles should not be collected in the same bottle, as delicate 

 flies and moths, as the slow action of paradichlorobenzene 

 would allow the larger insects time to injure the delicate speci- 

 mens. 



Paradichlorobenzene may be used as a substitute for naph- 

 thalene in insect boxes. A hot pin can be run into a lump of 

 paradichlorobenzene as easily as into a moth ball and the box 

 will be better protected than with naphthalene, as paradi- 

 chlorobenzene will even kill the pests already present in the 

 box. 



An Efficacious Endoparasite of Chrysomphalus dictyospermi Morg. 



(Hym., Horn.). 



For some years past the Reale Stazione di Entomologia Agraria in 

 Florence has been seeking a natural means of combating this scale 

 insect. A valuable check on the ravages of the coccid has been sent 

 from Madeira by Prof. C. P. Lounsbury and has been described as 

 Prospaltclla lounsburyi by A. Berlese and G. Paoli (Redia, xi, 305-307, 

 Feb. 24, 1916). This Chalcid fly attacks not only the adult Chrysom- 

 phalus but also the male and female larvae. The parasitized female 

 larvae are of a more intense yellow color and have a thicker cuticle 

 than the normal individuals, while on the other hand the adult females 

 are almost transparent and colorless and their cuticle is particularly 

 fragile. The percentage of parasitized females in the material ex- 

 amined was estimated at 60 per cent, for the larvae and 40 per cent, 

 for the adults. P. lounsburyi is 470 microns in length. 



