414 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Nov., '13 



culture, 1906) mentions eight species as having been reared 

 from the San Jose scale in this country. The literature of the 

 subject practically dates from the description of the scale in 

 1880 by Professor Comstock. D. W. Coquillett reared Apheli- 

 mts fuscipennis Howard in California in the eighties. It was 

 also reared by Ehrhorn, Craw and others in California years 

 ago. In 1898 the late Prof. W. G. Johnson reared nearly four 

 thousand specimens from scale found in Maryland. This 

 species was also reared and studied a long time ago by John 

 B. Smith in New Jersey and Prof. Forbes in Illinois. Girault 

 reared Aphelinus mytilaspidis LeBaron in Washington, D. C, 

 in 1905. Aspidiotiphagus citrinus Howard has been reared 

 from the scale from Florida. Physcus varicornis Howard was 

 reared by Prof. Ouaintance in Florida, also in 1905. Quain- 

 tance and Gir . ilt also reared Prospalta aurantii and Ablerus 

 disiocawipae Ashm. Rhopoideus citrinus Howard was reared 

 in 1885 by Albert Koebele at Truckee, California. 



This brief abstract from Mr. Marlatt's work shows that 

 something w.as known of San Jose scale parasites before Prof. 

 Surface made his marvelous discoveries in Pennsylvania. Of 

 course it is possible that he or Dr. Grim has reared a new 

 species, but even that will not excuse lack of reference to the 

 literature, as there is no evidence that he knew what parasite 

 or parasites he had. 



The Pennsylvania State Zoologist appears also to claim pri- 

 ority in other things. In Press Bulletin No. 194, dated Janu- 

 ary 13, 1913, he says: 



"Thoughtful readers of newspapers have been very much amused 

 recently to see an article, apparently given out as a news item from 

 Washington, D. C., to the effect that the U. S. Entomologist and his 

 assistants, have recently discovered a means of destroying pests in 

 buildings by fumigating with hydrocyanic gas. 



"If such an idea is new to the Washington people it is an evidence 

 that Pennsylvania is considerably ahead, as State Zoologist H. A. Sur- 

 face has been publishing methods of fumigating buildings of various 

 kinds for all insect pests during the past ten years the state- 

 ment from Washington, that the entomologists there have discovered 

 a method of doing such fumigation, appeals to our citizens either as 

 a joke or as an echo from the rear." 



