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VOL. XII. LONDON, ONT., MAY, 1880. No. 5 



ON THE DESTRUCTION OF OBNOXIOUS INSECTS BY YEAST. 



BY DR. H. A. HAGEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



The paper published Canad. Ent., vol. xi., p. 1 10-14, was reprinted 

 with some additions as a pamphlet, Cambridge, December, 1879. The 

 recorded experiment on the Potato Bug made by Mr. James H. Burns, 

 proved evidently the poisonous character of the yeast-fungus. The fifty 

 beetles which were sprinkled with it died mostly on the eighth day, and 

 the rest in the four following days. None of them survived. There were 

 collected at the same time, October 2, and at the same place, fifty other 

 beetles, which were kept in the same room. Of these, which were not 

 sprinkled, to Nov. 14th only three had died, and March 1st twenty-five 

 lived still brightly. The experiment is so far a decided success, as it has 

 proved that insects are killed by the application of yeast. I may add that 

 an experiment made a few weeks ago in a green-house seems to be suc- 

 cessful in killing Aphides. 



Dr. Metschnikoff has published a pamphlet, Odessa, 1879, an d a 

 record of it, Zool. Anzuger, 1880, Feb., concerning his experiments in 

 destroying obnoxious insects (Anisoplia and Cleonus) by the application 

 of fungus. The difficulty of raising the fungus chosen by him (Isaria 

 vixescens) in sufficiently large quantities he hopes to overcome by raising 

 the Isaria in beer-mash. 



Mr. A. Giard, Lille, France (Bull. So. de Department de Nord., sec. 

 2, An. 2, No. 11), has published a paper containing very interesting facts 

 regarding insect epizootics. The discovery of L. Nowakowski of the 

 copulation of some Entomophthora, and the conclusive proof given by O. 

 Brefeld that Tarichium is only a different form of which the Status conidio- 

 phorus is the Empusa, induce Mr. Giard to retain for the genus the name 

 Entomophthora, for its asexual form the name Tarichium, for its sexual 

 form the name Empusa. In summer, when insects in which those fungi 



