2(34 THE CAJNADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



OF ONTARIO. 



Gentlemer^ : The working entomologist, ever on the watch and ready 

 to note the many items of interest in connection with insect hfe, will se _ 

 dom pass a season without finding many facts worthy of ;^«>.f ' f ^^';;; 

 not of general interest, are at least of local importance. While the year 

 1884 has not been marked by any unusual invasion of destructive insects, 

 affecting our country as a whole and exciting general comment, yet many 

 localities have suffered, either from the unusual development of familiar 

 forms of insect life, or from the introduction of new pests. 



Early in the year some excitement was caused in the Ottawa district 

 by the appearance of a very destructive caterpillar in great numbers m 

 the clover fields, which rapidly devoured the foliage. This was at first 

 supposed to be an invasion of the veritable army worm, but on inspection 

 Tproved to be a very different insect. On the .3rd of May I had the 

 opportunity of examining some of the affected fields in company with our 

 Vice-President and Mr. W. H. Harrington. The caterpillars were ex- 

 ceedinglv numerous, and much of the clover had been seriously injured 

 by them. They were a species of cut-worm, the progeny of a moth 

 known as Agrotis fennica. 



This larva measured from 13^ to ly^ inches in length, had a dark 

 yellowish brown head with a black stripe down the front, and a black 

 body with two yellow stripes on each side, the upper one composed of 

 streaks and dots of yellow, the -lower, which was near the -der -rface 

 formed of two crinkled yellow hues which approached each other on the 

 anterior segments and diverged posteriorly. On the upper part of he 

 second se^nent was a black horny shield; the breathing holes on the 

 sides were also surrounded with black. 



The underside was brownish black, the fee. and the fleshy pro-legs 



""m Ae" me of this visit the caterpillars were nearly fdl grown, and it was 

 observed that many of them were affected by a singular d.sease of a fun- 

 go d character which was destroying them very rap.dly, the d.seased m- 

 fe«s after death remaining extended on the leaves of clover or blades of 

 g n a natural position, but somewhat discolored. On handhng them 

 r kin was found' to be quite tender and the body filed w.th a thm 

 dark-colored fluid, the result of the decomposmon of the tissues. Ih.s 



