THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 207 



One of them was reared through all its stages, and produced a neat and 

 rather pretty moth, known to entomologists as Agrotis dedarata. 



That destructive pest, the wheat midge, Cecidomyia destructor, 

 which has entailed so much loss on our farmers in years 

 gone by, has prevailed during the past season to a consider- 

 able extent throughout the western part of our Province. Alarming 

 reports were sent to me from various districts, and on the i6th 

 of July a tour of inspection was undertaken for the purpose of ascertain- 

 ing the extent of the injury. During a drive of over loo miles, in com- 

 pany with Mr. J. M. Denton, one of the members of our Council, the 

 wheat fields were examined and midge was found generally distributed, 

 but nowhere in any very great numbers. Some varieties of wheat were 

 much more injured than others ; that known under the names of Michigan 

 Amber and Egyptian seemed to suffer much. Among the varieties almost 

 free from this trouble the Democrat wheat was one of the most esteemed. 

 The selection of some of the best of the so-called midge proof varieties 

 for seed, the kernels of which harden so early in the season that the larva 

 is unable to feed on them, is assuredly one of the most practicable 

 methods of lessening the depredations of this troublesome insect. 



The Colorado potato beetle, DorypJiora decemlineata, is still 

 further extending its ravages. Having reached the Atlantic sea- 

 board in the east, its further progress in that direction has 

 been arrested ; it is now extending its domain over the fertile 

 fields of the North-west. Specimens have been sent to me this season 

 from Portage-la-Prairie, where they are said to be confined to the neigh- 

 borhood of the town, and having been rigorously assailed with Paris 

 green, it is hoped that they have been pretty well exterminated. Through 

 the kindness of Acton Burrows, Esq., the efficient Deputy Minister of 

 Agriculture in Manitoba, I have received information of the appearance 

 of this pest in the counties of Manchester and Dufiferin, in the same 

 Province, but in none of these localities has the insect yet made much 

 headwav. 



Grape growers in some sections of Ontario suffered much early in the 

 season from injuries caused by the grape-vine flea-beetle, Graptodera 

 chalybea. This insect, which is about three-twentieths of an inch long 

 and varies in color from a steel blue to green, passes the winter in the 

 perfect state, hybernating under dead leaves and other rubbish, and awak- 

 ing from its long slumber in early spring, proceeds to satisfy its vigorous 



