THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 185 



by 1 87 1 it had travelled east as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia, and west to 

 the middle of the State of New York. It now embraces an area bounded 

 by the shores of the Atlantic from the River St. Lawrence to Virginia, and 

 has overrun the whole country westward as far as Chicago. A few days 

 since, while on a visit to the Muskoka District, I was surprised to find 

 them plentiful, in company with the Colorado Potato Beetle, as far north 

 as the head of Lake Rosseau. 



The wonderful manner in which this insect has adapted itself to the 

 varying climatic characteristics embraced within this wide area, is a matter 

 of astonishment. It seems to thrive alike in the cold north and sunny 

 south, and in every place where it establishes itself it has multiplied so 

 rapidly as to become in a very short time the commonest of all butterflies. 

 The little parasite, Pteromalus pupanim, which has also fortunately been 

 introduced from Europe, and which is finally destined to keep this pest 

 within reasonable bounds, is on the increase here, but is not yet sufficiently 

 numerous to fulfil its mission as successfully as we could wish. 



The Colorado Potato Beetle, as predicted, has at last found its way 

 across the Atlantic, and founded colonies on the Continent and in the 

 British Isles. Their arrival and settlement has caused a commotion 

 almost as great as would the approach of a hostile army. According to 

 newspaper accounts, large patches of ground where the enemy has been 

 seen lurking have been saturated with benzine and fired, while in the 

 search the whole surface has been turned over with the spade and shovel 

 as carefully as if each specimen were a nugget of gold or a diamond. 

 Cargoes of all sorts in which it was suspected the intruders could find a 

 hiding place have been submitted to the most rigid examination by gov- 

 ernment officials, and various edicts were promulgated, with a view to 

 strangle this evil in its infancy ; but the beetle is heedless of enactments, 

 however prohibitory, and we fear that no vigilance, no matter how per- 

 sistent, will avail in preventing the spread of this little intruder, and that 

 before long the potato grower in Europe will be obliged to regularly adopt 

 measures for poisoning this pest similar to those so successfully carried 

 out by our own people. 



Since I was last privileged to address you the Congress of the United 

 States, in view of the enormous losses yearly inflicted on agriculture by 

 destructive insects, have appointed an Entomological Commission com- 

 posed of eminent Entomologists, who shall devote their whole time for 

 several years to a study of the habits of the various insect pests and the 



