72 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



northern Texas, Oklahoma, and southern Kansas than any other 

 insect. 



Stictocephala festina has not until within the last year or two 

 come to be known as an insect of any economic importance. A 

 few years ago Mr. R. A. Cushman, at that time connected with 

 the southern field crop insect investigations, found a few indi- 

 viduals girdling the stems of alfalfa in Louisiana. The species 

 was, so far as known, of so little importance that a careful in- 

 vestigation was hardly justifiable. Later on its capabilities for 

 seriously injuring the alfalfa became apparent, but still there was 

 not sufficient information at hand to indicate that it would be 

 likely at any time to become a serious pest. It was, however, 

 carefully studied further by Mr. Wildermuth, and suddenly, from 

 out of a stage of obscurity, so far as its alfalfa-destroying habits 

 are concerned, it has jumped into prominence, by becoming 

 seriously destructive during the summer of 1914 in the alfalfa 

 fields of Virginia and some other States. 



Other similar instances might be brought forward, but tlie 

 foregoing is sufficient to show the absolute necessity of carrying 

 out, judiciously, investigations of insects likely to become injurious, 

 whenever a favourable opportunity presents itself for doing so, 

 regardless of what the previous record of these may have been. 

 It has frequently happened that certain species have, to all appear- 

 ances, come suddenly into prominence and become immensely 

 destructive to crops. Because of their previous supposedly lack 

 of importance, no one having taken the time to investigate them, 

 all inquiries for information relative thereto coming from those 

 who suffered from their ravages, must be given the disappointing 

 information that nothing whatever had been learned of their 

 habits in any of their several stages of development. There are 

 times when an entomologist may be and is criticised for what 

 might appear as a wasteful use of both time and funds in investi- 

 gating insects not previously known to affect in any way the 

 interests of husbandmen. But let him totally neglect these, and 

 when one of them suddenly jumps into prominence, as is sooner or 

 later bound to be the case with some of them, he will find himself 

 equally, or perhaps even more, severely criticised because he 

 thus finds himself unable to give a full explanation of the activities 



