622 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to the time of the present writin;::: nothing has been recovered from 

 this liberation, but as past experience has shown, dispersion is often 

 so ^reat and so rapid that recoveries of imported parasites are often 

 not made until the second and even the third year. The nonrecovery 

 of a liberated parasite the hrst year after liberation by no means 

 indicates nonsuccess. On the other hand, another important para- 

 site, referred to in the last report as having been found by Mr. Fiske 

 in I^icily, although previously known only from Russia and of which 

 125,000 cocoons were sent over, survived the winter successfully in 

 Massachusetts, and during May and the first half of June, 1912, 

 about 12,000 adults were put out in the field. Another species of 

 Apanteles, which Avas received in small numbers, passed through the 

 ■winter in good condition and a small colony has been placed out. 

 Tht) females of this species laid their eggs in small caterpillars and 

 the insect has now passed through a generation since it arrived in this 

 countr}'. Several other species which were imported last year and 

 which were mentioned in the last annual report were colonized dur- 

 ing the late summer and autumn of 1911. 



The egg-parasites of the gipsy moth which have been colonized dur- 

 ing the past two years were both recovered in the field late in the 

 summer of 1911. Anastatiis hifasciatus, a species having one gen- 

 eration annually and coming from both Japan and southern Europe, 

 w'as found to be breeding in practically all of the places where it has 

 been colonized. This species spreads very slowly, however, and it is 

 necessary to make man}^ plantings in order that it may become gener- 

 ally distributed. In some of the collections of egg masses as high 

 as 47 per cent of the eggs were found to be parasitized. More than 

 700 additional colonies of this species have been put out during the 

 spring of 1912. 



The distinctive Japanese Qgg parasite, Schedius kuvance, espe- 

 cially mentioned in the last report, has been recovered in several 

 localities where plantings had previously been made. In some places 

 an enormous number of the parasites were present and were oviposit- 

 ing in gipsy-moth egg-masses. This species has several generations 

 each year, and the outlook for its perfect establishment and future 

 spread is more favorable than it was last year. This is especially 

 satisfactory, since 18 months ago it was thought that the insect haii 

 been lost and that it had been unable to withstand the New England 

 winter — a most unfortunate situation if it had been true, since it is 

 readily handled in the laboratory and may be reared literally by 

 millions in confinement. 



The European Calosoma beetles have become thoroughly estab- 

 lished and have caused much destruction among the gips3^-moth cater- 

 pillars and pupai, and in many parts of the infested region they are 

 becoming so abundant that they attract the attention and respect of 

 casual observers. 



The parasites of the brown-tail moth have increased and spread 

 over a much larger territory than last j^ear. The trend of disper- 

 sion has been in a north and northeast direction, and has followed 

 the same general lines as the brown-tail spread. One species, Mono- 

 dontomems (crens, has been found beyond the city of Bangor, Me., 

 and as far north as the brown-tail moth has spread in New Hamp- 

 shire. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island the spread of this species 



