THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 697 



on the substance of the seed and often totally destroy the contents. 



Infested seeds are light weight and of a grayish color. The winter 

 is spent as a larva in the seeds, which often drop to the ground. The 

 adults from these over- wintering larvae do not emerge until the follow- 

 ing spring, or in the early summer. There are several generations. 



The clover seed chalcid, as it is commonly called, will infest the seed 

 of red and crimson clover besides alfalfa, a favorite host. 



Eemedies for this pest are so far in an experiinental stage. Mr. 

 T. D. Urbahns, an expert of the Bureau of Entomology, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, is now working upon the insect in Cali- 

 fornia and possibly will have suggestions to offer on the control of this 

 pest in the near future. Professor F. M. Webster^ suggests, as prevent- 

 ative measures, the destruction of all outstanding alfalfa plants in the 

 fall and the chaff and stems burned up after threshing. This will go 

 a long way to reduce the numbers of the pest the following years. 

 Delajdng the seed crop by early pasturing or clipping of the first 

 growth in the spring until the seed chalcid has done most of its destruct- 

 ive work, holds a promise in the future for control measures. 



Another Locust Poison. 



Prof. F. M. "Webster, in charge of cereal and forage insect investi- 

 gations. United States Bureau of Entomology, writes that the govern- 

 ment of Cape Colony, South Africa, has been using the following 

 mixture for the destruction of locusts, or grasshoppers, as they are 

 commonly called, with apparently excellent success: 



"The mixture consists of one gallon of a treacle, which may be 

 made of a low grade molasses or glucose, or even with dissolved 

 sugar, mixed with a one half gallon water solution of arsenite of 

 soda (69 per cent white arsenic). This mixture is diluted for 

 newly hatched locusts to one part to 66 of water ; when used against 

 locusts a couple of weeks old, it is diluted one part to .50 of water. 

 Where the application is made in fields not accessible to domestic 

 animals, farmers have used it as strong as one to 30 or 40. ' ' 



This mixture appears to be well worth trying under California 

 conditions. 



Since the egg pods of grasshoppers are deposited in the hard, un- 

 cultivated lands during the late summer and early fall, plowing, harrow- 

 ing and disking such waste lands to the depth of several inches in the 

 late fall will do much to lessen future attacks. 



The Alfalfa Caterpillar. 



No doubt many of our alfalfa growers have noticed large green 

 worms with a white stripe on each side of the body, feeding on the 

 leaves of the alfalfa plants. The adults of this worm are the common 

 yellow butterflies, which are numerous in the fields. At this time of 

 the year, the damage done by this insect is much lessened, as many are 

 going into hibernation, besides the destruction of a large number by the 

 wilt disease. Horticultural Commissioner Carl J. Ley, of Glenn 

 County, reported in September that a large percentage of the larvse 



^Circular No. 69, p. 9, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



