THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 731 



INSECT NOTES. 



Conducted by the Editor. 



Mr. C. W. Beers, of Santa Barbara, reports a millipede doing considerable damage 

 to the tender roots of vines in his county. Mr. B. R. Jones also reports this worm 

 and has sent in specimens of lettuce heads from Los Angeles County which are badly 

 damaged by this milhpede. These worms are more commonly called the thousand- 

 legged worms, and are, for the most part, considered harmless, feeding largely upon 

 decaying vegetable matter and only occasionally attacking living roots. — Lbrot Childs. 



From Philo, Mendocino County, Cal., comes the report that the dark blue blister 

 beetle, Cantharis stygica Lee, is doing considerable damage to buds and blossoms of 

 asters, completely ruining them in many instances. — Lerot Childs. 



The red-humped caterpillar, Schizura concinna S & A, has been reported attacking 

 the foliage of apples, prunes, cherries, pears and walnuts at Modesto. — Lerot Childs. 

 A very curious insect has been reported from Los Angeles, parasitic upon pigeons. 

 It proves to be one of the little known parasitic flies belonging to the family Hippo- 

 boscidcp, and is reported as annoying the birds very much. These insects occur occa- 

 sionally on wild birds, such as owls, partridges and quail, but to the writer's know- 

 ledge have never been reported as annoying any domestic fowls. — Lerot Childs. 



Currant and gooseberry fruit fly, Epochra canadensis Loew., was received from Geo. 

 A. Lamiman, Anderson, Shasta County, Cal., September 29, 1913. 



The walnut scale, Aspidiotus juglans-regiw Comst., has been recorded as present on 

 walnut trees in the Anaheim section of Orange County by Roy K. Bishop, who states 

 that limbs are evidently killed by it. 



Black scale, Saissetia olece Bern., badly infesting watermelon vines, have been sent 

 in by Roy K. Bishop, and with them the following data : "These vines were raised 

 between two rows of 3-year-old orange trees. Infestation began June 15th, the black 

 scale hatching at that time. The scale have come to maturity in four months on the 

 watermelon vines, yet on orange trees it is very hard to find living scale, and those 

 found are still very small. Note how much faster they grow on the melon vines than 

 on orange trees." A similar condition was observed by the writer at Santa Paula in 

 1910. In this instance the melons were also infested. On many succulent plants, such 

 as nightshade, geranium, ivy and melon vines, this scale matures in a very short time. 



Mr. R. S. Vaile has recently reared from Aspidiotus hederw Vail., Aspidiotiphagus 

 cit7Hnus Craw., and Aphelinus fusclpennis Howard, which were kindly determined by 

 Dr. L. O. Howard. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that these parasites have 

 been recorded as working on this scale insect. — E. J. Vosler. 



Chelonus slioshoneanorum Vier., is the name of a parasite reared by Mr. H. A. 

 ^Veinland, of San Diego County, from the potato tuber moth, Phthorimwa operculella 

 Zeller. This parasite was determined by Mr. P. R. Myers of the National Museum 

 through the kindness of Dr. F. H. Chittenden of the U. S. Bureau of Entomology. — • 



E. J. VOSLER.^ 



The State Insectary has just received two lots of mealy bug parasites from Japan 

 through the kindness of Mr. S. I. Kuwana, Entomologist of the Imperial Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, Tokio, Japan. — E. J. Vosler. 



Harry S. Smith, Superintendent of the State Insectary, is now in the Philippine 

 Islands collecting parasites of the black scale and the citrus mealy bug. He recently 

 sent over a fine lot of black scale parasites from this locality. — E. J. Vosler. 



The State Insectary is greatly indebted to Mr. C. H. T. Townsend, director of the 

 Peruvian Entomological Stations, for a colony of black scale parasites. — E. J. Vosler. 



