440 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



The Sugar Beet Leaf -hopper. — Not many people in California realize 

 that in the insect which forms the subject of this paragraph we have a 

 pest which is one of the greatest drains upon our agricultural industry. 

 In the single season of 1914 one beet company experienced a total loss 

 of 7,000 acres of beets and a partial loss on several thousand more, a 

 loss which, computed in money value, amounted to $1,000,000. While 

 the leaf -hopper has reached its greatest destructiveness in the Salinas 

 Valley, it is pretty generally distributed through the northern part of 

 the state and during the season just passed became alarmingly abundant 

 in the lower San Joaquin Valley. The beet growers have suffered in 

 silence, probably because most of them do not yet fully appreciate the 

 fact that the curly-top disease is disseminated by this insect. The 

 United States Department of Agriculture and the University of Cali- 

 fornia are both at the present time actively engaged in a study of this 

 pest, but its control presents unusual difficulties. In a problem so 

 serious we should leave no stone unturned to obtain relief, and here the 

 question arises in regard to parasites and predaceous enemies. While 

 from the nature of things native insects are not as susceptible of control 

 by this means as are the introduced pests, still there are possibilities in 

 this direction which should be taken advantage of, especially in the 

 introduction of natural enemies of related leaf-hoppers. With the idea 

 in mind of ascertaining what the commission can do in this line for the 

 beet grower, the writer, in company with Mr. Smith of the Insectary, 

 has arranged for a meeting in the Salinas Valley early in December. — 

 G. H. H. 



The Sicilian Mealybug Parasite at Marysville. — On January 21, 1916, 

 we liberated a small colony of 500 specimens of Paraleptomastix at 

 Marysville under conditions which were only fair for its establishment. 

 On November 28th an investigation was made of this colony, and some- 

 what to our surprise and very much to our gratification it was found 

 that the parasite had already thoroughly established itself. Many of the 

 mummified mealybugs were found on the leaves of the infested oleander 

 and these after being placed in a breeding cage in the Insectary pro- 

 duced numerous adults of the parasite. This is the northern limit of 

 the introduction so far, but it already proves that the parasite is well 

 adapted to our coldest citrus regions as well as to those regions which 

 have the hottest and driest summer months. This is more than can be 

 said of many of the introductions into California, most of which thrived 

 along the coast but failed inland. The past summer was fullj^ as hot 

 as, and drier than, the normal, and the colony has already passed 

 through two freezes. The adaptability of this parasite to our climate 

 seems to be all that could be desired. — H, S. S. 



The Forty-ninth Fruit Growers' Convention at Napa. — Everyone 

 who attended the Napa convention seemed pleased, and a great many 

 remarked that it was the best convention that has been held in recent 

 years. From the standpoint of attendance it was above the average 

 fruit growers' convention, but still the program was one that should 

 have drawn a crowd five times as large. 



Commenting upon the attendance. Editor C. B. Messenger of the 

 California Cultivator, states, "It was of the best so far as fruit 

 growers' conventions go, but in no sense equal to attendance at the 



