147 



REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL BRANCH FOR 



THE YEAR 1891. 



{/\iai/ F<-hitiary 2^t/t, iSgs). 



To the Council of the Ottaiva Field- yaturalists' Club. 



Gkntlemkn, — The leaders appointed in the section of PLntomology 

 have to report that they were not able to devote to their allotted duties, 

 as much time as in former years. The prolongation of the session of 

 Parliament during the collecting season, absence from the city, and 

 other causes made it impossible for them to do as much work as they 

 looked forward to accomplishing. 



During the early part of the season very good collections of 

 Hymenoptera were made, including about seventy-five kinds of 

 Sawflies, of which two or three are undescribed species. An interesting 

 outbreak of an imported sawfly was that of Fenusa varipes, St. Farg. 

 { = melanopoda, Cam.) upon European alders at the E.xperimental Farm. 

 This insect has become a serious pest and produces two broods during 

 the season ; the larvae mining between the upper and lower surfaces of 

 the leaves, and giving the foliage a very blotched and unsightly appear- 

 ance. The imported Larch Sawfly {Nematus Erichsonii, Hartig.) still 

 commits serious injury to the tamaracs ( Larix Americana), in the 

 neighbourhood, and the trees over many acres of swamp have already 

 been killed. 



A very interesting lot of small Hemiptera, chiefly homoptera, was 

 also collected, which is now in the hands of Mr. Van Duzee for 

 determination, and he writes that the lot contains some choice species. 

 This district seems to yield a large variety of hemiptera, and the list of 

 species already known is quite extensive, although no member has given 

 them the special attention which they deserve. 



The collections in Coleoptera were inconsiderable, and added little 

 to our knowledge of this order, although many of the families still 

 require special attention, and a systematic search should be made for 

 species which in all probability occur here, but which have so far been 

 overlooked. 



In Lepidoptera the season was particularly unproductive, although 

 as usual a few rare species rewarded the persistent collector. An 



