ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY ENTOMOLOGY. 655 



in Rev. Appl. Ent., 2 (1914), Ser. A, No. 3, pp. 177-180).— A beetle, B. puncti- 

 ventris, is said to be one of the most pennanent and serious pests of sugar 

 beets, occurring from Austria-Hungary to Caucasia and tlie southern part of 

 Siberia, The author giA-es a list of 25 species of Curculionidse which he ob- 

 served from 1903 to 1905 in beet plantations in Kief, of which 14 species are 

 recorded for the first time from the beet. 



Dendrolimus pini and D. segregatus, their life history, injurious activities, 

 and methods of fighting them, I. V. Vassiliev (Trudy Biuro Ent. {St. Pe- 

 tersb.'], vol. 5, No. 7, 2. enl. ed. (1913), pp. 99, pis. 2, figs. 34; abs. in Rev. Appl. 

 Ent., 2 (1914), Ser. A, No. 4, pp. 220-223).— A detailed discussion of the biology 

 and means of controlling these forest pests. 



The alfalfa weevil, R. A. Cooley (Montana Sta. Circ. 35 (1914), PP- 191-206. 

 figs. 24). — A general account of this pest which occurs in Utah, Idaho, and 

 Wyoming but has not as yet appeared in Montana. 



Birds in relation to the alfalfa weevil, E. E. Kalmbach (TJ. »S'. Dept. Agr. 

 Bui. 107 (1914), pp. 64, pis. 5, figs. 3).— This bulletin dealing with the food 

 habits and economic status of birds, and of the toad, frog, and a few other 

 vertebrate enemies of the alfalfa weevil is based upon investigations carried 

 on from May 8 to July 25. 1911, and fi-om April 1 to August 15, 1912. In the 

 course of the two seasons' work 45 species of birds were found to have eaten 

 the pest, all of which are briefly discussed by the author. 



The English sparrow was found to be a most effective enemy of the pest, 

 this being particularly true of nestling birds in May and June. In view, how- 

 ever, of the ability of the bird to do serious damage to standing grain and to 

 take heavy toll from the farmers' chicken feed, the author states that he can 

 not recommend legal protection for this species. 



The investigation is said to verify the statement frequently made that the 

 abundance of an insect, and consequently the ease with which it may be se- 

 cured, are important factors governing the food habits of birds. The ground- 

 feeding birds come into most intimate contact with the alfalfa weevil but birds 

 which feed on the wing may secure the insect at the time of its spring and 

 summer flights; and such species as search for their food over trunks of trees 

 may come into contact with a few hibernating adults. Over much of the tei*ri- 

 tory covered by the author the bird enemies of the weevil have learned to 

 search for the insect as a food in the comparatively short period of four or five 

 years, a fact which makes the large proportion of this food eaten by some 

 species the more remarkable. 



It is stated that with the exception of a fungus disease, which in soma 

 localities destroyed large numbers of the pupje, there probably was at the close 

 of 1912 no other natural agency which had done more in controlling the alfalfa 

 weevil than the native birds. The valley quail (Lophortyx caUfoniica vatli- 

 cola) is said to be deserving of additional legal protection for a short period 

 at least. 



Egg laying of the rice weevil, Calandra oryzee, F. H. Lathrop (Ohio Nat.. 

 14 (1914), ^0. 7, pp. 321-327. figs. 5).— A descriptive account. 



Psalidium maxillosum in the Government of Podolia on transplanted 

 seedlings, E. M. Yassiliev (Trudy Opytn. Ent. StantsU Vseross. Obshch. Sakh. 

 Zavod. [Kiev']. 1912, pp. 3-6; abs. in Rev. Appl. Ent., 1 (1913), 8er. A, No. 12, 

 p. 478). — The curculionid weevils P. maxillosum and Tanymecus palliatus are a 

 source of injury to beets and the former to vine seedlings in the Government 

 of Podolia. 



Brood diseases of bees, F. C. Fellett (lloica] State Bee Insp. Bui. 3 (1914), 

 pp. 12, figs. 4)- — A summarized account of the more important brood diseases. 



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