ENTOMOLOGY. 159 



They should never be used at a greater dilution than 1 : 15. Summer spraying 

 for the control of the scale with any of the washes so far tested is imprac- 

 ticable. 



Papers on insects affecting vegetables. — The imported cabbage webworm 

 (Hellula undalis), F. H, Chittenden and H. O. Maesh (U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Bur. Ent. Bui. 109, pt. 3. pp. 2S-.'i5, figs. //). — Since 1S97 this webworm has re- 

 I'eatedly come under observation as a pest in additional States and Territories, 

 namely, in Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, California, and Hawaii, 

 the reports of which are here presented. Technical descriptions of its stages 

 are given in connection with life history notes. 



A total of 296 eggs is recorded as deposited by a single female. At a tempera- 

 ture of from SO to 84° F. the eggs hatched 3 days after deposition. " Besides 

 cabbage, turnips and beets, collards, cauliflower, kale, rutabaga, radish, kohl- 

 ]"abi, mustard, rape, horse-radish and some other cultivated plants, such as 

 'Japanese radish,' are subject to attack and injury. Among weeds and wild 

 food plants are the common sheperd's purse (Bursa [C'upficUa^ Jjur.sa-pastoris), 

 and ' pussley ' or 'cutter's grass,' otherwise purslane (Portulaca oleracea)." 

 The natural enemies mentioned include 2 tachinids (Exorista pyste and Plagi- 

 prosphcrysa sp. ), an ichneuraonid (Limnerium tiMator), and 2 other hymen- 

 opterous parasites, namely, Meteorus vulgaris and Temelucha (Porison) macer. 



Notes on the occurrence of the pest in Hawaii, together with a report of 

 remedial experiments conducted by the junior author, follow, together with a 

 list of the other enemies of cabbage in Hawaii. 



"At Honolulu eggs have been observed to hatch in from 2 to 3 days. . . . 

 The larvae usually reach maturity in from 13 to 15 days. They then leave the 

 pl.iuts, burrow slightly beneath the surface of the soil, and form rather frail 

 cocoons of webbed-together grains of earth, within which they pupate within 

 2 days. . . . The adults usually issued in from 6 to 12 days after pupation. . . . 

 Four generations of this webworm were reared in an insectary at Honolulu." 

 One female lived in a cage for 10 days and deposited 235 eggs, while another 

 lived 14 days and deposited 237 eggs. 



It is concluded from the experiments reported that arsenicals can not be 

 depended upon to control this species on cabbage. " In light of our present 

 knowledge, the best methods of controlling this webworm consist of clean cul- 

 ture, the screening of seed beds, and thorough cultivation. The necessity of 

 prompt destruction of crop remnants and the employment of other clean cul- 

 tural methods can not be too strongly emphasized. . . . By screening the 

 seed beds it is possible to prevent infestation until the time of transplanting. 

 When this method is followed it is advisable to leave a few plants exposed near 

 the sci'eened beds [as traps]. . . . Inasmuch as the larva of this species pupate 

 in frail cocoons near the surface of the soil, it is possible that thorough cultiva- 

 tion would cru.sh some of the pupse and at the same time induce a more vigorous 

 growth of the plants." 



A bibliography of 22 titles is appended. 



Papers on insects affecting vegetables. — A little-known cutworm. (Poro- 

 sagrotis vetusta), F. H. Chittenden {U. 8. Dept. Agr., Bur. Ent. Bui. 109, 

 pt. J/, pp. Jfl~51, fio. 1). — Reports received of the attack of this pest at Southern 

 Pines and Poplar Branch, N. C, and Norfolk. Shelton, and Churchland, Va., in 

 which vegetables, berries, and field crops were injured, are first considered. 

 Brief descriptions are then given of the moth and larva : the eggs and earlier 

 stages of the larva have not been observed. Apanteles n. sp., near agrotidis, 

 and the tachinid fly LinncFmya pieta are said to be the only enemies of this 

 insect that are known at the present time. 



At Norfolk, Va., the use of arsenate of lead, 4 lbs. to 50 gal. of water, gave 

 good results in combating the pest on parsley. 



