ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY ENTOMOLOGY. 257 



;i few liours, bec-oniiiii,' the winged form which deimsits a cluster of 40 to 50 

 yellow eggs on a spruce needle. The eggs are extruded from the abdomen but 

 the parent Chermes remains over tliein until dislodged after her death by 

 wind or rain. The winged form often oviposits near the gall from which it 

 emerges. A different species of host plant is never sought by this Chermes. 

 In about 2 weelis the young ' stem mothers ' hatch from these eggs and seek a 

 l)rotecting crevice in the surface of the spruce bud where they can spend the 

 winter. These wingless forms develoi) in the spring and become full grown 

 about the last of :May when they lay a cluster of 140 or more eggs. From these 

 eggs hatch the young that inhabit the gall and are known as the 'gall genera- 

 tion " with which we started the cycle." 



Migrants of C. lariciwtus, a species which forms galls upon white spruce, 

 resembling those of abietis in size and form, were found July 31 to be common 

 on the needles of larch at Orono. In an experiment in which opening galls 

 were placed upon sprigs of a number of conifers, the species showed a decided 

 1 (reference for the larch. 



C. consolklutidi galls, collected from black spruce, began to open July 30. 

 The opening galls were placed in a cage on twigs of several species of conifers, 

 and several days later eggs were found to have been laid very sparingly on 

 each of 4 spruces and on the balsam fir. On June 20, Chermes pupte were found 

 developing at the base of larch cones in flocculeut- matter. 



C. floccns develops in galls on black and red si)ruce and migrates to the needles 

 of white pine to oviposit. At Orono winged forms migrate to pine from the 

 middle to the last of July. In the woods these migrants were found abundant 

 on white pine needles over clusters of about 40 eggs. In a laboratory test made 

 July 19. it showed a decided preference for white pine, although several settled 

 and deposited egg clusters on whive spruce. 



C. siiHilia forms galls on Norway, white, red, and black spruce. Galls of this 

 species were the only ones in which apterous oviparous forms were found. 



C. pinicorticis infests the trunks of white pine in Maine, covering them more 

 or less with a white secretion, which gives the bark a moldy ai>pearance. The 

 infestation was particularly heavy during 1908 and 1009, but during the latter 

 season many syrphus maggots were present and these seem likely to check its 

 increase. 



Technical descripiions of stages of the species and of the galls accompany the 

 accounts and a key for the separation of the several species is appended. 



Chermes of Maine spruces, Edith M. Patch (Psyche, 16 (1909), No. 6, pp. 

 136, 137). — Notes are given on the 6 species of gall-forming Chermes above 

 noted. 



Aphididae of southern California, III, E. O. EssiG (Pomona Jour. Ent., 

 1 (1909), No. 4' Pl>- 98, 99. fl(j. 1). — Descriptions are given of the winged vivi- 

 parous and apterous viviparous females and of the nymph of the apterous 

 viviparous female of Chnitophonix popiilicola, which is found in considerable 

 numbers on the young stems of Populas trichocarpa in the Santa Clara River 

 Valley near Santa Paula. 



Combating' the citrus mealy bug, E. O. Essig (Pomona Jour. Ent., 1 

 (1909). No. .'f. pp. 89-91). — An account is given of experiments with different 

 strengths of hydrocyanic-acid gas, which, up to the present time, has not given 

 satisfactory results. The insect enemies of the i^est. including Crpptohrmuft 

 vionlroiizifri. Rhhohiits rentraJU. and the l)rown lace-wing, are said to be doing 

 effective work. 



Some miscellaneous results of the work of the Bureau of Entomology, IX. 

 The woolly white-fly: A new enemy of the Florida orange, E. A. Back 

 ([/. S. Dept. Agr., Bior. Ent. Bui. 6J,, pt. 8, pp. 65-71, pi. 1, figs. ^).— In this 



