366 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



Animal parasites as the cause of disease in the honey bee, E. Zander 

 {Leipzig. Biciicn Ztg., 24 (1909), Nos. JO, pit. Ufl-lol, figs. 2; 11, pp. 16J,-166).— 

 The author has found that malignant dysentery, a disease of bees which occurs 

 in Europe, is produced by a protozoan parasite closely related to ISIosema 

 homhycis, the cause of pebrine in silkworms. This parasite, described as A'. 

 apis and first discovered by the author in 1907 in the intestines of bees suffer- 

 ing from dysentery, is said to be responsible for an annual loss in Europe of 

 many thousand swarms. 



Unlike IS!, homhycis, which develops in all parts of the body of the silkworm, 

 this species thrives only in the chyle stomach of the honey bee. When the 

 resting stage of the spore enters the chyle stomach of a healthy bee, the mem- 

 brane splits open and a minute ovoid parasite emerges, which immediately 

 bores into the intestinal walls and rapidly increases, new spores being produced 

 in a period of 4 days. The spores cause a marked discoloration of the 

 intestines, the reddish and translucent color of healthy bees becoming dull 

 and milky-white. The intestinal cells infested gradually die off and are 

 excreted, thus giving rise to the possibility of infection if healthy bees come 

 in contact with the excreta. As combs contaminated by excreta from infected 

 bees are the main causes of the spread of the disease, it is recommended that 

 the infected swarms be transferred to clean hives and started on artificial 

 combs. 



Bee mortality in the Stawell district (Jour. Dcpt. Agr. Victoria, 8 {1910), 

 No. 1, pp. 5S-().'i, figs. 2). — In this paper C. A. E. Price reports upon an examina- 

 tion of bees for bacterial disease (pp. 58-61), during the course of which cells 

 which appeared to be Ncsoma apis were found in the chyle stomach of sickly 

 bees. In but a single instance was the parasite discovered in bees supposed 

 to be normal. 



K. Beuhue discusses (pp. 62-65) the disease due to N. apis as noted above, 

 which is thought to be the cause of the loss in Victoria. " Experiments carried 

 out with the object of infecting healthy bees by feeding them with honey which 

 had been mixed with the intestinal contents of affected bees, were completely 

 successful ; nearly all the bees so inoculated were found dead after two to 

 five days, while a few succumbed in less than 24 hours after inoculation. In 

 all of the bees which died after inoculation the specific organism was found 

 to be present in large numbers. In many instances the major portion of the 

 intestinal contents of these dead bees resembled a pure culture of the organism." 



Bee mortality, R. Beuhne {■joiir. Dept. Agr. Victoria, S {1910), No. 3, pp. 

 l-'i9-l.jl). — Further reports of the mortality of bees in apiaries along the 

 eastern base of the Grampian mountains show that out of a tot;il of 1,783 

 colonies of bees kept, 996 succumbed. The investigations as to the cause or 

 causes of these enormous losses, which appear to occur at intervals of some 

 years, have not proceeded far enough as yet to definitely connect them with 

 either Nosona apis or Bacillus pcstiformis apis. 



Illustrations of the life history of a sawfly (Hylotoma pectoralis) inju- 

 rious to willows, E. A. ScHWARZ {Proc. Ent. 8oc. Wash., 11 {1909), No. 3, pp. 

 106-1119, pis. 3). — The species here considered is stated to have defoliated 

 willows {Salix nigra) along the Potomac River from Washington to Seneca, 

 Md., a distance of about 22 miles. A certain i)ercentage was destroyed, hnt 

 all willows growing on more elevated ground were left intact. Two species of 

 pai'asites, an undescribed egg parasite and Tetrastich us hylotoma'. were observed. 



Hymenoptera for the New Jersey list of insects and other Hymenoptera, 

 H. L. ViERECK {Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., 11 {1909), No. ',, pp. 208-211).— Se\eva\ 

 species are here described as new, including Apanteles harti, which was reared 



