254 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOED. 



Notes on Coccidae found in Peru, E. W. Rust {Jour. Econ. EnL, 7 {19U), 

 No. 6, pp. 467-473).— A discussion of the occurrence of some twenty species of 

 CoccidsB in Peru. 



Report on the gipsy moth work in New England, A. F. Burgess ( U. S. Dept. 

 Agr. Bui. 204 {1915), pp. 32, pis. 11, figs. 3).— This Is a report of progress in 

 the work against the gipsy moth now under way by the Bureau of Entomology 

 of this Department, especially that with parasites. The importance of bring- 

 ing forest lands into a growth which is unfavorable to the development of the 

 gipsy moth is emphasized. 



Maps which show the dispersion of natural enemies in New England, includ- 

 ing Apantelcs lacteicolor, Compsihira concimmta, and Calosoma sycophanta; 

 the towns in New England in which silvicultural experiments are being con- 

 ducted; the areas in New England infested with the gipsy and brown-tail moths 

 in 1014 ; and the gipsy moth quarantine districts are attached. 



Wilt of gipsy moth caterpillars, R. W. Glaser ( U. S. Dept. Agr., Jour. Agr. 

 Research, 4 {1915), No. 2, pp. 101-128, pis. 4, figs, i?).— This is a summarized 

 account of the present status of our linowledge of the wilt disease of gipsy 

 moth caterpillars, based upon a review of the literature and investigations 

 carried out by the author, an employee of the Bureau of Entomology of this 

 Department. The data presented have been summarized as follows: 



" The wilt of gipsy moth caterpillars is a true infectious disease that is dis- 

 tributed over the entire territory infested by the gipsy moth. Epidemics of the 

 disease occur only in localities heavily infested by the gipsy moth. Climatic 

 conditions appear to bear an important relation to wilt in the field. The disease 

 is more prevalent among older than among younger caterpillars, but small 

 caterpillars also die of it in the field. No diagnosis of wilt is valid unless 

 polyhedra are demonstrated microscopically. There is no account of the 

 occurrence of wilt in America prior to 1900. Minute dancing granules may be 

 observed in wet smears. Polyhedra are probably reaction bodies belonging to 

 the highly differentiated albumins, the nucleoproteids. The pathology of wilt 

 does not vary with the age of the caterpillars. The polyhedra originate in the 

 nuclei of the tracheal matrix, hyiwdermal, fat, and blood cells. The nuclei of 

 the tracheal matrix and blood cells seem to be the first tissue nuclei affected. 

 Many minute violently dancing granules are found in the pathological nuclei 

 of fresh tissue. Giemsa's stain demonstrates many little granules in the nuclei 

 of diseased tissue sections. The alimentary canal seems to be the last organ 

 in the body to disintegrate. 



" Two types of blood corpuscles exist in normal hemolymph. Two types of 

 pathological blood corpuscles exist in diseased caterpillars. The blood is a 

 fairly reliable index of a caterpillar's condition. The blood test is impracticable 

 for large experimental series. Bacteria are not etiologically related to wilt. 

 The virus of wilt is filterable with difficulty. Such a filtrate is free from bac- 

 teria and polyhedral bodies. Caterpillars that have died from infection with 

 filtered virus are flaccid, completely disintegrated, and full of polyhedra. 

 Minute dancing granules were observed in the Berkefeld filtrate. These may 

 be identical with certain granules observed in smears and tissue nuclei and 

 may be etiologically significant. The incubation period of wilt varies, and tem- 

 perature at times seems to bear an imiiortant relation to this variation. A 

 large number of caterpillars used in the experiments died of disturbances In 

 their normal physiological activities. The success of wilt infection experiments 

 is absolutely dependent upon attention to seemingly insignificant details. Ge- 

 netic immunity of certain individuals is probable. Active immunization with 

 sublethal doses is possible. The polyhedral bodies may be stages of the fil- 



