ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY — ENTOMOLOGY. 853 



one berry does not contain enough food the larva may make its way to one 

 which has been webbed to it. In 1913 its numbers were greatly reduced by an 

 ichneumonid parasite of the genus Pimpla. 



The blueberry damsel bug {Nabis rufuscultis) , which probably occurs 

 throughout the State, deposits its eggs in the fruit and the nymphs, which are 

 predaceous, live upon the plant, but this seems to be the only way in which 

 the blueberry is directly concerned in their life cycle. Occasionally a little 

 scale of the genus Pseudococcus is found in the calyx end of the berry. 



In addition to the insects which attack the fruit, to which particular atten- 

 tion was paid by the author, a leaf beetle, namely, Galcrucella decora, was 

 observed to be decidedly injurious to the foliage of the blueberry in Maine. 

 It is said to be widely distributed through the State and in the vicinity of 

 Orono to have been very abundant during the past three seasons and to have 

 killed a considerable number of blueberry bushes. It hibernates in the adult 

 stage, and the eggs are deposited about the middle of June. The larva? eat the 

 leaves very rapidly and in great amount, the leaves being skeletonized and 

 only the brown ribs and upper epidermis left. Bushes which are defoliated 

 two or three years in succession usually are killed. 



Insects affecting the coconut palm in Trinidad, F. W. Ukich {Bui. Dept. 

 Agr. Trinidad and Tobago, U {1015), No. 6, pp. 200-203) .—An annotated list of 

 the more important insects of the coconut palm in Trinidad. 



Insects as carriers of the chestnut blight fungus, R. A. Studhalteb and 

 A. G. RuGGLES {Pcnn. Dept. Forestry Bid. 12 {1915), pp. 33, pis. 4).— Following 

 a brief review of the literature relating to the transmission of plant diseases by 

 insects, the authors report the results of investigations conducted, including 

 those obtained from cultures, the microscopic examination of centrifuged sedi- 

 ments, etc. The work has been summarized as follows : 



" Each insect tested was placed in a flask containing 100 cc. of sterile water, 

 kept there for at least several hours, small quantities of the water plated out 

 in dilution plates, and the wash water centrifuged in case positive results were 

 obtained. Tests were made of 21 ants used in certain laboratory and insectary 

 experiments in which they had been permitted to run over chestnut bark bear- 

 ing spore horns or active perithecial pustules of the chestnut blight fungus 

 {Endothia parasitica) . Five of these 21 ants were found to be carrying spores 

 of the chestnut blight fungus. 



" Tests were also made of 52 insects and 2 spiders brought in from the field. 

 All but 3 of these were picked directly from the chestnut blight cankers. 

 Both of the spiders yielded negative results, while 19 of the 52 insects from 

 the field were found to be carrying spores of E. parasitica. Positive results 

 were obtained from insects in the orders Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and 

 Hymenoptera. The only other order of insects represented was the Lepidop- 

 tera, of which only 2 individuals were tested, both with negative results. 



"The number of viable spores of the blight fungus carried varied from 74 

 to 336,960 per insect. The cultures from 3 insects contained no fungus colonies 

 except those of E. parasitica. Each of the 8 individuals tested of Leptostylus 

 macula, one of the beetles which feeds on pustules of the blight fungus, yielded 

 positive results. The 3 highest positive results obtained, 336,960, 145,340, and 

 8,538, were from L. macula. It was demonstrated that the spores of the blight 

 fungus were easily shaken from the body of this beetle by its own movements. 



" From the rate of development of the colonies of E. parasitica in cultures, 

 it was determined that the insects from the fields were carrying pycnospores 

 almost exclusively. A microscopic examination of the centrifuged sediments 

 showed a very few ascospores, and these from only 5 insects. Pycnospores 

 were present in the sediment from every insect yielding positive results. The 



