16 THE EEPOET OF THE No. 36 



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the last. The best control measures to be adopted would be the raking up and 

 burning of the leaves.^' 



The Lesser Bud-moth, Recurvaria nanella. Larvee of this Europeon species 

 were found in numbers at Toronto, on a pear tree; and an apple tree in an 

 adjoining lot had all the leaves rolled up by the larvee. The species was deter- 

 mined by Mr. August Busck. The insect is discussed at length in Bull. 113 of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture. 



A large percentage of the grasshoppers, examined during September, were 

 found to be parasitized by " hair snakes " of either the genus Gordius or Mermis, 

 the latter being more numerous. The Eed-legged Grasshopper, Melanoplus femar- 

 rubruni Be G., was the favorite host in this district. It would seem a reasonable 

 conjecture that the wet season has had, in this case, a deterring effect on the 

 production of the grasshoppers by furnishing more suitable conditions for the 

 development of this parasite, but the dexterity with which the infected specimens 

 evaded a net has given me grave cause to doubt the efficiency of this check. At 

 least it seemed impossible to distinguish parasitized from unparasitized forms 

 by any lessened activity on the part of the former. 



Throughout July, the unusually wet weather must have produced ideal con- 

 ditions for the maturing of aphids, as these insects were forced upon the attention 

 at all times. Many different species of plants were infested, the spiraeas and roses 

 of the city gardens were often seriously injured by them, and even the burdocks 

 and lamb's quarters, of the vacant lots, were not immume from their attacks. 

 Masses of a small black species surrounded the stems and leaf petioles of the 

 common nasturtium, in many cases killing the smaller plants. Another variety 

 established colonies on the flower clusters of the honeysuckles, and destroyed the 

 majority of the unopened buds. Especially in the case of infected roses, a num- 

 ber of different remedies were applied. Some growers apparently had implicit 

 faith in the effectiveness of an " absent " treatment, and did nothing at all, to 

 the detriment of their own and their neighbor's plants. Others were firmly con- 

 vinced that spraying with cold water was all that was necessary, while a few sub- 

 stituted a solution of nicotine. This last method appeared to give universal satis- 

 faction wherever it had been properly tried. One gardener did, however, assure 

 me that his bushes had developed a particularly hardy variety of aphid that refused 

 to succumb even to the nicotine application. 



A very interesting root gall was collected early in the spring by Prof. J. H. 

 Faull, University of Toronto. The galls, which are produced on the roots of the 

 False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum canadense, Desf., consist of elongated swel- 

 lings, from 8-12 mm. in length, and 2-3 mm. in diameter. They are circular in 

 cross-section, and fairly regular in shape, tapering gradually at each end to the 

 size of the normal rootlet. As the specimens were immature when secured, it 

 was necessary to keep them under moist conditions for several weeks. This may 

 account for the fact that only four producers were secured from a dozen galls. 

 The insects were sent to Dr. E. P. Felt, Albany, N. Y., who has pronounced them 

 a new species, and is describing them under the name Dasyneura torontoensis. 

 The only information that we possess, concerning the life histories of the adults, 

 is that they emerge late in June. The light color of the insects would seem 

 to indicate that the greater part of their existence is spent underground. 



