32 THE EEPOET OF THE No. 36 



satisfactory, although it was not a complete success. The Millipedes are repelled 

 by it and, where they come into close contact with a moderately strong solution, 

 are slowly killed. Dusting tobacco refuse thickly over the garden where they are 

 troublesome and then watering it well with the hose once or twice a day for a few 

 days seems about the best method, and the least dangerous to the plants. It is 

 probable that placing decaying fruits or other decaying vegetable matter here and 

 thexe in little heaps among infested) plants and then pouring scalding water over 

 such traps daily would gradually do a great deal to free the garden of the 

 Millipedes. They are very fond of collecting under such decaying refuse and roam 

 around in the dark so freely that they would be very likely to find the baits. 



Spittle Bugs {C ercopidce) . This seems to have been a remarkably favorable 

 year for the multiplication of Spittle Bugs. Complaints of the great numbers of 

 froth masses on the grass came in from Clarksburg, Mount Forest, Eidgeway, 

 Thornton, Oakville and several other districts. A few pasture fields near Oakville 

 were so badly infested that the farmers, fearing injury to stock if they fed on the 

 infested grass, mowed the pastures and destroyed the cut grass. 



A Sarcophagid Attacking the Forest Tent-Caterpillar (Sarcopliaga 

 aldrichia Parker). In 1914, while engaged in some investigation work in the 

 County of Dundas, I observed that many of the pup^ of the Forest Tent Cater- 

 pillar were parasitized by what I considered to be the larvae of a Tachinid Fly. 

 On further examination at Mountain, Kempton and Morrisburg I estimated that 

 close to 90 per cent, of all the pupae contained what seemed to be this same larva. 

 About 30 of the cocoons were gathered and brought to Guelph, though it was nearly 

 two weeks before I reached there. On my arrival the cocoons were all transferred 

 to a pint jar, in the bottom of which an inch or so of sand was first placed. The 

 jar then was covered with cheesecloth. In May, 1915, I happened to glance at the 

 jar and to my surprise found seven dead and one living Sarcophagid. These Dr. 

 J. M. Aldrich kindly identified for me. He states " The species is one which 

 Mr. E. E. Parker now has in manuscript as Sarcopliaga aldj-icliia, n.sp. His article 

 is completed and, I thinlr, is deposited with the Boston Society of IsTatural History 

 for publication, but I am not quite sure on that point. I will send him a quotation 

 from your letter if you do not mind, as it indicates a considerable economic im- 

 portance for the species which is widespread, occurring in the Puget Sound region." 



If I am correct in my opinion that the death of the pupae was due to the 

 larva of this insect and not to disease, we have here a very good example of what 

 seems to have been only comparatively recently fully admitted, namely, the true 

 parasitic habits of some Sarcophagids. 



Phorocera Doryphor^. In June Prof. T. D. Jarvis called the attention of 

 my assistant, Mr. A. H.. Cowan, to the white eggs on the back of Colorado potato 

 beetles at Grimsby. Mr. Cowan reported to me and on my suggestion reared a few 

 adults and captured a few more that were attempting to lay eggs. Dr. Aldrich 

 identified all these as Phorocera dorypliorce, a parasite that, as he says, has been 

 bred repeatedly from this host. 



Mr. Cowan made the following observations : " Eggs begin to be laid in June. 

 At first they seem to be laid only on adult beetles, but later to some extent on the 

 slugs. From June 18th to July 13th eggs were found mostly on the beetles, ^ 

 to 14 of the beetles being affected. Early in July some were found on larvae also, 

 but always on nearly full-grown larvag. The total time from Qg^ to adult fly would 

 appear to be about one month. On September 15th the eggs and adult flies were 

 again found at Vineland." 



