18 



THE EEPOET OF THE 



Xo. 36 



Division" No. 3, Toronto District — A. Cosens, 



In spite of the extremely hot, dry weather of July, August and September, 

 nothing partic-ularly striking was noted to indicate that the insect life was affected 

 by the unusual character of the season. Some injurious insects were indeed rather 

 more plentiful than usual, but others were not so common. 



The Zebea Caterpillars^ Mamestrd picia, were exceedingly almndaut on sev- 

 eral species of plants. Even at the date of writing, the end of October, specimens 

 of these yellow-striped larvffi are occasionally seen, crawling over the still green 

 foliage of such plants as the clovers and asparagus. North of the city considerable 

 damage Avas done to crops of turnips by this pest. 



While the aphides were not so troublesome this season on the cultivated honey- 

 suckles, another insect was found to be seriously injuring them. On some shrubs 

 nearly every leaf was puckered and deformed by the mining of the larvae of 



Galls produced by Pontania petiolaridis Rohwer on 

 the leaves of Salix petiolaris Bm. 



Phyllonorijeter (LifJiocoUetls) fmcjilella Erey and Boll. The work of the insect is 

 very characteristic and easily recognized, since the under sides of the infested leaves 

 are covered with blister-like patches owing to the lower epidermis having been left 

 intact, when the underlying mesophyll was eaten out. The larvae are from 5-6 

 mm. in length, and light-yellow in colour. They enter the ground after the fall 

 of the leaves and emerge as moth early in the Spring. Gathering and destroying 

 the leaves before the larva? leave theni,^ is, at this time of the year, the most ap- 

 parent method of bringing the pest under control. 



An almost spherical, sawfly gall is produced on the leaves of BaJix petiolaris 

 Sm., a native willow that is not uncommon in low ground near the city. The 

 deformity closely resembles the conspicuous apple-like gall of Pontania pomum 

 Walsh, but differs from this species in some details of structure. The host plants 

 of the two galls differ as Pontania pominn is restricted almost, if not entirely, to 



