INSECUTOR INSCITI^ MENSTRUUS 3 



issued July 15, 1915. The specimens from Texas referred to 

 under the name distinguenda and recorded as parasites of 

 Bruchus prosopidis and Bruchus sp, are not considered as part 

 of the type material, but the writer is confident that they are 

 the same species. 



NOTES ON PERISIEROLA EMIGRATA ROHWER, 

 A PARASITE OF THE PINK BOLL WORM 



(Hymenoptera, Bethyliidce) 



By august BUSCK 



This parasite was first observed in the Hawaiian Islands in 

 1912 and has undoubtedly been introduced only shortly previous 

 to this time, possibly with the equally accidentally introduced 

 host. It is, however, more probably an American species, in- 

 troduced in 1910 from Texas in an attempt to establish effec- 

 tive parasites of the seed infesting coleopterous larvae, which 

 are injurious to the pods of algaroha {Presopis juliflora) ; these 

 trees are grown in the Islands and the pods are collected and 

 used as fodder for cattle. In 1915 it was found rather com- 

 monly in all the cotton fields on the Island of Oahu and in the 

 Kona cotton district on Hawaii and it is at present the only 

 parasite of the pink boll worm of any importance. It is, how- 

 ever, by no means an effective check and destroys only a small 

 percentage of the cotton pest. The larva is an external para- 

 site on the full-grown larva of gossypiella. 



The female works its way through the exit hole, cut by the 

 boll worm before pupation, or through the lint of the opened 

 boll into the cell, in which the boll worm is preparing to pu- 

 pate, biting a hole in the cocoon, if necessary, with its strong 

 mandibles. 



The parasite jumps on the back of the larva, which wriggles 

 violently in an effort to shake its enemy off. It accomplishes 

 this at times or manages to reach and kill the parasite with its 

 jaws, but normally the parasite succeeds in curving its abdo- 

 men around to the underside of the caterpillar and paralyzes 

 it by inserting the sting into the nervous system, usually just 



