1908 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 1*21 



PEESENT CONDITION OF THE WORK CONNECTED WITH THE 



IMPOETATION OF THE FOREIGN PARASITES OF THE 



GIPSY MOTH AND THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH. 



By L. 0. Howard, Washington, D.C. 



In sending this paper to be read before the forthcoming meeting ff 

 the Entomological Society of Ontario, the wrHer assumes that the members 

 of the Society, through the reports by Doctor Fletcher and through the read- 

 ing of reports published by the Bureau of Entomology of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, as well as from the lecture delivered before the 

 Society last year by Mr. A. H. Kirkland, are informed concerning the 

 progress of this work down to the close of 1907, and what follows is sup- 

 plementary to that information. 



In the autumn of that year the parasite laboratory was moved from 

 Saugus, Mass., to Melrose Highlands, Mass. The new location is much 

 more accessible to Boston and to most of the field colonies of the parasites. 

 The buildings, including several substantial structures built for laboratory 

 purposes by the State of Massachusetts, are much beter fitted for the work. 

 Upon the whole the results of the year's importations have been very prom- 

 ising. 



In planning the work several new features have been introduced. The 

 parasites that are constantly being sent over by agents belong to three 

 main groups, namely those of the order Hymenoptera, including the Ichneu- 

 mon flies, the Chalcis flies and others; those of the order Diptera, including 

 the Tachina flies, and those of the order Coleoptera, including the preda- 

 ceous ground beetles. The amount of material received has been so great, 

 and the character of the different life histories of the insects involved has 

 been so diverse that it has seemed of great importance to have a thoroughly 

 trained expert, skilled in the biology of each group, placed in charge of 

 each group. This has been done, and an expert has had charge of the 

 Hymenoptera, another of the Diptera, and another of the Coleoptera. 



Further, the condition of European sendings by mail and by express 

 during the summer of 1907 was by no means uniformly good. The send- 

 ings from eastern Europe which are subject to long railway journeys in 

 addition to the sea voyage, frequently arrived in bad condition. Therefore 

 an innovation was made and a general laboratory depot was established at 

 Rennes, France, under the general supervision of Mr. Rene Oberthiir, 

 and a skilled assistant, Mr. A. Yuillet, was placed in specific charge. 

 Nearly all of the European sendings were shipped to Rennes, were examined, 

 repacked, carried personally by Mr. Vuillet to Cherbourg or to Havre on 

 the known days of sailing of certain steamers, then placed in the hands of 

 the chief stewards of the vessels and carried in the cold room to New York 

 where they were admitted without customs examination and sent^ direct to 

 Boston. This method has resulted in a much beter average condition of the 

 material received, and has facilitated the rapidity with which the work ^'s 

 being accomplished. The courtesy of the steamship officials is highly 

 appreciated. 



The third innovation has been an attempt to secure Japanese parasites 

 of the gipsy moth. It has been known for some years that the true gipsy 

 moth, or one of its varieties, or at least a most closely related species, occurs 

 in Japan, though not in great numbers, and that it is apparently held ''n 

 check by its parasites. Rev. H. Loomis, an American living in Yokohama, 

 has repeatedly written to the State authorities of Massachusetts and to the 



9 EN. 



