124 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



of likelihood. There has been during the past two years a tremendous 

 destruction of the larvae of both brown-tail moth and gipsy moth from 

 bacterial and fungus diseases. These diseases have appeared in spots, but 

 unfortunately some of these localities were those where colonies of parasites 

 had been established, and in the wholesale destruction of the caterpillars 

 by disease the introduced parasites must have suffered severely. Knowledge 

 has been gained, however, which will make it more easy to select better 

 localities for colonization in the future. Several of the parasites have been 

 found to have established themselves, and notably the predatory beetle, 

 Calosoma sycophanta, has been found in numbers. At least seven species 

 have been found under conditions which indicate their establishment. 



There have been imported in all 23 species of Hymenopterous parasites, 

 of which 16 are European. 6 are from Japan, and one at least is common to 

 both regions. Eleven of these have been reared from the gipsy moth, six 

 from the brown-tail moth, and six from both insects. 



A number of species of secondary parasites have been reared, and have 

 been killed. 



Of Dipterous parasites, at least 29 distinct species have been imported, 

 of which nearly all are parasitic upon both gipsy moth and brown-tail moth. 



Of Coleoptera, five species have been imported, all of which will feed 

 upon both gipsy moth and brown-tail moth. 



This makes a total of 57 beneficial species, enemies of gipsy moth or 

 brown-tail moth or both, that have been brought over in the course of this 

 work. 



The outlook is more favourable than at any period during the progress 

 of the work. Success seems an ultimate certainty, but the time at which 

 perfectly obvious results will be apparent is as yet uncertain. 



THE STRAWBERRY WEEVIL (Anthonomus signatus). 

 By William Lochhead, Macdonald College, Que. 



This insect is reported as having done considerable damage in 1908 in 

 certain localities, particularly Prince Edward County. It is a small brown- 

 ish weevil about 1-10 inch in length, with a snout about half as long as the 

 body. The specific name signatus is given it on account of the dark spot 

 near the middle of each wing cover. 



There is probably but one brood a year. The weevils make their appear- 

 ance about the time of the earliest blooming of the staminate varieties, and 

 continue their depredations for three or four weeks. "The female first deposits 

 an egg in the bud, then punctures or cuts the stem below it so that in a few 

 days it drops to the ground. Within the severed bud the larva hatched 

 from this Qgg develops and transforms to the pupa and afterwards to the 

 beetle" (Chittenden, Circular 21, U.S. Bureau of Entomology). The larva 

 hatches from the e^g in from 4 to 7 days, and feeds on the pollen within 

 the buds. It becomes full grown in less than a month, and transforms to 

 pupa, and to adult within the cavity of the bud. The pupal stage lasts 

 about a week, and the entire cycle lasts about five weeks. 



The adult weevil soon makes its way out of the bud, feeds for a few 

 days ; then finds a suitable hiding place for the remainder of the year. 



Remedial TreatTnent : (1) As the weevils are always found on flowers 

 that bear pollen, it is advisable in districts where the weevils are injurious 



