1908 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 135 



be brought in till ike old lias been cleared out. All corners and dark places 

 ■wkere flour-dust and other refuse accumulate should be regularly swept 

 out at short intervals and thus leave no undisturbed breeding places for 

 these destructive creatures. 



Another insect troublesome in the barn is the Clover-hay Worm 

 (Asopia costalis), the caterpillar of a very pretty little moth, which has 

 rich red wings adorned with yellow markings. The caterpillar feeds upon 

 dry clover, both in the stack and the mow, and spoils it for fodder, as cattle 

 will not eat it when badly infested. In this case also cleanliness is most 

 important; no old clover or refuse should be left in the barn when fresh 

 supplies are about to be brought in, and the remains of old clover stacks 

 should be burnt or thoroughl;^ cleaned up before a fresh one is built on the 

 same spot. 



During a summer trip to Fort William and Port Arthur it was disheart- 

 ening to find that the Larch Saw-fly {Nematus Erichsonii) had extended its 

 ravages along the north shore of Lake Superior. On the line of railway as 

 far east as Nepigon the tamaracs were noticed to be every where dead or 

 dying; on reaching this latter place an examination was made of a number 

 of trees and all were found to be swarming with the caterpillars of this 

 insect. This region of country was burnt over some twenty-five years ago, 

 and the land is now covered with a vigorous growth of young trees of 

 various kinds twenty and thirty feet in height. Scattered through these, 

 as well as in clumps, are great numbers of larches, all of which seemed to 

 be infested with these worms; in all probability in a year or two there will 

 not be a living one left, thus repeating the devastation that was experienced 

 some years ago in the Eastern Townships of the Province of Quebec. As 

 the insect abounds over hundreds of miles of wild country it is evident that 

 nothing can be done to check its devastating work. 



Spruce trees in this part of Ontario continue to be attacked by the 

 Spruce Gall-louse (Chermes abietis), which has several times been described 

 in these reports. Young nursery trees and individuals grown for ornament 

 may be treated when the young lice are exposed towards the end of May 

 and of August with a soap and tobacco wash or kerosene emulsion. At 

 Whitby some Spruce trees were defoliated this year by the caterpillars of 

 the Spruce Saw-fly (Lophyrus abietis). Spraying with any of the arsenicals, 

 applied as soon as any of the worms are seen, would soon get rid of them. 



INJURIOUS INSECTS OF QUEBEC IN 1908. 

 By William Lochhead, Macdonald College, Que. 



The damage done by insects in Quebec in 1908 has not been heavy. 

 The season was exceptionally dry over a large area of the Province, which 

 condition may have influenced the insect life in some way not yet ascer- 

 tained. Dr. Forbes, of Illinois, says that "a wet season— if not too wet- 

 is a favorable one, and a dry season an unfavorable one," inasmuch as the 

 condition tends to the increase in growth and food-supply to the plant. 

 Most serious insect injuries to growing crops diminish with wet weather 

 and increase with dry. In very wet weather "the sap of the plant may 

 become so dilute, through excessive absorption of water by the roots that 

 it loses its nutritive value, and insects dependent on it are not so well 

 nourished as by the denser sap of a plant growing in a drier soil. They 

 consequently grow less thriftily and multiply less abundantly, and may 



