1 90S 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



37 



REPORTS ON INSECTS OF THE YEAR. 

 Division No. 1.— Ottawa District. C. H. Young, Hurdman's Bridge. 

 The season of 1902 in the Ottawa district has been a very poor one for the collector. 



The 



writer, outside of some success he had at Meech's Lake, Que., during a six week's stay, took 

 very few acceptable things. 



The very cold and wet season, especially in May and June, doubtless was the cause of such 

 a poor year. In August, which month I spent at Meech's Lake, however, I was fortunate 

 enough to capture a good number of interesting species, some mention of which I will make 

 afterwards. 



The most noticeable injurious insect of the season around Ottawa was doubtless the Birch 

 Skeletonizer (Bucculatrix Canadensiselld) which was so abundant last year, and which, the 

 present season, seemed to do just as much damage to birches of all kinds. It was this year 

 accompanied, however, by numbers of a large, grayish green aphid, and the damage was 

 specially noticeable towards the end of August. 



Garden crops were attacked to some extent in this district. The Onion Maggot was very 

 troublesome in some places and caused considerable loss. 



Asparagus plants in my girden were rather seriously attacked by the larvae of Peridroma 

 occulta, one of the large noctuid moths. This caterpillar when mature is a large cutworm, and 

 is very voracious, feeding at night, and hiding in the earth at the foot of the plant during the 

 day. Towards the end of September a neighbour of mine brought me some specimens of the 

 Tomato worm {Protoparce ceUva), Fig. 19, saying that they were doing damage to the foliage of 

 his tomato plants. I immediately went over to his place and in two rows, one about a 

 hundred feet long, the other about fifty, I collected 59 specimens of this caterpillar. On the 

 1st July I noticed three insects resting on the stem, of a leaf of vegetable marrow, and on 

 collecting them was surprised to see that they were genuine specimens of the Squash Bug, Fig. 

 20. Dr. Fletcher in his report for 1901, says, " This bug is very rare indeed 

 at Ottawa : Twenty years ago, two specimens were taken here by Mr. W. 

 H. Harrington and none were seen since, although looked for carefully, 

 until the past season, when a few specimens were taken." Dr Fletcher re- 

 commends : 



(1.) " Hand-picking, early in the season, of the old bugs when they 

 Fig720. Squash-bi.g. first resort to the plants, and also of the easily seen egg clusters. This 

 requires an inspection of the vines every day or two. The young bugs may be easily destroyed 

 with a spray of kerosene emulsion, or of whale-oil soap. 



(2.) Trapping, — This consists of placirg 

 at intervals through the plantation, shingles 

 or pieces of board, beneath which the bugs 

 gather for shelter. By examining these 

 every morning, many may be captured. In 

 a season when the bugs have been abundant, 

 all vines should be burnt as soon as the crop 

 has been gathered. In this way, many of 

 the insects in all stages of development will 

 be destroyed." 



The Caterpillars of the White Cabbage 

 butterfly were not so numerous as last year 

 but caused, however, some harm in turnip 

 and rape fields, as did also the Zebra cater- 

 pillar {Mamestra picta) Fig. 21, which was 



Fiff. 21. Mamestra picta : a. Zebra caterpillar ; b, Moth. 



