1904 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 25" 



INSECTS AND WEEDS IN THE NORTH-WEST TEERITORIES. 



By T. N. Willing, Regina, Assiniboia. 



It gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to meet the member?- 

 of the Ontario Entomological Society as a representative from the North- 

 West Territories, a portion of Canada in which there is so much work yet 

 to be done in the study of its insect life. Many of you have already ably 

 assisted in this work and I hope to be able to call on you for yet more help 

 in the identification of material collected. Moving about the country a 

 great deal as I do in the capacity of chief Inspector of Weeds for the De- 

 partment of Agriculture at Regina, my opportunities for collecting are 

 much greater than for classification and study. As our Department has 

 no official whose time is specially devoted to entomology, it falls to my lot 

 to investigate insect depredations, and in this connection I may mention 

 that preparations are being made for a reference collection of the insects- 

 injurious to crops. Fortunately the losses from insects in the Territories 

 have not been heavy, but it would be too much to expect a continued im- 

 munity and there is no doubt a close watch must be kept to check promptly, 

 if possible, any threatened danger from such a source. The annual visits 

 of our popular and valued advisor, Dr. Fletcher of the Experimental Farm, 

 have aided greatly in the dissemina:tion of information relative to insecta 

 and weeds affecting crops, and I think no one has done more for the ad- 

 vancement of the study of natural history in the West than he. 



Another help in this line is the work being done by our Territorial 

 Natural History Society, which developed from the North- West Entomo- 

 logical Society, started by Mr. Percy B. Gregson, an untiring worker, who 

 continues to be president. The Society. is recognized by the Government 

 and its annual report is printed as an appendix to that of the Department 

 of Agriculture. The aim of the Society is to encourage the study of natural 

 history in its various branches, giving prominence to the economic side, 

 and also to gather material for collections which will be available for refer- 

 ence. Local branches are encouraged and records of the migration of birds 

 are being made at points where observers can be found. Several of the 

 members are keenly interested in the study of entomology and are doing 

 good work, notably Messrs. F. H. AVoUey Dod and Arthur Hudson, near 

 Calgary, who make a specialty of the . Noctuidae and have added many 

 new species. 



It has been found that specialista iiave been exceedingly kind in identi- 

 fying material sent them and my tha f.^;'are due to -Dr. Fletcher and Messrs. 

 Taylor, Kearfott and Dod for their sei'vices in this respect. Recently Rev. 

 G. W. Taylor named some forty odd species of geometer moths which I 

 had collected, and Mr. Kearfott has now in hand a lot of our western 

 micros for study. Of Coleoptera I have a large number not yet classified. 



During the season few insects attracted attention by their numbers. 

 In May a multitude of hairy caterpillars were reported on the prairie north 

 of Medicine Hat and proved to be those of a species of Apantesis. The ap- 

 pearance of such as were found on -30th May indicated that they were 

 affected by parasites. Small pupa cases were soon found amongst the 

 caterpillars, which were collected and from these ichneumon flies emerged 

 about 25th June. No moths were obtained from the larvae, but a small 

 specimen of Apantesis WiUuimsii was taken with the net on 28th June where 

 the larvae had been so abundant. 



In the same locality, but on the river flat, a grove of the box-elder, 

 Acer negundo, was found to be stripped of its foliage by the larvae of the 



