1904 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 31 



The Aquilegia Borer. At the same time the Garden Aquilegias were 

 being destroyed by a large borer which worked in the crown of the plant. 

 The borer was about an inch and a half long, was reddish or pinkish color, 

 with a white line down the middle of the back. I was unable to rear these 

 borers to maturity. Dr. Bethune, to whom I mentioned the occurrence, is 

 of the opinion that these borers are the larvae of Papaipema, probably P. 

 purpicri fascia. 



The Dahlia Stalk-Borer. On the 30th of June a correspondent from 

 Strathroy wrote me as follows : "We raise a number of Dahlias and this year 

 we are greatly troubled with a worm which bores a hole in the stalk and 

 works upward and also downward inside the stalk. It is about three-quart- 

 ers of an inch in circumference, brown in color with fine white stripes form- 

 ing rings on the back and sides. Some may be completely ringed." On 

 July 23rd, I received specimens of infested Dahlia stalks, with an added 

 note that "the borer, early in the season, appears to work upward, but later 

 downward, even to the bulb. As soon as we find a plant that has been 

 bored, we make a slit in the stalk with a sharp knife, and follow either way 

 till the borer is captured. The incision is then carefully drawn together 

 and bound with soft rags. So far we have lost no plants entirely, although 

 many have been attacked, and some plants several times". 



The Primula Spring-Tail. Many florists find great difficulty in grow- 

 ing Chinese Primroses from seed. The seeds apparently germinate and are 

 perfectly healthy, but in a short time the heads of the seedlings, that -s 

 the seed leaves, disappear. Frequently seedlings develop sufficiently far to 

 produce the seed leaves, and when once they have reached this stage they 

 have no difficulty in growing into Primrose plants. In the College green- 

 house some of the germinating boxes in which were planted Primrose seed, 

 developed quite normally, while in boxes close by the young seedlings did 

 not develop very far before they disappeared. It occurred to the florist, 

 Mr. W. Hunt, that the cause of the trouble was some insect pest. On ex- 

 amination I found that the surface of the soil of the germinating boxes 

 contained immense numbers of minute Spring-Tails. It is usually stated 

 in text books that the Spring-Tails do no damage to the plants. Dr. J. B. 

 Smith, in his "Economic Entomology", writes as follows regarding Spring- 

 Tails : "Spring-Tails are found in moist localities, wherever decaying 

 matter occurs. In manure beds they often occur in millions, and on warm 

 days may come to the surface in astonishing numbers. They are often 

 found in damp cellars on any vegetable matter stored there, and are some- 

 times accused of promoting decay. As a matter of fact, these insects are 

 never injurious. Healthy vegetable tissue is not attacked by them, and 

 their mouth parts are adapted for food of moist or soft tissue only, hence a 

 decaying or bleeding spot attracts them. They are sure to occur on manure 

 and on manured land". 



Suspecting Spring-Tails of gnawing off the leaves of the Chinese Prim- 

 roses, we planted some more germinating boxes in the hope that we might 

 be able to settle the matter, and the boxes were kept in the Biological labor- 

 atory, where it was under constant observation. Although I was not able 

 to detect the Spring-Tails at work on the seed leaves, yet if they are found 

 on soft vegetable tissues I see no reason why they might not develop a 

 taste for the young seed leaves. Experiments will be conducted later to 

 find out the best way of treating infested soil. It is very probable that 

 some mineral or commercial fertilizer will act as a repellant, and keep the 

 soil free from these tiny pests. 



