22 THE EEPOET OF THE No. 36 



2. Juvenile ok Amateur Entomology. — Through Mr. Duncan's energies 

 great activity obtains among the school children in making collections of various 

 kinds. In addition to the usual inducements for pupils to make collections of 

 weeds, seeds, etc., for exhibit at show fairs in the fall, prizes were offered for 

 exhibits showing the work and life history of various insect pests. There were 

 also prizes offered for collections of insects beneficial and injurious. This has 

 been the custom for some years in our district, but the exhibits were more numerous 

 and better this year than ever before. For instance, the exhibitor who carried 

 off first prize in 1911 and 1912 entered the lists to compete with the prize 

 collection of 1911 and 1912 augmented by specimens taken in 1913 and yet failed 

 to get even a third place. Altogether, there were eight collections at the Port Hope 

 Show Fair and six at the Millbrook, besides eight and seven respectively at the- 

 two rural show fairs for South Hope ajid Cavan, the one held in Welcome and the 

 other at Whitfield. Some exhibits were entered at two fairs, but altogether more 

 than twenty different collections of insects were judged. Many of these were 

 quite extensive, representing several orders of insects, and the best exhibits showed 

 skill in mounting, as well as care and taste in arranging. 



Adult collectors generally complain that the season of 1913' was a bad one for 

 the enthusiast. In Coleoptera neither Dr. Watson nor your District Director made 

 many captures worthy of note, as new or rare. In Lepidoptera we have two very 

 active collectors in Mr. Charles Mann and Mr. H. L. Bowers of the Standard 

 Ideal Company. The latter, especially, is a fine entomologist and has sent several 

 most interesting batches of Lepidoptera to Mr. Evans, of Trenton, for identifi- 

 cation. He reports the season as disappointing: 



"All butterflies and most of our locally common moths were scarce. Anosia 

 plexippus, Linn., common in 1912, occurred hardly at all. Our representatives 

 of the Argynnis family, which in 1912 appeared to reach a numerical zenith, fell 

 to the nadir in 1913. This observation applies also to Brenthis, Phyciodes, 

 Satyrus, Vanessa, Grapto, Papilio, and Colias. Pieris rapae was abundant as 

 usual, and protodice was taken several times. P. napi remains constant in restricted 

 localities. 



"Interesting takes were Phyciodes halesi, Eeak; Ccpnonympha inornaia, Edw. ; 

 Amhlyscirtes samoset, Scudd. ; Theda acadira, Edw.; T. Kparops, B. and L. ; T. 

 niplion, Hubn. ; Colias interior, Edw. ; Papilio ajax. 



"Sugaring, the electric lights, and a light-trap were all comparative failures, 

 though in 1912 they had been very successful, the last-named method especially in 

 microlepidoptera, 



"In the fall of 1912 moths of Malacosoma americana were extremely abundant. 

 1913 showed the result in that practically every haw and wild cherry tree had 

 from one to five nests. Some means should be taken to cut off this supply furnished 

 by wild food-plants. Moths of the cut-worm family were scarce; also those of 

 the woolly-bear group. Very few of the fall web-worm were taken. Leaf-rollers, 

 usually abundant, were scarce. Spring and fall canker-worms are not numerous 

 about Port Hope. The abundance of Celerio interm.edia was noticeable. Some 

 50 caterpllars were taken from a small patch of Epilohium actinocaulon. Tomato- 

 hawks were scarce. As said before, the year was a failure from a collector's stand- 

 point. With the exception of the tent-caterpillars, I do not know of any Lepi- 

 dopterous larvas that have caused serious depredations.'' 



Mr. Bowers closes his letter with a list of over twenty interesting captures 

 made this season. His list is on file, but is withheld owing to probable exigencies 

 of space. 



