324 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 7 



the beetles cause serious injur j' as well as the larvae. The corn crop 

 for the year 1910 was almost a total failure in the Duck and Tennessee 

 Eiver valleys in middle Tennessee. The ears developed good size 

 but, because the silk was eaten off by the beetles as fast as it appeared, 

 pollination and fertilization were interfered with and manj' cobs bore 

 but a few scattered kernels or consisted mainly of a long naked tip 

 which never filled. 



The structure and habits of the newly hatched larvae have never 

 been observed. It is not known how far or fast the larvae at this 

 stage are able to travel through the earth. We have at the labora- 

 tory at Nashville, Tenn., several hundred eggs which we are attempt- 

 ing to carry alive through the winter "for the purpose of studying 

 these particular questions. These eggs were obtained from beetles 

 kept in captivity in vials and supplied with fresh corn silk for food. 

 The eggs are so small and laid so scatteringly that after the field has 

 once been plowed or disked or covered with water, to find them would 

 make the hunt for the proverbial needle in a haystack seem a bit of 

 child's play. 



It behooves all entomologists, especially those of the Gulf and 

 South Atlantic states, to watch for this insect and gi\e warning of 

 its ajDproach. Otherwise it may cause widespread loss before the 

 farmer realizes the cause. 



RED SPIDER CONTROL 



By E. A. McGregor 



The common red spider of the United States has been accepted as 

 Tetranychus himaculatus since Harvey distinguished it by that name 

 in 1893. Professor Berlese of Itaty upon a few occasions has identified 

 material of the himaculatus type from this country as the European 

 species telarius. It is with great hesitation, however, that Berlese's 

 determination should be accepted since his published figures of the 

 specific characters of the European species show a very different type 

 from that exhibited by the American species. 



With the exceptions of limited occurrences on fruit trees in western 

 Colorado, and of considerable injury to hop fields in central Cali- 

 fornia, no red spider complaints of a serious nature have come to our 

 attention other than from the southeastern portion of the cotton 

 belt. It is concerning its occurrence on cotton, then, that the present 

 discussion of the pest is primarily centered. 



Since the red spider is not an insect, it would be fair to presume in 

 advance that certain factors bearing on its control should be radically 



