October, '13] SCIENTIFIC NOTES 425 



Scientific Notes 



A Leaf-Cutting Bee from Arizona. In Journal of Economic Entomology, 

 April 1913, p. 195, Mr. A. W. Morrill called attention to the injury done by bees 

 of the genus Megachile in Arizona. More recently he has sent specimens which 

 he received from Salome, Arizona, to Mr. J. C. Crawford, who has forwarded them 

 to me for identification. They were collected at Salome, May 20, 1913, and were 

 said to be quite destructive. The species proves to be M. Kppioe, differing a little 

 from the New Mexico type in the pale hair of the ventral scope being clear white, 

 instead of somewhat yellowish. As M. lippice was originally described as a variety 

 of AI. cleomis, with only comparative notes, it may be well to publish a description 

 which will enable it to be recognized by those who have no M. cleomis-. In general, 

 the females look like those of M. addenda and generosa (of which cleomis is a sub- 

 species), but when the abdomen is seen from above, only the last two segments 

 show black at sides in lippia;, while in the others mentioned segments 2 to 6 show 

 black. 



Megachile lippioe (Cockerell). Female, length about 14 mm.; moderately robust, 

 the abdomen not parallel-sided; black with the pubescence nearly aU white, but 

 some black on vertex, mesothorax and scutellum, on subapical margin and extreme 

 sides of fifth abdominal segment, at sides of sixth segment, and on last ventral 

 segment except basally; head very broad, the large reddish-brown eyes diverging 

 above, the lunar orbits above conspicuously concave; face with much white hair, 

 very dense and spreading at sides; mandibles broad, quadridentate, but the inner- 

 most tooth little developed; lower margin of clypeus quite simple; cl3T3eus shining 

 but well punctured; flagellum marked with dark red beneath; mesothorax not 

 very hairy, and wholly without white lines of hair in front, its greater part closely 

 and finely punctured, but the posterior middle with more separated punctures 

 and in the Arizona form somewhat shining; tegulae rufopiceous, the margins lighter; 

 wings hyaline, broadly dusky on apical margin; legs with white hair, that on inner 

 side of basitarsi pale orange, and on small joints of tarsi coppery-tinted; hind basi- 

 tarsi moderately broadened; abdomen shining, finely punctured, with narrow white 

 hair-bands; last dorsal segment nearly straight in lateral profile, pruinose, with fine 

 short greyish-white hair, but at sides with long erect black hair. 



T. D. A. Cockerell. 



A Parasite of the Chinch Bug Egg. In the experiments conducted this year 

 to determine the time of the first appearance of young chinch bugs and the mortality 

 of the eggs, a large number of eggs were collected in the field for examination. The 

 eggs which were collected at different intervals and in different localities were ex- 

 amined daily. WTiile thus examining the eggs it was noticed that some of them 

 became dark in color instead of assuming the usual red coloring. These eggs were 

 isolated and on May 19, there emerged from them three parasites. With these 

 three parasites as a basis, the life history was carried through four generations, 

 running up to July 5. Since this was the time between the two broods of the chinch 

 bug, it became impossible to obtain additional chinch bug eggs with which to con- 

 tinue the work. From July 5 to July 23 only an occasional parasitized egg was found 

 in the field, but beginning with the latter date, parasitized eggs were found in large 

 numbers in the com fields and the second generation was obtained by August 10. 

 Up to the present date this year over 275 individual parasites have been bred out. 

 The length of the life cycle has been fomid to vary from ten to eighteen days, de- 

 pending on climatic conditions. 



