204 JOURNAL OP ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 3 



Some undetermined secondary parasites were reared from the larvae 

 of both Eupehnvs and Stictonofus. 



The writer is indebted to Mr. T. H. Parks, agent and expert, in 

 the Bureau of Entomology, for his kind assistance in collecting and 

 rearing these parasites. 



COLLEMBOLA AS INJURIOUS INSECTS 



By Walter E. Collinge, M. Sc, F. L. S., F. E. S., Berkhamsted, England 



In a communication read at the Oxford Meeting of the Associa- 

 tion of Economic Biologists^ I drew attention to the part that various 

 species of Collembola play as injurious insects and instanced many 

 cases reported by Carpenter,- Curtis,^ Ormerod,* Murray,^ Guthrie,* 

 myself," and others, where they were the direct cause of damage to 

 roots and seeds of healthy plants, and I incidentally pointed out, in 

 referring to the nature of the injury, that they also play an important 

 part in exposing different plants to the attacks of fungi by the injury 

 they cause in wounding their surfaces. 



Since then two facts have come to light which have an important 

 bearing upon the subject. 



The experiment I made I described as follows: 



"During the past twelve months very careful observations have 

 been made upon a series of common species which have fully estab- 

 lished the fact that to orchards, numerous bulbs, beans and peas, the 

 Collembola are distinctly injurious. 



"The method adopted has been as follows: 



"Shallow boxes, containing about four inches of moist soil, have 

 been used, and into these perfectly healthy bulbs and beans have been 

 placed. Into each box examples of different species of Collembola 

 have been placed. The tops of the boxes in some cases were covered 

 with a sheet of glass, and in others with a piece of wood. 



"After the experiments were completed the soil and diseased bulbs 

 were carefully examined, and apart from fungi no other pests were 



' Journ. Economic Biol., 1909, Vol. IV, p. 83-86 



= Proc. Assoc. Econ. Biol., 1905, Vol. I, p. 14. 



^ Farm Insects, p. 432. 



* Rpt. Obs. Inj. Insects for 1904, p. 110. 



^ Economic Entomology, Aptera, p. 404. 



^The Collembola of Minnesota, 1903, p. 4. 



' Rpt. on Inj. Insects for 1905, p. 10. 



