250 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 5 



Western Wheat-stem Sawfly, Cephus occidentalis. — This species 

 was again troublesome but not quite so much as in 1910. The 

 first adults were observed on June 16. Fields next to last season's 

 crop occasionally suffered on the edges to some 40% but the damage 

 did not extend into them for more than a couple of hundred feet and 

 became less severe towards the centre. These sawflies still appear 

 remarkably free from parasites. 



Grasshoppers or Locusts.^ — As was anticipated a rather severe 

 outbreak occurred during the year, resulting in a few instances in 

 considerable injury but as a rule the poisoned horse droppings were 

 sufficient to keep them in check. They commenced to appear, as 

 usual, early in May, but were retarded somewhat by cool weather. 

 On July 10 the well-known fungus disease, Empusa grylli, broke out 

 among them and continued to spread so that by the first of August 

 as many as a dozen dead locusts could be counted in a square yard and 

 often two or three upon a single weed. The disease, however, was bj^ 

 no means evenl}^ distributed. It continued intermittently until 

 October, by which time most of the locusts had died off. Several 

 parasites were also at work, particularly a tachina fly, while the common 

 prairie blister beetle, Epicauta sericeus, was exceptionally numerous. 

 There were also vast numbers of red mites — Trombidium — present 

 which in August became so plentiful as to leave very few locusts free 

 of them. 



An examination for eggs shows a considerable decrease in their 

 numbers in comparison wdth last season, with an unusually large 

 proportion of them destroyed. They are, however, still in sufficient 

 numbers to cause trouble provided no farther damage is done to them. 



During the season some experiments were tried with sawdust as a 

 substitute for horse droppings which proved, on the whole, successful. 

 It was not supposed that this substance would replace horse droppings, 

 but when the latter are not easily procurable it will, I believe, prove 

 equally satisfactory to bran with the advantage of being cheaper. 

 It requires, however, a larger quantity of salt to make it attractive 

 but has the advantage of being easily spread finely so that there should 

 be no risk of poisoning stock when it is placed correctly. 



Insects Injurious to Roots and Vegetables 



Imported Cabbage W^orm, Pontia rapce. — This Ijutterfly is again 

 on the increase. It was observed to be particularly numerous in the 

 neighborhood of Stinkweed, Thlaspi arvense, upon which it feeds 

 extensively. 



Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa lO-lineata. — Surpassed even 

 last year's high record for numbers and took advantage of early lack 



