August, '12] WEBSTER: WHEAT-HEAD ARMY-WORM 335 



SOME FURTHER NOTES ON THE WHEAT-HEAD ARMY- 

 WORM 



Meliana albilinea Hubner 

 By R. L. Webster 



A few additional observations have been made by the writer on this 

 insect in Iowa since the pubHcation of Bulletin 122 of the Iowa Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, as well as a brief paper in the Journal 

 OF Economic Entomology.^ In order to make these a matter of record 

 they are brought together in this article. The notes used for this 

 paper represent work done at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion at Ames. 



Early in 1911 it looked as if this pest might again become common. 

 Adults were noticed rather numerous at lights in May, being captured 

 on the 14th, 21st and 23rd, of that month at Ames. They were most 

 common May 21. In June I found larvae common in several places 

 in Iowa, but they did little damage. 



Parasites 



Pentarthron retorridum Girault MS. This tiny egg parasite was 

 reared abundantly in the fall of 1910, emerging from eggs from August 

 30 to September 14. One lot of parasitized eggs, collected at Poca- 

 hontas, in northwestern Iowa, harbored these parasites through the 

 winter in the insectary cold room, these emerging April 16. All of 

 these w^ere males, winged and wingless; the winged forms predominat- 

 ing; 52 individuals were counted here, and only 32 eggs, so there 

 must have been some eggs mth more than one parasite. 



From another lot of eggs, collected September 13 at Corwith, Iowa, 

 these parasites emerged September 14. This is probably about the 

 limit for the fall emergence of the insect, since the lot collected Septem- 

 ber 16 wintered over in the host eggs. 



Microgaster auripes Prov. In the fall of 1910 several white parasite 

 cocoons, exactly like those of this species, were placed in a cage in the 

 insectary cold room. No Microgasters emerged from these cocoons, 

 however, only a species of Mesochorus (H. L. Viereck determination) 

 came out. I have previously recorded the former species as a parasite 

 on the wheat -head army- worm. 



Microplitis melianae Vier. Since the publication of loAva station 

 bulletin 122 on the wheat-head army-worm ]Mr. H. L. Viereck" has 



' Journ. Econ. Ent. vol. iv. p. 179. 



^Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. vol. 40. p. 1S.5. 1911. 



