December, '12] WEBSTER: INSECTS OF IOWA 471 



was practised wormy apples were more common than usual. Such 

 was the case around Hamburg, one of the apple centres in southwest- 

 ern Iowa. But in some of the unsprayed orchards in that locality 

 practically every apple was wormy by the first of August. 



Tihicen se'ptendecim Linne. As was expected the IT-j^ear-cicada 

 appeared over a large portion of southern, central and southeastern 

 Iowa. It was not abundant at Ames, although for some weeks the 

 woods were ringing with their notes. Since the distribution of this 

 brood will be discussed in a paper by Professor Summers, the insect 

 needs no further notice here. 



Monostegia ignota Norton. Of the two common species of straw- 

 berry slugs in Iowa, this one has been for years the more abundant. 

 The name as here given is incorrect, so Mr. S. A. Rohwer tells me, 

 but I have used it tentatively until the matter of nomenclature may 

 be straightened out. The insect was abundant in May around Ames, 

 and also at several other points in the state, causing severe damage 

 in some cases. 



Phlegethontius sexta Johanssen. In the fall of 1910 this insect was 

 very abundant on tomato plants at Ames, although it was heavily 

 parasitized. Since that time, however, the larvae have been rare. 

 From my notes on the insect no larvse were observed at all at Ames 

 during 1911, but in 1912 a few were found. I am crediting this scar- 

 city to the abundance of Apanteles congregatus in the fall of 1910, even 

 though the Apanteles cocoons were themselves much parasitized by 

 two species of hj'perparasites at that time. 



Peridroma margaritosa saucia Hubner. In June reports came in to 

 the experiment station of damage to alfalfa by " armj'-worms " in 

 Pottawattamie and Mills counties, in southwestern Iowa. These 

 turned out to be the variegated cutworm, which occasionally becomes 

 so abundant that it adopts the habits of the true army-worm. A trip 

 to Council Bluffs June 24 revealed the fact that most of the larvse were 

 then about mature, and also heavily parasitized by tachinid larvae, 

 so the damage had practically all been done at that time. While there 

 was considerable injury to alfalfa, this was only local. 



From some of these larvse sent to the insectary, the moths emerged 

 in July. The same species was reared again in the insectarj^ in the 

 fall. A single mass of eggs collected outside August 10 hatched, and 

 the moths were reared, these emerging early in October. Not all the 

 larvse in some cages have been accounted for, and some may winter 

 as pupse. The great majority, however, emerged in October. 



Macrosiphum solanifolii Ashmead. This aphid is not generally 

 considered as much of a potato pest in Iowa, but in July the species 

 became excessively abundant on potatoes at Ames. The prompt 



