-'73— 



The following were then nominated and elected officers of the Cluh 

 for the ensuing year. 



President, Prof- J. H. Com stock, Ithaca, N. V. 



Vice President. Pint. S. A. Forbes, Champaign, 111. 



Secretary, Mr. E. Baynes Reed, London. Canada. 



Prof Forbes submitted a few notes on the life history of insects in- 

 jurious to agriculture, which he had been cultivating. Among these are 

 the Hessian fly, the wheat-bulb worm, the common wire worms, the cur- 

 rant worm, the corn-root worm, and the corn-plant louse. Concerning 

 the latter insect, one of the worst infesting corn, he announced an espec- 

 ially important observation, showing that Indian corn may be protected 

 against it by a regular and frequent rotation of crops. 



An account was first given of an irregular and unequally retarded 

 metamorphosis of Nemattis ven/ricosus, — a homogeneous lot of half- 

 grown larva- collected early in May emerging partly in June and fulv of 

 the same year, and partly in April and May of the year following. 



A detailed description was given of the earth-nest of Crambus zeellt,, 

 and of the method and character of the injury done to corn by this spec- 

 ies. This Crambus hibernates as a larva, pupates within its tubular nest 

 in June, and emerges in June and July. It is commonly a grass insect, 

 — corn infested being almost invariably on sod. The larva is attacked 

 by a Microgasler and by a Tachina fly. It is easily killed by kerosene 

 emulsion poured on the earth containing it, and would probably be poi- 

 soned by Paris green dusted upon the lower corn blades. 



The larva of Crambus exsiccatus was this year also found injurious 

 to corn planted on old grass land. 



The Hessian fly {Cecidomyia destructor) has lately been found to hi 

 bernate sometimes, in Southern Illinois, as a naked white larva, not 

 forming the puparium until the following May? and then emerging be 

 fore harvest, as far as known. These naked winter larvae are believed to 

 be the offspring of a midsummer brood which develops in volunteer 

 wheat, and yields the imago early in autumn. 



The clover seed midge (Cecidbmyia legumimMd) was observed in 111. 

 as early as 1879, a fact which makes its eastern origin doubtful. A new 

 chalcid parasite {Teirastichus) of the larva was reported: but its worst en- 

 emy so far observed in Triphleps insidiosus. The young of this species 

 are often so abundant on the clover heads as to be mistaken for the au- 

 thors of the injury to clover; but experiments showed that they attack 

 the midge larvae promptly and soon destroy it by piercing the body and 

 sucking the blood. 



Some observations of the summer indicate that Meromyza americana 

 Ent.jmologiea Americana. 24 December iS36. 



