211 



By far the most important enemy of cacao in Ecuador is Monalonion 

 atratum {dissimnlatum), known as " mosquilla." The eggs of this 

 Capsid bug are laid in the peduncle or on the outside of the cacao 

 pods, of which the nymphs suck the juices, leaving scars and finally 

 causing the pods to turn black and wither. No food-plant other than 

 cacao has been observed. Remedial measures that have been suggested 

 include gathering and destroying the pods at the season when they 

 are least numerous, and also the burning of the nymphs on the pods 

 by means of an alcohol or kerosene torch ; neither of these methods 

 is very satisfactory. The author advocates the use of contact insecti- 

 cides, such as nicotine sulphate or weak Bordeaux mixture, which 

 have given very good results. Pods covered with this mixture would 

 probably be avoided by the ovipositing insects. 



Takahashi (R.). Three Species of Aphididae.— Zoo?. Mag., ToUo 

 1918, pp. 368-376. [Received 17th March 1919.] 



The species dealt with in this paper, in Japanese, are Trichosiphum 

 kmvanae, Perg., Stomaphis yanonis, sp. n., and Rhopalosiphum sambu- 

 cicola, sp. n. 



Takahashi (R.). Description of Cervaphis quercus, sp.n. — Zool. Mag., 

 Tokio, XXX, 1918, pp. 458-461, 12 figs. [Received 17th March 

 1919.] 



The oviparous female of Cervaphis quercus which closely resembles 

 C. schouteniae, v. d. G., is winged and appears in the summer, the 

 food-plant being Quercus serrata. 



Matsumura (S.). New Species of the Economic Syrphidae of Japan. 



— Jl. Coll. Agric. Hokkaido Imperial Univ., Sapporo, viii, no. 1, 

 October 1918, 31 pp., 1 plate. 



Descriptions are given of 54 new species and 4 new genera of 

 Japanese Syrphidae. Among these, Mesosyrphus abietis, sp. n., 

 Catabomba excavata, sp. n., and Eristalosyrphus griseofasciatus, gen. 

 et sp. n., have been collected on Abies sachalinensis, sucking the juices 

 secreted by an Aphid, Mindarus abietinus. The habits of the other 

 species are not stated. 



Ross (W. A.). The Rose Midge in Ontario. — Agric. Gaz. Canada, 

 OUawa, vi, no. 2, February 1919, pp. 137-138, 1 fig. 



The rose midge [Neocerata rhodophaga] has been recently introduced 

 into Canada from the United States, where it is the most destructive 

 pest of roses, the annual loss due to it in two Chicago greenhouses 

 amounting to £2,000. The larvae usually attack the young shoots 

 in the axil of a leaf-petiole, such shoots either becoming deformed, 

 or withering and dying. Fortunately the pest hibernates in the soil 

 during the winter when the most profitable crops are grown. The 

 eggs are laid between the folded leaves of the leaf-buds, in the axils 

 of young leaves and between the sepals and petals of flower-buds, 

 and under greenhouse conditions hatch in about 2 days. The larvae, 

 which mature in from 5 to 7 days, pupate in the soil and emerge as 



