373 



to such an extent that few were likely to recover, while the varieties 

 imported from France, constituting about half the vineyard, were 

 at the time entirely free from attack. It was discovered that the 

 damage was due to the presence in large numbers of a small Chry- 

 somehd beetle, Labidostomis hordei. F., the strong mandibles of which 

 are capable of doing great damage to the newly budding shoots. 

 The habits of this species are not well known ; it is usually found in 

 pastureland or along the edges of cultivated fields on low-growing 

 plants. It has been recorded previously on Hordeum murinum in 

 Barbary and on Chrysanthemum growing beside wheat fields in 

 Andalusia, but has never hitherto been observed on vines. Of the nine 

 Moroccan species of Labidostomis that have been recorded, L. taxicornis 

 is the only one known to damage vines, and then only in Italy and 

 Sicily, where Salix purpurea is its usual food-plant. It seems quite 

 possible that L. hordei may become one of the most dangerous vine 

 pests in Africa. Arsenical sprays on the young vine shoots are 

 recommended against it. 



DE Crombrugghe de Picquendaele (G.). Note sur Pyrausta 

 nubilalis dans la Banheue de Bruxelles. — Rev. Mens. Soc. Entom., 

 Namur, xix, no. 4, April 1919, pp. 17-19. [Received 4th Julv 

 1919.] 



Pyrausta nubilalis, Hb. , is abundant in and around Brussels wherever 

 its chief food-plant {Artemisia vulgaris) occurs, in spite of remedial 

 measures and cultivation of the soil. The moths are so seldom seen 

 that their appearance was supposed to be merely accidental, but 

 examination has shown that the larvae are widely distributed. The 

 moths generally remain hidden, flying late in the evening and not 

 being attracted to hght. As however the larvae are frequently 

 found in the stalks of isolated plants of Artemisia, it is probable that 

 they fly freely at night. Another factor that has delayed the discovery 

 of the abundance of this species in the neighbourhood of Brussels 

 is the erroneous opinion that P. nubilalis is confined to locahties where 

 hops are grown. Various food-plants have been recorded, including 

 hops, maize, hemp, millet. Inula conyza and Phragmites communis, 

 but few authors have mentioned Artemisia. The larvae of P. nubilalis 

 have been observed in Bavaria up till April, but in the colder climate 

 of Belgium they occur until early June, pupation then taking place 

 in the stalk or the root of Artemisia vulgaris, which seems to be the 

 chief food-plant in that country. In the Netherlands the larva hiber- 

 nates when mature ; in Belgium this occurs.before maturity is reached ; 

 by mid-August the larva is only half grown, is two-thirds grown by 

 April, and is not mature until the beginning of June. A similar delay 

 in development occurs in other species of the genus Pyrausta {Botys). 



Froggatt (W. W.). Some Plant Bugs that infest Citrus Trees.— Agric. 

 Gaz. N.S.W., Sydney, xxx, no. 5, 2nd May 1919, pp. 325-330, 8 

 figs. 



A short account is given of the hfe-history and food-plants of 

 various bugs infesting Citrus in'^ew South Wales, including Biprorulus 

 bibax (green-spined orange bug), which has a marked preference for 

 lemon trees, its probable food-plant in the northern districts being 



