32 



Report of the Division of Forestry. — Ann. Rept. Mass. Commiss. 

 Conscrv. and State Forester for Year ending 30th November 1920, 

 Boston, Publ. Doc. no. 73, 1921, pp. 30-44. [Received 12th 

 November 1921.] 



A study is being made of the white pine weevil [Pissodes strobi] 

 in relation to forest management. This weevil is widely prevalent, 

 but little is known regarding the damage it causes, the effect on its 

 distribution of the composition of the forest and other natural factors, 

 or anj^ silvicultural measures to check its depredations. It is essential 

 to determine to what extent plans for planting and treating forests 

 should be modified to minimise the destrviction caused. 



Parker (T.) & Long (A. W.). A Laboratory Note on the Control of 



Trogoderma khapra. — Bur. Bio-Tcchnologv, Leeds, Bull 4, 1st 

 October 1921, pp. 102-104. [Received 14th November 1921.] 



Trogoderma khapra is gradually spreading and can only be exter- 

 minated from malthouses by repeated fumigation. To ascertain the 

 most satisfactory fumigant, carbon-tetrachloride, trichlorethylene, 

 tetrachlorethane, pentachlorethane and chloropicrin have been tested. 



Chloropicrin is most effective for killing the larvae, but its effect 

 on malt has not yet been determined. Pentachlorethane kills free 

 larvae in the bins, but not the insects in the interior of the grain. 

 To test its effect on the malt it was used at the rate of 1 pint to 

 1,000 cubic ft., with an exposure of 1,000 minutes. The odour and 

 taste of the compound were clearly apparent, but easily removed by 

 drying in the kiln, during which process the malt is repeatedly turned. 

 Any remaining traces are dispelled when the wort is boiled in the 

 open coppers, and no deleterious effect is produced upon the ultimate 

 taste of fermented liquors. 



[Notes on Insect Pests.] — Bur. Bio-Technology, Leeds, Bull. 4, Ist 

 October 1921, pp. 108-113. 



With reference to recent records of Trogoderma khapra, Arr., and 

 other insects infesting breweries in England [R.A.E., A, ix, 431], 

 a meal beetle, found in the screenings of foreign barley, has now been 

 identified as Tenebrio molitor, L. This beetle was taken in the larval 

 stage ; pupation occurred about the second week in July, and an 

 adult emerged on 15th August. Enquiries indicate that this pest is 

 fairly common, perhaps more so in malt-culms than among the malt. 

 Silvanus surinamensis (saw-toothed grain beetle) has also been found 

 in large numbers in maltings in Essex. 



The Ptinid, Niptus hololeuciis, has recently been observed in all 

 stages in a sample of commercial casein. Before pupating, the larvae 

 bind the casein granules together to form small cells, which, in casein 

 of a granular quality, easily pass unnoticed. Casein so infested has 

 a disagreeable odour and is unfit for consumption. 



Entomological Notes. — Agric. Btdl. F.M.S., Kuala Lumpur, ix, no. 1, 

 January-March 1921, p. 3. [Received 15th November 1921.] 



Insect pests investigated during the first quarter of 1921 include 

 Tiracola plagista, Wlk., the caterpillars of which devour the leaves 

 of castor oil plants, Margaronia marginata, Hmps., rolling the leaves 

 of cinchona, and the caterpillars of the Noctuid moth, Prodenia liiiira, 

 F., which feed on a variety of plants. * 



