580 



The investigations in connection with C. (L.) molesta, Busck, inchided 

 an exhaustive study of the biology of this moth, already noticed from 

 another source [R.A.E., A, x, 560]. 



The conditions in the melon fields were particularly favourable for 

 the development of Epilachna borealis (squash ladybird), which appears 

 to be established wherever watermelons are grown in Virginia. Hand- 

 picking the adults and the eggs is practically the only remedial measure 

 resorted to by the growers. There are various objections raised 

 against spraying, one of them being that pigs are turned into the 

 fields after ~har\^est, in which case poisons could not be applied. 

 Other methods suggested are killing the adults in winter while 

 they are hibernating in masses on the trees adjoining the melon 

 fields, community crop rotation plans, the use of trap-crops in early 

 summer and late autumn, the development of early maturing varieties 

 of melons, and the prompt destruction of all vines and fruit in the 

 melon "fields immediately after the second cutting of melons. Com- 

 munity co-operation in applying these measures should bring the pest 

 under control within two years. 



Work in connection with the woolly aphis of apple [Eriosonia 

 lanigerum, Hausm.] has been continued, and it is believed that this 

 Aphid is primarily a pest of young trees, since the trees seem to 

 withstand attacks after they have been planted in the orchard for 

 several vears. 



A brief account is given of the results obtained with various sprays 

 tested for their action on Aphid eggs ; in this connection nicotine and 

 soap appears to be the only effective solution. The sprays were 

 applied on the 11th February and 1st March. 



Reppert (R. R.), Schoexe (W. J.) & Underhill (G. W.). Notes on 

 Woolly Aphis Studies. — Qtrly. Bull. Virginia State Crop Pest 

 Commis., Blackshurg, iv, no."^!, April 1922, 8 pp., 2 figs., 1 chart. 

 [Received 25th September 1922.] 



The first autumn migrants of Eriosoma lanigerum, Hausm., appeared 

 on 19th September in Virginia in 1918, the maximum numbers occurred 

 3rd and 4th October, and from 16th October to 11th November only 

 occasional individuals were found. In this latitude, at least, the young 

 Aphids were found upon the twigs throughout the winter. A pros- 

 perous aerial colony was experimentally produced from some of these 

 individuals, showing that the species may continue on apple twigs 

 for at least two years without the mediation of the forms from elms. 

 The spring migrants produce autumn migrants the same year. At 

 least 50 per cent, of the Aphids that move to the roots in the autumn 

 do so by falHng to the ground rather than by crawling down the trunk. 

 In Virginia the aerial forms are greatly reduced by the activities of the 

 larvae of Syrphid flies. 



The winter is passed on the roots and branches of the apple tree, 

 but may also be passed in the egg stage on the bark of elm. After 

 several generations on the elm, winged individuals appear in the early 

 summer and fly to the apple, this migration occurring between 15th 

 and 30th May. By 23rd May the young grafts and seedlings were 

 generally infested. The young Aphids were forming small colonies, 

 which were located at the axils of- leaves, in the forks of the \oung 

 shoots and along the main stem especially where there was a scar or 

 wound. Some colonies were established at the surface of the ground. 



