OS.) 



ZscHOKKE (T). Ueber das Steinigwerden der Bimen und iiber Miss- 

 bildungen an Obstfriichten. Mit biologischen Notizen und Abbil- 

 dungen iiber Capsiden, welche als Schadlinge an den Obstbaumen 

 beobachtet und gesammelt wurden. [The Hardness of Pears and 

 Deformations in Orchard Fruit. With Biological Notes and 

 Illustrations of Capsids observed and collected when injuring 

 Fruit Trees.] — Landw. Jahrb. d. Schweiz, Berne, xxxvi, no. 4, 

 1922, pp. 575-593, 15 figs. 



Though woody and misshapen pears oc'cur more often on old trees 

 than on young ones, they are also due in some extent to Capsid bugs, 

 a fact that the author has confirmed by a series of experiments. 



Up to now most of these bugs have been regarded as beneficial 

 destroyers of Aphids and caterpillars. A list of 18 Capsids found 

 on fruit-trees is given, and of these the following can be definitely 

 classed as injurious : Atractotomus mali, Mey., Calocoris biclavatus, 

 H. Sch., Lygus pahulinus, L., Orthotylus marginalis, Rent., and 

 Pilophoriis clavatus, L. Two generations occur in a \'ear, and moults 

 take place every 8-10 days according to the temperature, so that 

 40-50 days are necessary for the five moults. Late-developed in- 

 dividuals of the first generation may occur with early larvae and 

 adults of the second. The larvae and adults of the second generation 

 cause very little injury as compared with those of the first, the 

 development of which occurs from April to June, when the shoots, 

 blossoms and fruit are being formed. Another reason for the greater 

 early injury may be a lack of sufficient Aphids and caterpillars at 

 that time, when the rapidly developing bugs need much food. 



The failure to trace injury to these bugs is due to the difficulty 

 in detecting them, a fact that prevents the application of measures 

 for shielding the fruit or for directly combating the pests. Suitable 

 measures must be based on the knowledge that they injure the 

 developing fruit in May and June. While, however, the bugs are 

 easily killed by a contact poison such as a 2| per cent, solution of soap, 

 the difficulty of reaching these elusive insects presents an almost 

 hopeless obstacle in practice [cf. R.A.E., A, iv, 107]. 



RiOFRio (B. F.). Observaciones sobre un Gusano parasito de muchas 

 Plantas cultivadas. — Anales Inst. Gen. v Tecnico de Valencia, 

 Trab. Lab. Hist. Nat. no. 12, 1922, 11 pp'. 



The presence of Heterodera radicicola has recently been discovered 

 in Spain in roots of tomato {Lycopersicum csculentum) in Valencia, and, 

 almost simultaneously, in Solanum nigrum in Barcelona. In view of 

 the number of plants attacked by this Nematode in other countries, 

 it is probably of widespread occurrence in Spain. 



GiMiNGHAM (C. T.). Notes on some Parasites of Beetles. — Ent. Mthlv. 

 Mag., London, no. 701, October 1922, pp. 226-228. 



During 1921 a small area of field beans in Warwickshire was 

 unusually heavily infested with BrucJms rufimanus. The Bruchids 

 were severely parasitised by a Braconid, Sigalphus luteipes, Thoms., 

 the maximum emergence of which occurred from 24th July to 7th 

 August. Only one parasite was found in each larval host. On the 

 whole, the infested beans in which the Bruchids were not parasitised 

 were smaller and more shrunken than the others, but the plants grown 

 the following year from infested beans appeared to be no less vigorous 

 than those grown from sound seed. 



