18 



BoHWER (S. A.). Description of Two Parasitic Hymenoptera. — Proc. 

 Enfom. Soc. Washington, Washington, D.C., xv'i, no. 3, September 

 1914, pp. 141-142. 



Synipherta mnemonicae, sp. n., parasitic on Mnemonica auricyanea, 

 and Podogaster evetrivorus, sp. n., from New Mexico, a parasite of 

 Evetria sp., attacking Pinus ponderosa, are described. 



Gibson (A.). Army-Worm Outbreak of 1914. — Census and Statistics 

 Mthhj., Ottaiva, vii, no. 73, September 1914, pp. 232-234. 



A severe outbreak of the army-worm, Cirphis {Heliophila) unipuncta, 

 occurred in Ontario in July and August, 1914, the pest being reported 

 from 37 counties and districts. In many of these the damage was 

 unimportant, and it was fortunate that at the time many fields of 

 •oats and barley were approaching maturity, largely owing to the dry 

 season. The crops attacked were oats, barley, corn, hay, spring 

 wheat, lucerne, clover, peas, mangolds, beets, turnips and millet. 

 In the counties of Oxford, Brant and Elgin, where the army-worms 

 were most abundant, whole fields were devastated. The total loss, 

 direct and indirect, is believed to exceed £50,000 in Ontario alone, 

 while £10,000 may be taken as a low estimate of the crop damage in 

 Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. No caterpillars of the 

 hibernating brood of army-worm have been detected, even in the 

 worst infested districts, in spite of special search. The larvae of the 

 injurious brood were heavily parasitised, particularly by the Tachinid, 

 Winthemia sp., and a bacterial disease destroyed great numbers; 

 predaceous beetles were also found feeding on them. In Canada 

 there are two annual broods, the moths appearing in June and again 

 in August and September. This last generation lays eggs which hatch 

 in ten to twelve days. The young caterpillars winter beneath tufts 

 of grass and other low herbage and in the spring complete their growth, 

 feeding chiefly on grasses. The second brood of caterpillars occurs 

 in July and early August and it is this brood which in almost every 

 instance has injured crops in Canada. 



The chief method of control is to plough furrow^s as deeply as possible 

 or dig trenches in advance of the line of march. These trenches should 

 be at least ten inches deep, and in them post holes at least one foot, 

 preferably two feet, deep should be dug every fifteen feet. The side 

 nearest to the crop to be protected should be straight and vertical. 

 Owing to the dry weather in 1914, it was found advisable, in clay 

 land, to rake the vertical side before it had time to dry. The soil 

 thus crumbled as it dried and fell off with the army-worms which 

 attempted to climb it. Such raking is important, otherwise the soil 

 becomes baked like cement and the caterpillars will crawl up it easily. 

 If they fail to do this, they wander along the trench until they reach 

 a post hole, into which they fall. They may then be destroyed, either 

 by crushing or by pouring coal oil into the hole. Other measures 

 consist in spraying Paris green or lead arsenate on to the edges of 

 crops to which the caterpillars have gained access. Poisoned bran, as 

 used against ordinary cut-worms, has proved of value in the case of 

 light infestations and many crops in Nova Scotia were saved by this 

 means. 



