212 



especially those containing nicotine, which destroys the eggs and acts- 

 also through the skin of the caterpillars, and those containing arsenical 

 salts of lead and copper and a lime-sulphur mixture, which act as 

 internal poisons. 



Sachakov (N.). BnoiuKM, epeflflmifl noc-feBawn. ^opHH^bl m Mtpu. 

 6opb6bl C"b HMIIM. [Flea-beetles {Phyllotreta) injurious to mustard 

 crops and methods of controlling them.] Published by the 

 Entomological Station of Astrachan, Astrachan, 1915, 7 pp. 1 fig. 



This book is a continuation of the author's work on pests of mustard 

 [see this Review, Ser. A, ii, p. 355]. The following species of flea- 

 beetles discovered on mustard in the government of Astrachan are 

 described : — Phyllotreta cruciferae, Goeze, P. atra, ¥., P. undulata, 

 Kutsch., P. nemorum, L., and a species which is perhaps new. The 

 last-named, occurs only in the northern parts of the government, 

 while the others are found all over it, the most injurious being P. 

 cruciferae, P. atra and the new species, while P. nemorum and P. 

 undulata appear only in small numbers. They winter in the adult 

 stage and appear early in spring, first on wild Cruciferae and then on 

 cultivated plants ; in Astrachan, the first beetles on winter-sown 

 mustard were noticed on 1st April, and in Zarevsk, on 5th May. They 

 remain in varying numbers on the fields till the ripening of the mustard. 

 The beetles feed mostly on the upper sides of the leaves and do the 

 greatest damage to the young plants. Control measures must therefore 

 be undertaken early in spring on the seedlings. Remedies such as 

 powdering with ashes, lime, tobacco dust or basic slag, only drive the 

 beetles off the fields ; while spraying with Paris green gave negative 

 results, it being difficult to spray effectively the small leaves of the 

 seedlings. The best and least expensive remedy consists in catching 

 the beetles on sticky material by means of the special " Gottingen " 

 trolley, which however requires much time for cleansing and resmearing 

 of the cloth, or by means of a special appliance described and figured, 

 consisting of a square batten 7 feet long or of a rod not thicker than 

 2 inches to which a piece of cloth about 5 feet long and 2 feet wide is 

 fixed with nails ; some tanglefoot (or a mixture of 1 part of cart 

 grease and 2 parts of naphtha) is smeared over the cloth, a strip of 

 about 2 inches at the bottom of it being left clean in order not to soil 

 the plants. Two boys drag the apparatus over the seedlings and the 

 contact of the cloth with the plants causes the beetles to jump up and 

 be captured. The cloth must be cleaned and resmeared when necessary 

 and the process of catching repeated. This method can be applied 

 only in dry weather during the heat of the day. Sowing wheat mixed 

 with mustard is also recommended, so that if the pest destroys the 

 mustard, the whole crop will not be lost. It has also been observed 

 that in such mixed crops the mustard suffers less from this and other 

 pests. 



A mite injurious to stored mustard, Tyroglyphus {Aleurohius) 

 farinae, Koch, is described. Another mite, Cheyletus eruditus, appears 

 with it, which according to Portchinsky is predaceous upon it. Fumi- 

 gation of stored mustard seed with carbon bisulphide is recommended. 



