380 



exclusively made up of insects, mostly those injurious to agriculture, 

 such as chck beetles, May beetles, weevils ; of the various 

 Hymenoptera eaten, a few are useful parasites. From these and 

 numerous other examples it is obvious that the question of the average 

 diet of birds is one of supreme importance. 



Web.ster (F. M.). Alfalfa attacked by the Clover-root Curculio.— f7./S. 



Dep. Agric, Washington, D.C., Farmers' Bull. no. 649, 27th 

 February 1915, 8 pp., 6 figs. 



Sitones hispidulus, F. (the clover-root curculio), though common 

 in Europe, where it is destructive to clover, was not known in the 

 United States prior to 1876. It has become \Addely diffused there, 

 and did considerable injury to lucerne in 1914. In the latitude of 

 Washington, the adults hibernate from November until the first warm 

 days of spring ; the females then begin to oviposit on the plants on 

 the roots of which the young larvae are to feed. On hatching, the 

 larvae immediately go down into the soil. They feed on the roots of 

 all the clovers, but prefer red clover. Lucerne seems to be also a 

 common food-plant and large cavities are eaten in the main roots. 

 The adults eat out irregular patches from the margin of the leaf, but 

 the damage they do is only noticeable when they occur in considerable 

 numbers. The first absolute proof of serious injury to lucerne was 

 secuTcd in May 1914 in Maryland. Early in July, complaints were 

 also received from Pennsylvania. According to Wildermuth, no 

 Hymenopterous or Dipterous parasites have been observed, but the 

 larvae are attacked by a fungus, one of the Entomophthorae, and the 

 following birds feed upon the adults : Upland plover, killdeer or 

 killdee, ruffed grouse, broad-winged hawk, flicker, night-hawk, wood 

 pewee, crow blackbird, meadowlark, Lincoln finch, chipping sparrow, 

 white-throated sparrow, song sparrow and chimney swift, especially 

 the two last-named. A short rotation of the lucerne crop will tend to 

 limit the abundance of the pest in the fields. Disking or harrowing 

 as soon as the first hay crop is removed, are the only measures at 

 present suggested ; they will in all probability largely reduce the pest 

 in the following season. 



Dean (G. A). The Spring Canker-worm Situation in Kansas. — Kansas 

 Agric. Expt. Sta., Manhattan, Circular no. 46, Ist February 1915, 

 7 pp., 7 figs. 



The injury wrought by the spring canker-worm {Palaeacrita vernata) 

 to fruit and forest trees in Kansas, was more serious in 1914 than in 

 former years. More apple trees were killed in a single season than by 

 the San Jose scale during its entire history as a pest in the State. 



The pupae pass the \vinter from two to five inches beneath the 

 surface of the ground ; the moths usually emerging in March. The oval, 

 yellowish eggs are deposited by the females in masses on the branches 

 of the trees, and are usually sheltered beneath loose bark, fruit spurs 

 or leaf scars. The larvae hatch either at the time of the unfolding 

 of the leaves or at the time of full bloom. They feed on the leaves, 

 flowers and setting fruit, reaching their full size three or four weeks 

 after hatching. They then enter the ground, pupate, and remain until 



