603 



to sugar-cane. This bug has l:)een previously recorded as Z. pere^rinus. 

 The spiders, Pagiopaliis atoniarius and Tetragnatha mandibiilata, 

 and the CoccineUid, Coelophora ineqiialis, prey upon the hoppers. 

 Minor enemies are the predaceous wasp, Nesomimesa hawaiiensis ; 

 the Dryinids, Echthrodelphax fairchildi, Haplogonatopus vitiensis, 

 and Pseiidogonatopus hospes ; and the flies, Pipiincidiis juvator and 

 P. hawaiiensis. Ants, particularly Pheidole megacephala, are abundant 

 in the cane-fields and attack almost all insects found there. The fungi, 

 Metaryhiziiim anisopliae, Entomophthora sp., Sporotrichum sp. and 

 Cordyceps are also of importance, the last three being directly parasitic 

 on the leaf-hoppers. Vertebrates, especially mynah birds, play a part 

 in the general inter-relation of factors, as they prey upon many of the 

 larger insects in the cane-fields. 



Thomas (R.). Entomological Section ; Locusts. — Admin. Rept. 

 Mesopotamia Dept. Agric, 1920, Baghdad, 1921, pp. 4-5 and 

 10-11. [Received 25th October 1921.] 



In Mesopotamia the locust menace occurs ever}^ year, varying only 

 in intensity. The most destructive species is Dociostaurus maroccanus. 

 The eggs are laid in the ground in May and June, and hatch in March. 

 The larvae do most damage between the fourth moult and ten days 

 after the final one, but they are more easily controlled up to the third 

 moult. The locusts feed mainly on wheat and barley, considerably 

 damaging these crops in severe attacks. There is no record of any 

 of the remedial measures adopted under the Turkish Government 

 being successful. The usual method is to drive the swarms into con- 

 centrated masses and stamp them underfoot. Occasionally they are 

 driven into shallow trenches and buried. Owing to the scarcity of 

 labour in steppe lands and the availability of oil for fuel, it is thought 

 that the knapsack flare apparatus may prove as economical a remedial 

 measure as any previouslj^ undertaken. A preliminary campaign 

 will be conducted as soon as finances permit. 



Date crops are considerably damaged by Ephestia cautella, no reliable 

 control measures having yet been discovered. This and other date 

 pests have already been noticed [R.A.E., A, vii, 189; ix, 91]. In 

 Northern Mesopotamia non-irrigated wheat crops are considerably 

 damaged by Eurygaster sp., which is a common pest in similar areas 

 in Russia, Turkestan and Persia. The cotton bollworm {Earias 

 insulana) infests practically every cotton crop, but in the earlier 

 part of the season it breeds in pods of Hibiscus escnlentus. No reliable 

 remedial measures are known, but by removing all parts of the cotton 

 plants and of H. escnlentus as early as practicable and burning them in 

 the winter, the intensity of the attacks may be diminished. 



The pink cotton bollworm {Platyedra {Ephestia) gassy piella) has 

 not yet l^een recorded in Mesopotamia. All imported seed is fumi- 

 gated, but there ma}' be a danger of introduction in the seed imported 

 through Mesopotamia into Persia. 



Treherne (R. C). The Grasshopper and the Range. — Agric. J I.. 

 Victoria, B.C., vi, no. 8, October 1921, pp. 192-193, 195. 



The problem of controlling grasshoppers on the range lands of British 

 Columbia, which has recently been dealt with [R.A.E., A, ix, 489], 

 is here discussed in greater detail. It is obvious that when the natural 

 range grasses are destroyed by cattle-feeding or by the cultivation of 



