433 



of 1919, and is generally found in marshes near the coast. A 

 Noctuid, Calocampa exoleta, L., damages the foliage in May in damp 

 districts. A Sphingid, Deilephila lineata var. livornica, Esp., appeared 

 in unusual numbers in one neighbourhood. Scobicia chevrieri, Villa, 

 hatched towards the end of May and in June from vine shoots in which 

 it develops under the same conditions as Sinoxylon sexdentatum, Oliv. 

 This beetle hibernates in the larval stage, Lyctus (Trogoxylon) 

 impressiis, Com., was also abundant in vine shoots ; it is attacked by 

 a Clerid beetle, Tarsostenus univittatus, Rossi, and a Braconid, 

 Monolexis lavagnei, Picard. Chjtus arietis, L., hatched at the beginning 

 of April. 



Callidium fasciatum, ViU., and Agrilus derasofasciatus, Lac, are able 

 to develop on living branches, but are seldom found except on wild 

 vines. 



LoRENZETi (J. B.). La Isoca en los Alfalfares. [The Larvae of 

 Colias leshia in Lucerne Fields.] — Gaceta Rural, Buenos Aires, xiii, 

 no. 155, June 1920, pp. 1243-1245. 



The larvae of the butterfly, Colias leshia, occur abundantly in lucerne 

 fields throughout Argentina, especially in the drier regions. The 

 first generation hatches in the spring from eggs laid in the previous 

 autumn ; the life-cycle of this generation occupies about 40 days, 

 and successive generations follow until the autumn. If the infestation 

 difes out after the first or second generation, as is sometimes the case in 

 humid soils or during a wet season, the crop may be very little injured ; 

 in cases of continued infestation control measures are essential. In 

 Argentina the cultivated areas are too vast, and labour too scarce and 

 too scattered to render practicable the ordinary methods of collection 

 of adults and larvae, the use of smoke or sulphur fumes, etc. It is 

 therefore suggested that the crop should be cut somewhat before the 

 normal time and that it should be dried and prepared for threshing, 

 the stubble which is left being burned over. As the crop dries, the larvae 

 infesting it will leave it and take refuge in crevices in the ground, under 

 loose bits of soil, etc. To destroy these, as soon as the crop is removed 

 and the stubble burnt, the ground should be disked to break it up and 

 then rolled several times. This should destroy the majority of the 

 surviving larvae. Another method is to cut down the lucerne in rows, 

 about 20 to 25 yards w^ide, leaving strips of 5 to 8 yards uncut. The 

 crop should be left on the ground to dry for a time and then be 

 removed for threshing. The larvae w^ill leave the cut grass for that 

 still standing ; on the following day the remainder should be cut 

 down and as soon as it is sufficiently dry it should be burnt, and this 

 should be followed by the disking and roUing described above. In 

 cases of persistent infestation, the lucerne should be cut repeatedly, 

 even before flowering, and the ground raked and rolled after each 

 cutting, other food-plants in the vicinity being cut down and burnt 

 at the same time as a complementary measure. Wherever possible, 

 lucerne fields can be cleared of the pest by repeated flooding, but this 

 should always be done in the evening as the sun is liable to injure the 

 crop when under water. In very small areas, poultry allowed to run 

 1 n lucerne fields wiU keep them free from the caterpillars. 



(708) B 



