73 



important. The fall army worm, LaphjgmafmgijJerda, S. & A., varie- 

 gated cutworm, Lycophotia margaritosa, Haw. {Peridroma saucia, 

 Hb.), and garden web worm, PhJyctaenodes {Loxostege) similalis, Gn., 

 can be controlled by the usual methods. The alfalfa caterpillar, 

 Colias {Eunjmus) eunjtheme, Boisd., is sufficiently controlled by 

 natural enemies to prevent it from becoming a serious pest. Other 

 pests dealt with are the alfalfa weevil (Hypera {Phytonomus) mnrina), 

 F., the clover leaf weevil {H. (P.) punctata, F.), the mound building 

 prairie ant {Pogonomyrmex occidenfalis, Cress.), Meloidae, Jassidae, 

 the clovex-seed Chalcid {Bruchophagus funebris, How.), and the clover 

 hay worm {Hypsopygia costalis, F.). 



Fletcher (W. F,). The Native Persimmon.— L^*S. Dept. Agric, 

 Washington, D.C., Farmers' Bull. no. 685, 12th October i915, 

 25 pp., 17 figs. [Received 13th December 1916.] 



The most important insect enemy of persimmon is the hickory twig 

 girdler, Oncideres cingidata, Say. It makes its appearance about the 

 middle of August and may be found till the beginning of October. 

 The injury caused by this insect occurs in the process of oviposition, 

 the adult gnawing a small hole in the bark, usually just above or 

 below a bud, into which the egg is inserted. Several eggs are usually 

 deposited in a twig in this manner, and the insect then begins girdling 

 the twig beneath the point of oviposition. This ringing of the twig 

 weakens it to such an extent that it is broken off by the wind during 

 the winter or the following spring. To control it, the twigs should be 

 collected in June or early July and burnt. 



Milliken (F. B.). The Cottonwood Borer. — ?7.>S. Dept. Agric, 

 Washington, B.C., Bull. no. 424, 9th November 1916, 7 pp., 

 1 plate, 3 figs. 



This is a record of investigations made during 1913-15 in Kansas. 

 A description of the various stages of this Longicorn {Plectrodera 

 scaJator, F.) is given. The female deposits her eggs in a cavity 

 which she has bored through the bark into the wood of young cotton- 

 woods {Popidus deltoides) or willows {Salix alba) at or a little below the 

 surface of the ground. Oviposition begins in July and probably 

 extends into September. The eggs hatch in about two weeks and the 

 young larva bores a tunnel in the tender bark just outside the wood. 

 In the following spring the larvae average from 1|- to 2 in. long, and 

 during the second winter they occupy large tunnels reaching from the 

 inside of the bark near the ground-level to several inches below it. 

 Pupation takes place about the beginning of July, the pupa resting at 

 the lower end of the tunnel. The adults emerge from about mid-June 

 until the 1st of August. Several young larvae were found dead and 

 covered with a fungus, but no instance of parasitism was observed 

 during the investigations. The trees examined showed an average of 

 eight eggs and small larvae to each tree, this number being sufficient 

 to do serious damage. As a preventive, the trunks should be screened 

 with a cone-shaped piece of galvanised netting of j to | in. mesh 

 fitting closely or bound to the tree at the top and extended at the base 



