378 



MossEEi (V.). Coup d'oeil r6trospectif suria Culture du Tabac en Egypte. 



[A retrospective Glance at Tobacco Cultivation in Egypt.] — Bull. 

 Union Agriculteurs d' Egypte, Cairo, no. 119, March- May 1917, 

 pp. 53-54. [Received 28tli June 1917.] 



Tobacco foliage in Egypt is often destroyed by the larvae of Prodenia 

 litura (cotton worm), which does so much damage to the leaves of 

 cotton plants, though this insect can never be a serious enemy to 

 tobacco, as the latter is a winter crop maturing in April and May, 

 before the destructive generation of this moth has appeared. This 

 is not the case with Agrotis ypsilon, which is most active and dangerous 

 during the growth of the tobacco crop. As however Egyptian tobacco 

 is not grown for cigars, for which purpose every leaf must be without 

 spot or perforation, the attacks of these insects merely reduce the 

 total weight of the crop, without lowering its market value. 



The Mango Hopper. — Planters' Chronicle, Bangalore, xii, no. 22, 

 2nd June 1917, pp. 280-283. 



The mango hopper [Idiocerus sp.] in certain years causes extensive 

 damage to mango trees in Southern India. The eggs are laid singly 

 in slits on the shoots and leaves, and the young reach maturity in 

 about 10 days. Both young and adult swarm on the tender parts 

 of the tree and drain the tree-sap from the young shoots and flower 

 stalks, causing the flower buds to wither. The leaves and the ground 

 beneath the tree become covered by a sweet, sticky juice, which 

 attracts thousands of flies, bees and other insects. Mechanical control 

 by means of trapping is impracticable owing to the size of the trees, 

 but early morning spraying with an insecticide every 10 or 12 days 

 from the first appearance of the flower-shoots has proved very effective. 

 The solution used consisted of 1 lb. of fish oil resin soap in 10 gals. 

 of cold water, applied ^^dth a knapsack sprayer. 



Hardenberg (C. B.). South African Bagworms : their Transforma- 

 tions, Life-History, and Economic Importance. Part 1. — Separate 

 from Annals of the Natal Museum, Lotidon, iii, no. 3, May 1917, 

 pp. 619-686, 6 figs., 3 plates. [Received 25th June 1917.] 



The bagworms, of which some 24 species are known in S. Africa, 

 belong to the families Psychidae, Cossidae and Tineidae. The 

 most important is the Psychid, ChaJioides {Acantho psyche) junodi, 

 which causes great damage to plantations of Acacia, mollissima (black 

 wattle). Fifteen years ago its native host- plants were the thorn 

 bushes consisting of various species of Acacia, which, together with 

 five other species, it has quite deserted in favour of the black wattle. 

 Thus there is the fear that the other species which feed on wattle 

 occasionally, or on vegetation in or near the plantations, may in the 

 near future also develop a preference for this tree. 



The fecundity of the females, most of which are wingless, is very 

 great, the female of C. junodi having been known to lay 3,000 eggs. 

 The incubation period is as long as two months and there is only one 

 generation a year. The young larvae on hatching out are passively 

 distributed during the first instar, chiefly by the wind, heavy storms 

 bemg an almost daily occurrence during the hatching period from the 



