4G5 



S. zeae occurs at the same time as S. venatus, the food-plants and 

 habits being similar. It is quite possible for these weevils to be 

 carried considerable distances by water, their power of resistance to 

 drowning being very great, and in this way infestation may be 

 conveyed to fresh fields. S. costipennis and S. ochreus have also been 

 recorded in Minnesota, while S. parvulus occurs in Illinois. 



Methods of control are somewhat diiScult. Autumn and spring 

 ploughing is not practicable, as it would be almost impossible to 

 destroy all the sedge, while the weevils are capable of emerging from 

 a depth of 14 inches of earth. Maize should be planted at least 10 days 

 after the adults emerge in spring, as the greatest damage is done 

 before the mating season. It is noticed that a year of high water will 

 produce many bill-bugs in the follo^\^lng spring ; drainage would 

 therefore be a help if not too expensive. It is not known what control 

 may be exercised by parasites. Broken ears of maize soaked in 

 arsenical poison and scattered over the field when the weevils first 

 appear is suggested as a possible control. 



Washburn (F. L.). Further Observations on Minnesota Birds; their 

 Economic Relations to the Agriculturist. — Sixteenth Rept. Minnesota 

 State Entomologist for 1915 and 1916, St. Anthony Park, Ist 

 December 1916, pp. 160-183. [Received 7th August 1917.] 



This further account of Minnesota birds deals with 24 insectivorous 

 species of economic value [see also this Review, Ser. A, iii, p. 161]. 

 Each species is well illustrated. 



Milliken(F. B.). Methods of Controlling Grasshoppers. — Kansas State 

 Agric. Coll. Expt. Sta., Manhattan, Bull. no. 215, November 1916, 

 30 pp., 19 figs. [Received 7th August 1917.] 



This paper gives the usual controls against grasshoppers, together 

 with notes on their life-history. 



Chittenden (F. H.) & Howard (N. F.). The Horse-Radish Flea- 

 Beetle : Its Life-History and Distribution.— ?7.>S. Dept. Agric, 

 Wushirigton, DC, Bull. no. 535, 28th June 1917, 16 pp., 6 figs. 

 [Received 7th August 1917.] 



Ph/lloirela armoraciae, Koch {Haltica vittata, Steph.) has been 

 introduced into the U.S.A. from Europe. The larvae bore into the 

 petioles or midrib of horse-radish and the adults feed on the leaves. 

 Hibernation occurs in the adult stage, the beetles emerging in April 

 and May. "While only attacking horse-radish as yet, this beetle is a 

 potential pest of more important cruciferous crops. No natural 

 enemies have been, observed. Bordeaux mixture, applied on the first 

 appearance of the ij. ^ct, will act as a repellent ; arsenate of lead used 

 later should be an efficient control. New beds should be far removed 

 from old, infested ones ; all self-sown plants should be destroyed. 



(C399) O 



