583 



case of the genus Praon, which attacks the larger Aphids. The larva 

 of this genus constructs a tent-like cocoon beneath the body of its 

 host for a pupation chamber. The body of the host having been 

 rent ventraljy, the emerging larva spins a cocoon in the space formed 

 by the long legs of the Aphid host between its body and the leaf. 

 The adults emerges in about seven days from the time the larva begins 

 to spin itself in. 



Crosby (C. R.) & Leonaed (M. D.). An Egg Parasite of the Sumac 

 Flea-beetle. — Entotn. Neivs, Philadelphia, xxviii, no. 8, October 

 1917, p. 368, 2 figs. 



Tetrastichus ovijyransus, sp. n., a Hymenopterous parasite reared 

 from the eggs of BJepharida rhois, Forst. (sumac flea-beetle) is described. 



De BussY (L. P.). Lasioderma in Deli en zijn Bestrijding. \Lasio- 

 derma in Deli and Methods of combating it.] — Meded. Deli 

 Proefstation, Medari, x, no. 6, July 1917, pp. 129-160, 1 plate. 

 [Received 27th October 1917.] 



In order to cope with Lasioderma serncorne in Sumatra not only 

 must imported tobacco be dealt with, but the planters must carry out 

 the instructions repeatedly issued by the Deli Experiment Station. 



At the present time large quantities of baled tobacco, which cannot 

 be shipped, are stored in every plantation, and all cigars, cigarettes, 

 etc., brought there must be very carefully examined, all instances of 

 infestation being reported for " blacklisting," if necessary [see this 

 Revieic, Ser. A, v, p. 41]. The fumigation of all imported tobacco with 

 a vacuum apparatus and carbon bisulphide will entail many difficulties, 

 including the complete removal of all traces of the bisulphide and the 

 subsequent sealing of the packages, as these operations must be done by 

 trained men, the cost of whom will have to be borne by the consumers. 

 Furthermore, while cured tobacco is the favourite food of L. serricorne, 

 a large number of other substances are also attacked and would require 

 to be fumigated on importation. Experiments with a large number of 

 likely food-stuffs showed that L. serricorne multiplies rapidly in the 

 following : Chinese bread, caraway seed, Vigna catjang, coriander 

 seed, Glycine soja, maize, rice (unshelled, shelled, or cooked with 

 sugar), rice husks, Diospgros horsfieldi (both fruit and seed), wheat 

 flour, and the dried fruits of tempajang. Before these food-stuffs are 

 stored on plantations they ought to be inspected. 



In Deli the complete life-cycle of L. serricorne appears to take from 

 six to nine weeks ; within a bale of fermenting tobacco the period may 

 be shorter. Temperatures even over 122° F. do not hinder development. 

 Most fermenting sheds are free from Lasioderma. when the new tobacco 

 is brought in. Female beetles attracted by the smell of the tobacco 

 oviposit there, but when the new piles (known as A-piles) are broken 

 up and re-made most of the eggs are destroyed ; this also occurs in 

 the case of the re-made piles (B) and in those (C) again formed from 

 the latter. It is only in the still older D-piles that L. serricorne can 

 develop undisturbed. The resultant beetles mate, but the bulk of 

 their progeny perish when the tobacco is sorted. The few that remain 

 multiply in the piles of sorted-out tobacco and the injury then begins. 

 Great watchfulness is therefore needed when the early piles are being 



