241 



Yeitch (R.). The Cane Beetle Borer in Australia. — Colonial Sugar 

 R-'fining Co., Ltd., Sydney, Agric. Rept. no. 3, December 1917, 

 15 pp., 1 plate. [Received 2nd April 1918.] 



Rhabdocnemis obscunis, Boisd. (cane beetle borer) was introduced 

 into Australia from New Guinea, and now threatens to become a 

 formidable pest in the cane districts of North Queensland. Details 

 of the habits and life-history and measures for the control of this weevil 

 are given [see this Review, Ser. A, v, p. 52]. The damage done is often 

 very severe and the losses due to it are generally under-estimated. 

 In badly infested districts there is very little sound tissue left in 

 the stalks, and in addition, chemical changes resulting in a reduced 

 sugar yield are set up in the tissues adjacent to the tunnels. Bored 

 cane is also liable to break and fall to the ground, where it becomes 

 further infested and rots rapidly. The extent of this damage depends 

 on the variety of cane, being much greater in the softer kinds. 



Damage due to R. obscunis must not be confused wntli that done 

 by the cane moth borer [Phragnrntiphila truncata], the larva of which 

 girdles the stalk in the region of the nodes, rendering it liable to 

 snap in the middle. It also attacks the green tops of mature cane 

 and young shoots, causing the green hearts of the latter to wither 

 and die. 



Brittain (W. H.). Two Important Vegetable Pests. — Nova, Scotia Coll. 

 Agric, Truro, Circ. no. 26, December 1917, 2 plates. [Received 

 2nd April 1918.) 



The moths dealt with in this circular are Gortyna micacea, Esp. 

 (potato stem borer), and Ceramica picta, Harr. (zebra caterpillar). 

 The former also attacks rhubarb, maize and sugar beet. Its present 

 prominence as a potato pest is due to the widespread cultivation of 

 potatoes on waste land formerly overgrown vdth. weeds. 



Ceramica picta (zebra caterpillar) is a periodic pest and only rarely 

 occurs in destructive numbers. Details of its life-history have already 

 been noticed [see this Review, Ser. A, i, p. 400]. Where cheap labour 

 is available and when the infestation is on a small scale, control by 

 handpicking and by destroying the leaves bearing eggs or newly 

 hatched caterpillars is the best method. In the case of large areas, 

 dusting with powdered calcium arsenate, lead arsenate, or Paris 

 green, diluted with 8-10 parts of hydrated lime, and applied by 

 means of a powder gun at a time when the larvae are young, gives 

 satisfactory results. 



Metcalf (C. L.). Syrphidae of Maine. Second Report : Life-History 

 Studies. — Maine Agric. Expt. Sta., Orono, Bull. no. 263, August 

 1917, pp. 153-176, 5 plates. [Received 3rd April 1918.] 



This bulletin discusses the life-history of several beneficial Syrphids, 

 all of which in the larval stage feed on Aphids. 



The species dealt with are Xanthogramma divisa. Will., larvae of 

 which were collected from choke cherry {Prunus virginiana) among 

 Aphis cerasifoliae, Fitch, from Cornus sp., feeding on A. cornifoliae. 

 Fitch, from poplar, among Chaitophorus popidicola, Thom., and from 

 willow infected with Plerocomma smithiae, Mor. ; SyrpJius oronoensis 



(C472) B 



