290 



Douglas fir. B. gibbsi, Lee, on oak, B. conjiuens, Say, on poplars, 

 and B. connexa, Horn, on alpine trees such as western yellow pine, 

 are rarely found. 



Fulton (B. B.)- Observations on the Life-history and Habits of Pilo- 

 phorus walsJii, Uhler. — Ann. Entom. Soc. America, Columbus, Ohio, 

 xi, no. 1, March 1918, pp. 93-96. 



The Capsid bug, PilopJiorus walshi, Uhler, was observed in large 

 numbers in a neglected apple orchard near Geneva, New York. This 

 species bears a close resemblance to a large black ant and also to 

 the nymphs of the Jassid, Idiocerus provancheri, Van Diizee, both of 

 which are commonly found on the same trees. The first individuals 

 were found on 5th July, the oldest being then in the 3rd instar. By 

 mid-July all stages of the insect were present, probably owing to a 

 prolonged hatching period. Early in August the greater proportion 

 were adults, and by mid-September they had disappeared entirely from 

 the trees. 



It was found that Aphids constitute one of the chief sources of 

 food of this bug, both adults and nymphs being predaceous on them ; 

 they occasionally suck the juice from a leaf or stem, though no injury 

 could be detected either to foliage or fruit. It is probable that scale- 

 insects are attacked as well as Aphids, but this is not proved. Experi- 

 ments with nymphs and adults upon Aphid-infested shoots of Spiraea 

 show that P. ivalshi, if present in sufficient numbers, might be an 

 important factor in holding in check the natural rapid increase of 

 these pests. 



Packard (C. M.). The Hessian Fly in California.— M«;j?/. Bull. Cal 

 State Commiss. Hortic, Sacramento, vii, no. 4, April 1918, 

 pp. 174-177, 1 fig 



Mayetiola destructor, Say (Hessian fly) causes a loss of many thousand 

 dollars annually to wheat-growers in the San Francisco Bay and coastal 

 counties of California, many crops being reduced by from 5 to 50 

 per cent. Many farmers do not recognise the presence of this pest, 

 and they are instructed to look for the pupal cases, knowni as " flax- 

 seeds,'' and the maggots, which are found between the leaf -sheaths 

 and the stem, just above the plant-crown in young wheat and in 

 more mature wheat just above the joints as well. Injured plants 

 are easily recognised by their dark green appearance and by the 

 absence of central shoot or bud ; these plants should be pulled up 

 at once. It is during late winter and early spring that the injury 

 is done to young wheat by the growing larvae, which hatch on the 

 leaves and crawl down between the leaf- sheath and stem to the joint 

 where the " flaxseed " is formed. Summer is passed in this form 

 in the stubble. Practices recommended for controlling the pest 

 include rotation of crops, the planting of wheat or barley in two 

 successive years being avoided ; early planting (about 1st December), 

 so that the plants may have a vigorous growth before attacks by the 

 flies begin ; and summer cultivation of the stubble. Disking will 

 loosen the stubble and break it down and the use of a spike-tooth 

 harrow after disking will pull the plant-crowns out upoA the surface, 



