297 



about 19 days. The young larvae begin to feed at once and generally 

 moult eight times before attaining the adult stage. Both larvae and 

 adults are cannibals, the earlier-hatched ones devouring later hatching 

 or weaker larvae and eggs. About a year is required for the full 

 development of a generation. 



No true parasites have been found, but predaceous enemies include 

 native birds, the most efficient being Butorides virescens cubanus 

 (Cuban green heron) and Falco sparverius loquacula (Porto-Rican 

 sparrow hawk), the little blue heron, the tick bird and the rain bird. 

 These are all useful in St. Lucia, while in St. Vincent Buteo antillarum 

 (chicken hawk) feeds largely on mole-crickets. Fowls are helpful on 

 land that is being cultivated, and pigs also eat the crickets. 



Preventive measures include ^Tapping the roots of seedlings in 

 leaves of Mammea americana, or, if this is unobtainable, in cylinders 

 of tin, heavy paper or wire. These devices are expensive and are 

 only used for valuable plants. Repellents include flowers of sulphur 

 and flake naphthaline, but these are not effective in heavy infestations. 

 Remedial measures include ploughing, trap-lights, which are lighted 

 mitil 10 p.m. in October, November and December, and flooding 

 of the fields so that nymphs and adults come to the surface of the 

 water, where they are generally devoured by such birds as the heron. 

 The most successful control for small areas is a poison-bait of Paris 

 green and flour [see this Review, Ser. A, iii, p. 585]. 



Hood (J. D.). A New Physothrips from Western Africa (Thysanoptera). 



— Insecutor Inscitiae Menstruus. Washinglon, D.C., vi, nos. 4-6, 

 April-June 1918, p. 116. 



Physothrips ventrnlis, sp. n., is described from numerous specimens 

 of both sexes collected from a large variety of flowers in Southern 

 Nigeria. 



Back (E. A.) & Pemberton (C. E.). The Melon Fly. —U.S. Dept. 

 Agric, Washington, B.C., Bull. no. 613, 8th March 1918, 

 32 pp. 23 figs. 



This bulletin, dealing with Dacus [Bactrocera) cucurbitae (melon fly), 

 is a revision of an earlier one [see this Revieiv, Ser. A, v, p. 448]. 

 Although not yet present in the United States, this fly would do 

 untold damage there if once it became established, and the measures 

 taken to prevent its introduction are described. 



Back (E. A.) & Pemberton (C. E.). The Mediterranean Fruit Fly.— 

 U.S. Dept. Agric, Washington, B.C., Bull. no. 640, 8th April 

 1918, 43 pp., 33 figs. 



This bulletin has been compiled to give a clear conception of the 

 difficult problem that has arisen from the introduction of Ceratitis 

 capitata, Wied. (Mediterranean fruit fly) into the Hawaiian islands. 

 The co-operation of all fruit-growers of the United States is required 

 in order to keep out this pest. The bulletin gives in concentrated 

 form information that has already appeared in a more extensive 

 paper [see this Review, Ser. A, vi, p. 184]. 



