319 



salivary liquid that coats over the whole body and to which particles 

 of excrement adhere and provide a protection against desiccation. 

 Larvae of Sciam militaris and other species of this genus are frequently- 

 found clustered so close together as to form a solid mass covered by 

 a salivary secretion. By this means the surface of evaporation is 

 considerably decreased and the larvae escape desiccation in spite of a 

 particularly thin cuticle. Larvae of Forcipomyia corticis, and other 

 Ceratopogonids that generally live under the bark of more or less 

 diseased trees, have special hairs on the body that are particularly 

 sensitive to moisture in the air, which condenses on them in small 

 drops. The larvae of certain Tipulids possess hypodermic glands that 

 secrete an oily substance, which forms a coating over the fine hairs 

 covering the body and produces a characteristic iridescent appearance. 

 This protects them at the same time from sudden submersion in a too 

 liquid environment and from desiccation by too rapid evaporation. 

 This is the case with Epiphragma ocellaris, which constructs galleries 

 in dead and dried wood. The larvae of aphidivorous S}Tphids, which 

 live on the plants and are often exposed to a hot sun, are protected 

 by an abundant salivary secretion that covers the larvae and helps 

 them not only to cling to the plant, but to capture their prey. 



Feytaud (J.). Le Ver des Pommes {Carpocapsa pomoneUa, Linn6.) 

 [Codling Moth, 6'?/f/«'rt pomoneUa, L.]. — Progres Agric. Vitic, Mont- 

 pellier, xxxv, no. 13, 31st March 1918, pp. 299-304. 



This paper gives a popular account of the biology of Cydia pomoneUa 

 (codling moth), the nature and extent of the injuries it inflicts and 

 the methods of control that have proved most successful. The cost 

 of treatment with lead arsenate spray is discussed and the relative 

 values of treated and untreated crops are compared. While the 

 profits accruing from unsprayed trees are so small as to be hardly 

 w^orth considering, the net profit per tree sprayed once on the 8th May 

 proved to be 9s. , on those sprayed once on the 26th May it was 2s. 6d 

 per tree, and on those treated on both of these dates it was 13s. per tree. 



Feytaud (J.). Notes sur la Pieride du Chou. [Notes on the Cabbage 

 Butterflv.] — Bull Soc. Etude Vulg. Zool. Agric, Bordeaux, xvii, 

 no. 5, May 1918, pp. 33-38. 



During a serious infestation of Pieris brassicae, L. (cabbage butter- 

 fly) in the south of France in October 1917, the author made some 

 tests of the control measures generally recommended. Dusting the 

 caterpillars heavily with ordinary flour seemed to have no effect upon 

 them ; wood ash or quick-lime used in the same way were also without 

 effect, but in the open, w^th the dew falling, they gave good results, 

 more than half the caterpillars dying. Hot water tests were also made. 

 Water at 122° to 131° F. is known to kill the larvae, but this is difficult 

 to apply without the necessary apparatus. The addition to the 

 water of a small quantity (1 per cent.) of black soap or white oHve-oil 

 soap greatly increased its efficacy ; almost all the caterpillars were 

 killed with this spray, maintained at a temperature of 122° F. for 

 5 seconds. The action of these hot soap solutions on the plants 

 remains to be investigated. When the plants are treated a month 

 or so before maturity, or in young plantations, it would be much 



