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511 



MosLEY (F. 0). Fungoid and Insect Pests and their Control. Part I, 

 Vegetable and Pulse Crops. 26 pp. Price Is. net. Illustrated. 

 Part II. Fruit Trees. 31 pp. Price 2s. 6c?. net. Illustrated. 

 — Published by the Author. Whernside, Basingstoke Road, 

 Reading. 



The first of these useful pamphlets is intended to provide a means 

 of easily recognising the more commonly occurring fungoid and 

 insect pests of vegetable crops, and to indicate concisely in each case 

 the most effective means of control and the stage in the life-history 

 of the insect at which control measures are most efficacious. The 

 importance of a suitable sprayer, promptitude in dealing with pests 

 at the first moment of their appearance and preventive measures 

 before the insects appear are indicated as essentials in success. A 

 very brief and concise description is given of each insect, its life-history, 

 the damage it does and the necessary measures for control. Illustrations 

 in colour are given of the various stages of each insect. 



The second pamphlet dealing with fruit-tree pests and diseases is 

 compiled on the same lines. The importance of avoiding overcrowding 

 in orchards is insisted upon. General measures that should be 

 practised in every orchard include a winter wash of caustic soda 

 appUed to the tree every three or four years and an application of 

 lime wash in the intervening years just before the buds expand. Trees 

 should be grease-banded from October to April, and immediately 

 the flowers have fallen sprays should be applied of combined lead 

 arsenate and Bordeaux mixture or sulphur, according to the varieties 

 to be sprayed. All new stock should be carefully examined before 

 being planted. Each pamphlet concludes with instructions for the 

 preparation of suitable sprays and washes. 



MuESEBECK (C. F. W.). Two Important Introduced Parasites of the 

 Brown-tail Moth. — •//. Agric. Research, Washington, D.C., xiv, 

 no. 5, 29th July 1918, pp. 191-206, 4 plates. 



A brief account is given of the fife-history of Nygmia ])haeorrhoea, 

 Don. {Ewproctis chrysorrhoea, L.), of which two important parasites, 

 Apanteles lacteicolor, Vier., and Meteor us versicolor. Wesm., are dealt 

 A\ith in this paper. Both of these are widely distributed in Europe, 

 and, upon their introduction into New England, spread so rapidly 

 that after the distribution of 150 colonies of the former and 20 of the 

 latter, no further colonisation has been necessary, both parasites 

 having been found practically throughout the entire brown-tail moth 

 area. 



Apanteles lacteicolor oviposits in first and second stage larvae of 

 N. phaeorrhoea in August, newly-hatched larvae being preferred. 

 Usually only one egg is placed in each larva, a single female parasitising 

 up to 300 larvae. The egg of A. lacteicolor hatches in about 3 days, 

 the larvae at first feeding very slowly. It has been observed that 

 when either of the parasites, Zijgohothria nidicola. Towns., or Meteorus 

 versicolor, were present with A. lacteicolor within the host larva, the 

 two former invariably died before mid -winter, evidently as the result 

 of some toxic action induced by the larvae of A. lacteicolor. In May, 

 when the larvae of N. phaeorrhoea resume feeding, the larvae of 



