44 



Theobald (F. V.). Notes on new and little-known British Aphides. — 

 Entomologist, London, no. 631, December 1915, pp. 274-275. 



MacrosipJiimi Imnii, sp. n., found among the flowers and under the 

 leaves of Lamium purpureum, at Wye, Kent, in June 1914, and 

 Kaltenbachiella menthae, Schouteden, which produces a flocculent 

 white substance on the roots of Mentha aquatica, are described. 



Alfaro (A.). La invasion de langosta. [The locust invasion.] — 

 Reprint from Revista de Educacion, San Jose de Costa Rica, 

 October 1915, 7 pp. [Received 7th December 1915.] 



This paper briefly refers to locust invasions in Costa Rica since 1659. 

 Schistocerca paranensis was the species concerned in 1915. An instance 

 is given of its cannibalistic habits. Poisoning with arsenicals is the 

 method advised and the following formula is given : White arsenic in 

 powder, 4 lb., and caustic soda, 1 lb., boiled in 40 gallons of water for 

 ten minutes. 



r d'HERELLE (F.). La campagne contre les sauterelles en Tunisie en 



1915. [The campaign against locusts in Tunisia in 1915.] — Bull. 

 Soc. Path. Exot., Paris, viii, no. 9, 10th November 1915, pp. 629- 

 633. [Received 4th December 1915.] 



The locust invasion of 1915, which threatened to be disastrous in 

 Tunisia, was completely controlled by the mechanical and biological 

 measures taken by the Government, the damage done being insig- 

 nificant, except in a few vineyards in the north which had already 

 suffered from mildew. An area of about 36,000 square miles was 

 involved, and owing to the mobilisation, the author had to carry out 

 the work without an assistant. He decided to start from the Saharan 

 frontier at the end of April when the first swarms were hatching out 

 there, and to work his way northward, infecting a few swarms in each 

 district until reaching the coast, where hatching occurs in July. This 

 system protected the largest number of crops, though it involved the 

 abandonment of the method of infecting all the swarms in a given 

 district, which would have impressed the authorities more. Crops 

 which were directly menaced were saved by mechanical methods, as the 

 effect of the epizootic is not sufiiciently rapid to be of use in such cases. 

 In each district a centre was chosen, where the travelling laboratory 

 was established and from which the disease was spread radially, 

 valleys being usually followed for the purpose. By consulting a map 

 on which were marked all the locust columns reported, the author 

 was able to judge which columns were most lilcely to split up owing 

 to the configuration of the ground. He thus hoped to spread the 

 disease with a minimum number of infections. He covered over 

 1,800 miles in looking for the locusts and about 400 colunms were 

 infected. In certain cases the mortality was so high and so sudden 

 that the natives reported it to the authorities. Although the author 

 was unable to remain sufficiently long at one spot to observe the results, 

 he was able on several occasions to see the effects of a distant infection 

 transmitted to locusts which had passed the infected area. 



