57 



by this pest was noticed on a large plot of uncultivated land, the 

 number of caterpillars in May, when the author visited the particular 

 estate, being very great ; as the caterpillars live in the upper strata 

 of the soil, and, when pupating, attach the upper ends of their web 

 bags to the entrance to their hole, practically at the surface, the 

 burning of straw appeared to be a practicable remedy, but in order 

 to be effective, the layer of straw ought to have a thickness of about 

 from 3 to 3| feet ; 21 inches of straw had no effect. Entomoscelis 

 adonidis appeared in some parts of the government, doing, however, 

 no damage, as no rape, to which it is particularly dangerous, was 

 being cultivated in these localities ; the beetle fed mostly on Thymus 

 tnarscfiallianus, the economic importance of which is not great, and 

 on some wild Cruciferae, thus proving even useful in clearing the fields 

 of these weeds. Phlydaenodes sticticalis, L. was present, but no 

 damage to cultivated plants was reported. 



The following Lepidopterous pests appeared in orchards : Ewproctis 

 chrysorrhoea, Malacosoma neustria, Hyponomeuta malinellus, H. varia- 

 bilis, Cydia pomonella, etc. It is reported that Eulecanium robiniarum, 

 Dough, is again increasing ; this was a serious pest in previous years, 

 but the larvae were almost totally destroyed in 1912 by a sudden 

 " silver thaw " in October when the leaves were still on the trees. 



Borodin (D. N.). MaccoBoe noneneHie nmeHMMHaro KOiwapnKa B-b 

 1914 rony. [An onthieakoi Contariniatritici, Kiihy, in IdH.] 

 « Xo3flilCTBO.» [Husbandry], Kiev, nos. 43-44, 26th November 

 1915, pp. 1022-1029. 



Contarinia tritici, Kirby, has not been previously reported as a pest of 

 grain in Russia, the dependence of this Cecidomyicl fly on meteorological 

 conditions and the great activity of its parasites being probably largely 

 responsible for the small attention paid to it. In the government of 

 Poltava, it was first noticed in 1912, and again in 1913, when it did 

 very little damage, but in 1914 it occurred in great numbers both in 

 that government and in some of the neighbouring ones. The insects 

 were on the wing between 22nd May and 2nd June, when oviposition 

 took place ; the first larvae were reported on 17th June and appeared 

 in large numbers on and about the 25th June ; they entered the earth 

 about 3rd July. Some experiments with the larvae confirmed the fact 

 that damp, and perhaps rain only, may have an influence on the time 

 at which the larvae enter the earth ; in dry weather, pupation may be 

 delayed and the larvae remain longer in the ears of grain. The following 

 parasites were reared from the puparia of this pest : Geniocerus 

 brevicornis, Nees, G. clavicornis, Thoms., and Geniocerus sp. The author 

 gives also a list of the parasites recorded by Kirby, Marchal, Webster 

 and other authors. A comparative table showing the results of 

 infestation by some of the chief pests of grain are given. The loss in 

 the weight of grains of the infested plants and the loss in the weight 

 of the harvest, if 10 per cent, of the plants are infested, being respec- 

 tively 5 per cent, and 0*5 per cent, for the saw-fly, Pachynematus 

 clitellatus, Lep. ; 10 per cent, and 14 per cent, for Isosoma ; 40 per cent, 

 and 1 per cent, for the Hessian fly {Mayetiola destructor) ; and 

 50 per cent, and 5 per cent, for Chhrops taeniopus, Meig. All these 

 pests attack the stems, and as they interfere with the vigour of the 



(C238) B 



