135 



Davis (F. W.)- Eighth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Agri- 

 culture.— ^w.s^/«, Texas, 10th September 1915, 32 pp. [Received 

 23rd February 1916.] 



The most important insect pests met with during the year were :— 

 •Grape leaf-hopper {Typhlocyba couies), peach-tree borer {Anarsia 

 lineafeUa), species of Jassidae (leaf-hoppers) and Psyllidae (jumping 

 plant lice), Aphids, potato-tuber motli [Phthoriinaea operciilella), San 

 Jose scale {Aspidiohis perniciosus), grasshoppers and codling moth 

 {Cydia pomonetta). The methods of control of these insects are briefly 

 indicated. The efficiency of para- dichloro-benzene as an exterminator 

 of household insects and pests of stored grain is also being investigated. 



Barbey (A.). Biologie du Ceramhyx heros, Scop. [Biology of 

 Cerambyx hews, Scop.] — Bull. Soc. Vavdoise Sci. Nat., Lausanne, 

 1, no. 187, December 1915, pp. 021-635, 8 figs. [Received 19th 

 February 1916.] 



The Longicorn beetle, CeraDibyx heros, Scop., is distributed 

 through(nit Europe, although it is more abundant in the middle and 

 south of the continent than in the north, and is absent in northern 

 Russia. In the environs of Geneva, in Savoy and in Giessen, this 

 insect infests old oak-trees which border the main roads. The eggs 

 are deposited in wounds or cracks in the bark of the tree. Almost 

 the wdiole of the life-cycle, which occupies four years, is passed within 

 the Avoody tissues of the host. The direction of the larval galleries 

 is influenced by the vitality of the wood, the dimensions of the trunk 

 and the state of desiccation of the lignified tissue. When mature, 

 the larva approaches the exterior and bites a hole in the bark in 

 preparation for the emergence of the adult. Pupation takes place 

 in a special chamber formed at the end of a larval tunnel at a short 

 distance from the exterior. The pupal period apparently lasts for 

 several months and the emergence of the adult occurs in the spring. 

 The injury caused by the larva is rarely fatal to the tree, but has the 

 effect of seriously lowering the value of the timber. 



Memoria presentada al Congreso de la Naclon por el Ministro de 

 Agricultura Dr. Horacio Calder6n— 1913. [Report presented to 

 the Congress of the Nation by the Minister of Agriculture Dr. 

 Horacio Calderon for l^l?>.]~ Buenos Aires, 1915. 531 pp. 

 [Received 28th February 1916.] 



Aulacaspis penUiyona, Lepidosaplies sp., Saissetia sp., Aspidioius sp., 

 Chysomphahis sp., Psevdococcus sp., Chionaspis sp. and other insect 

 pests occurred on plants imported during the year. About 2,000,000 

 plants were inspected and 1,089,799 were fumigated in the disinfecting 

 chambers at the harbour. 



The control of Schistocerca pammnsis is dealt with, as well as that of 

 a species of locust locally known as " tucura," which has been known 

 for many years in the extreme south, mostly in uncultivated regions. 

 This species has now spread northwards and has injured lucerne, which 



