522 



To control this pest, a system of clean cultivation should be practised 

 and all weeds should be kept down until about the end of June. A 

 spray consisting of Black Leaf 40, 1 part in 800 of water, with 2 lb. soap 

 to every 40 gals., should be applied when the nymphs are sufficiently 

 abundant. This treatment may be repeated after an interval of two 

 weeks. 



Strickland (E. H.). The Army Cutworm in Southern Alberta. — Mh 

 Ann. Rept. Entom. Soc. Ontario, 1915, Toronto, 1916, pp. 93-97. 

 [Received 10th October 1916.] 



An outbreak of Euxoa auxiliaris occm'red during 1915 over a con- 

 siderable area in southern Alberta. Investigations into the habits and 

 life-history of this cutworm show that the eggs are deposited in 

 September and October in the soil of weed-infested fields. Hatching 

 takes place in autumn and the immature larvae hibernate in the soil. 

 Activity is resumed in spring ; during 1915, larvae were first observed 

 on 7th April and were abundant three days later. The food-plants 

 include practically all weeds, as well as field and garden crops. In one 

 instance the bark of young twigs of Manitoba maples was attacked. 

 When food is plentiful, the larvae remain in the soil during the daytime, 

 emerging to feed at dusk. In cases of scarcity of food, migration 

 occurs mainly at night. The direction of migration w^as found to be 

 towards the north-west, i.e., away from the sun. The marching habit 

 was assumed during the daytime only under stress of severe hunger. 

 Pupation takes place in earthen cells. Adults appear from the middle 

 of June until the end of September or the beginning of October. The 

 reactions to light are similar to those exhibited by the larvae. The 

 direction of flight is more or less to the north. Aestivation may occur 

 during the hottest part of the summer. Adults are attracted to a slight 

 degree by artificial light in houses, but light-traps in the field have 

 proved useless as a method of control. The larvae, however, are easily 

 destroyed by the use of a poisoned bait, consisting either of shorts 

 sweetened with beet molasses or green vegetation poisoned with Paris 

 green. Where the larvae are observed to be abundant in fields w^hich 

 are being prepared for sowing, all weeds should be removed from the 

 fields and a poisoned furrow prepared round them. The absence of 

 food before the germination of the seed will cause a migration to the 

 furrow. In the discussion following the paper, it was stated that fruit 

 juice does not appear to increase the attractiveness of poisoned bait. 

 The habit of ovipositing in the soil is said to be peculiar to southern 

 Alberta. In British Columbia, the eggs of cutworms are deposited 

 on leaves of various plants or on stems of trees, and not in the soil. 



Fernald (H. T.). Life Zones in Entomology and their Relation ta 



Crops. — 16th Ann. Rept. Entom. Soc. Ontario, 1915, Toronto, 1916, 



pp. 97-101. [Received 10th November 1916.] 



North America may be divided into Tropical, Austral and Boreal 



zones, Canada lying almost entirely within the last-named, the southern 



portion only being included in the Upper Austral zone. The three 



zones differ in their flora and fauna. The elm-leaf beetle [Galerucella 



luteola], introduced into Baltimore about seventy-five years ago, has 



