118 



As soon as a furrow was plowed and the fertilizer and seed distributed, 

 the crickets started in the furrow on a mission of despoliation. 



This mole cricket is common to South America and the Gulf region. 

 It was first described by Scudder " in 1869 from Pernambueo, Brazil. 

 From all other species of its genus that were known at that time, also 

 inhabitants of South and Central America, this is distinguished by 

 its very short tegmina or outer wings, hence the name ahhrevlatus. 

 Its general appearance is shown, enlarged, at ligure 5, a, b, for com- 

 parison with the Porto Rico form (tig. I). It is one of the darker 

 species, the thorax being brownisli fuscous and ornamented with paler 

 fulvous about as shown in the illustration. It is somewhat ^'ariable 

 in length, but appears to average about an inch. 



As to remedies, it seems probable that those which have been found 

 most successful against the Porto Rican mole cricket are applicable, 

 with the possible exception of lights, as the short-winged species is 

 incapable of flight. A mixture of cotton-seed meal and Paris green 

 was tried by Mr. McCrory, which checked the insects somewhat but 

 not sufficiently to stop their depredations. 



The minute false chinch bug {N^(/-'^itis mdnutus Uhl.) — July 12, 

 1902, Mr. W. K. Winterhalter, Rockyford, Colo., wrote that this 

 species destroyed almost half of the beet-seed crop of the com- 

 pany of which he is agricultural superintendent, during 1901; the 

 injury being accomplished b}" the insect sapping the green seed, which 

 in consequence dried up and became black before maturity. In 1902 

 this same pest bred in seed-beet fields, but the precaution had been 

 taken of planting a few rounds of yellow mustard as a trap crop, 

 which proved excellent, as all of the bugs lived on the mustard until 

 it was entirely gone. After this, however, they turned to the beet 

 seed, and at the time of writing were doing tremendous damage. The 

 only drawback to the mustard is that it becomes a weed as soon as the 

 seed drops on the ground. 



Mr. D. V. Burrell, of the same locality, reported similar injury due 

 to this insect, stating that it was found in large numbers the previous 

 season on table beets grown for seed; but after flooding the part that 

 was attacked thoroughly, and repeating in two days, he found that all 

 the insects left the field. 



A NEW PLANT-BUG ENEMY TO TOMATO AND LETTUCE. —September 6, 



1900, Mr. Samuel Clitf, Creston, Cal., sent specimens of a plant-bug, 

 Ooriztcs hyalinus Fab., in ditfereut stages, with report that the insect 

 was very destructive to tomato and lettuce in that vicinity. The 

 material received included samples of the tomato plants that had 

 been killed down and leaves of lettuce-seed stalk that the insects were 

 working upon. There is little doubt that our correspondent is correct 



« Revision of the large, stylated, fossorial crickets, 1st Memoir Peabody Academy 

 of Science, Salem, Mass., pp. 14, 15, PI. I, figs. 8-20. 



