B. C. ENTOMOLOGICAL PROCEEDINGS, 1912. 33 



whether the San Jose scale and the codling moth were present in the 

 Garden of Eden, history is silent, though some cynic has suggested that 

 Eve presented the historic apple to Adam because she found a worm 

 in it. However that may be, away back 1500 years before the Christian 

 era, we hear of the ancient land of Egypt undergoing a succession of 

 plagues, not the least trying among them, being those due to insects. 

 Several centuries later the prophet Joel makes this pensive complaint: 

 "That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten, and 

 that which the locust hath left hath the canker worm eaten, and that 

 which the canker worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten." 



Insect pests at the present time levy a heavy tax upon the farmer 

 and horticulturist. Aside from the injuries they do our crops, they are 

 harmful in numerous other ways. Scarcely a single product of man's 

 activity — from lead pipes to tobacco — is immune from their ravages. 

 In summer they transform the quiet woodland places into veritable 

 torture chambers, and as carriers of disease they have justly acquired 

 an evil reputation. Even in these days man's own person is liable to be 

 invaded by several disgusting pests. 



It is therefore a relief to turn from this gloomy picture and consider 

 insects in another relation — that of man's friend and all). 



Of all the beneficial insects, the parasitic and predaceous forms are 

 probably the most important. Those of you who have had experience in 

 rearing insects realize to what an extent natural parasitism occurs, and 

 those with practical orchard training are well aware of the important 

 part played by Lady Bird beetles in keeping down plant lice. It has 

 been said, and we have no reason to doubt it, that if it were not for 

 the insectivorous birds the world in three years' time would be con- 

 verted into a howling wilderness. However true this may be, it is 

 certainly a fact that if it were not for the work of insect allies, all 

 vegetation would soon be destroyed by the countless hordes of injurious 

 forms, kept in check at present, by these silent but effective friends of 

 mankind. The terrible depredations of the Gypsy and Brown Tail 

 Moths in the Eastern States is evidence of how an insect, of compara- 

 tively little importance in its native home, may become a serious scourge 

 when removed from the attentions of its own peculiar parasites. 



The Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Cnleoptera, Diptera, 

 Hymenoptera and a few other orders contain parasitic or predaceous 

 forms. Among the Hemiptera the Masked Bedbug Hunter ( Ops'icaetus 

 personatus) is of service in destroying bedbugs and other injurious 

 insects. In the Neuroptera the members of the order Chrysopidae 

 (aphis lions) are probably best known. The order Lepidoptera con- 

 tains only a few — Feneseca tarquinius. the larva of wiu'ch feeds upon 



