848 Pomona College Journal op Entomology 



ALFALFA WEEVIL 



In the Monthly Bulletin of Ilortieiiltiire, G. E. JMerrill presents an inter- 

 esting paper on the Alfalfa Weevil (jjliijtoiioiiiu.s posticus). 



He says: "It passes through four eoiiiplete nietaniorphoses. The eggs 

 are small, oval in shape and when first laid are lemon yellow in color. The 

 eggs average ten in number, are usually laid in the spring. The hatching 

 season varies eonsiderahly. When first hatched, the larva feeds on the inner 

 part of the stem in which it hatches, and in a few days works its way out and 

 finds a leaf bud, upon which it feeds and grows. 



"In cold weather the weevil seeks to hide under all kinds of trash that 

 might be found in the field. In warm weather they become active, mate, and 

 begin their work. 



"They spread by means of crawling, flying, wind, freight cars, wagons, 

 etc. Most of the state of Utah is infested with this weevil, and they are making 

 different experiments to do away with the pest. The best method so far is 

 to cultivate the field after each cutting with a spring tooth harrow' with a 

 wire brush attachment. 



"California is protected from the pest to some extent by the high moun- 

 tains and the quarantine law, but to make sure of the protection it is up to 

 every grower to keep a keen outlook for the pest and when he discovers some- 

 thing that is destroying his alfalfa he should notify someone whose business 

 it is to look into the case." 



C. A. Perrin. 



THE ACTIVITY OF PROSPALTELLA BERLESEI HOWARD AGAINST 

 DIA8PIS PENTAGON A TARG. IN ITALY 



(Translated into English by L. 0. Howard in the August, 1912, Journal of 



Economic Entomology) 



In Italy the white scale of the nuilberry {Diaspis pentagona Targ.) has 

 spread very rapidly and done great damage since its apparent introduction 

 from Japan prior to May 10, 1886. In 1891 the government, by law, enforced 

 the scraping and pruning of trunks and branches of the trees, as well as 

 spraying with insecticides, but the treatment, with extended use, proved vain. 



Prof. Berlese in 1906 introduced I'rospaltella berlesei How., parasitic in 

 America on Diaspis amygdali, into the region about Milan. The same parasite 

 was subsequently brought in small numbers from Japan. With the spread of 

 Prospaltella in these localities and the consequent reduction of Diaspis, 

 branches from parasitized trees were distributed throughout the uudberry 

 regions of the country. 



The effectiveness of Prospaltella is attributed to the facts that it is migra- 

 tory through flight, that it seduously searches out and oviposits in the par- 

 thenogenetic female of Diaspis, and that it is itself parthenogenetic and very 

 prolific, hatching four or five generations a year. Because of these charac- 

 teristics it is waging so effective a warfare on the white mulberry scale that 

 Prof. Berlese predicts the early extermination of the latter from Italy. 



Wm. Brewster. 



