24 PROTECTION OF PLANTS — 1924-25 



6. South Eastern Region: — 



In this region there is only one entomological institution, namely, the Astrakhan Entomolo- 

 gical Station. 



The region of Astrakhan, where the cultivation of gardens, vineyards and orchards has been 

 greatly developed, has always suffered greatly from many different pests. This loss attracted the 

 attention of the Astrakhan Society of Gardening, and ever since the Society was founded, at its 

 request entomological specialists were often sent to the province from the Ministry of Agriculture 

 for the purpose of studjdng local insect pests, and finding the most rational means of destroying 

 them. But usually the entomologists could not remain long in the province, consequently they 

 could not devise efficient control methods for the agricultural pests, Therefore, in 1907, the Society 

 asked the Department of Agriculture to estabhsh a permanent Entomological Station in connec- 

 tion with the Society, which began to work systematically in January 1912. (1) 



The first two years of the work of the station coincided with the appeai;ance of hordes of Phly- 

 ctaenodes sticticalis and locusts. The station took an active part in destroying these insects,and 

 began the application of the chemical method of spraying on a large scale. The work of the sta- 

 tion during those two years was of a purely practical character, and very little time was left for 

 making observations on other pests, or for getting acquainted with the general condition of the 

 province. The personal staff performed this useful work in different districts of the province and 

 by the end of the third year, observations were finished and the pests of the province were more or 

 less known. Besides, the station had by this time become acquainted with the local conditions, 

 a.nd knew the proper measures for destroying the insects in every part of the province. The work 

 of the station was mostly concentrated upon the pests that injure vineyards, orchards and gardens. 

 At the same time some attention was paid to the pests found in fields. First of all were studied 

 those pests which did considerable harm, but which were unknown in entomological literature. 

 Such pests were: 1. Pests of mustard ; 2. Birtonhirtarius; 3. Galerucella fenella L, a. pest of straw- 

 berries; 1 Caterpillars of TaKs ^uerccifa Schiff, found in the steppes in the district of Zare . ; and 

 others. 



7. Stavropol Entomological Bureau: — 



The principal reason why the Stavropol Entomological Bureau was founded was the huge lose 

 caused to the province of Stavropol by hordes of locusts, the chief of which were the Dociostaitrus 

 maroccanus and Locusta migratoria. The idea of establishing a permanent entomological station 

 was first discussed at a meeting called for this purpose on the 18th October, 1910, in Stavropol, 

 but no definite decision was then reached. But the question was discussed again, with the result 

 that an entomological bureau was established in Stavropol in 1912 (2). The reason why an entomo- 

 logical bureau was established, (whose organization stood nearer to the field work) instead of a 

 scientific experimental organization, such as an entomological station would have been was the 

 desire to make the staff of the bureau take part in the work of destroying the pests, chiefly the 

 locusts, for this work could be successful onlj^ when directed by persons fully competent for such 

 a task. In fact the principal task of the staff of the bureau during the first two years of its existence 

 was the organization and working out of measures for destroj'ing the swarms of locusts. 



In 1913 it became possible to make certain special observations. The entomologist of the 

 bureau, B. P. Uvarov, finished the work on the morphology and taxonomy of two species of Locusta 

 L. (3) The assistant entomologist, V. A. Glazonnoff, completed the study of the comparative ana- 

 tomy of the larvae of Cephus pyfjmaeus L., and Trachelus labidus L. 



The gathering of information about the local pests was considered very important by the bu- 

 reau, and from the first year of its e.xistence it made a f ill record of not only those pests which 

 undoubtedly did harm in the province of Stavropol, but also of those which had not- yet been for 

 some reason, (for example, the insufficiency of observation owing to their small numbers) consi- 

 dered as serious pests in the Province, but which might be potential pests. 



8. Turkestan Entomological Station: — 



Ti:e most injurious agricultural pests in Turkestan is the Moroccan locusts, [Dociostaurus 

 rmroccanus), which owing to the failure of the mechanical measures used to destroy it, necessitated 



(1) Under N. L. Sacharov. 



(2) Under B. P. Uvarov, who remained there until 1915. 



(3) Which resulted in anew theory' of periodicitv and migration of locusts (see Bulletin Entoni. 

 Research, London, XII, 1921). 



