76 N. S. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



NOTES ON LYGUS CAMPESTRIS LINN. IN 

 NOVA SCOTIA. 



By W. H. Brittain. 

 Distribution. 



This insect is evidently of wide distribution in North 

 America, as Knight in his monograph of the genus Lygus (Re- 

 vision of Genus Lygus, Cornell Univ. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 

 391,: 593, 1917) records it from such widely separated points 

 as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, California, 

 District of Columbia, New York and Vermont. It is evi- 

 dently a common insect in this province, for we have seen it in 

 abundance each season on the Agricultural College Farm at 

 Truro and elsewhere about the province, though collections 

 have been made at Truro only. 



Host Plants. 



The insect is reported both from Europe and North Amer- 

 ica as common on plants of the family Umbelliferae, Knight, 

 in the work already referred to, states that in western New 

 York, it is abundant on the poison hemlock (Conium macu- 

 latum). At Truro, we have found it both on the wild parsnip 

 (Heracleum lanatum) and the cultivated parsnip (Pastinaca 

 sativa.) 



Injuries. 



Practically nothing has been written regarding the injuries 

 of this insect or of its economic importance. Knight (loc. cit.) 

 mentions a case of injury to celery plants at Flatlands, New 

 Brunswick, on the authority of Mr. Arthur Gibson of the Do- 

 minion Entomological Branch, Ottawa. In this case they were 

 said to be sufficiently numerous to cause the death of some of 

 the plants. 



Three years ago, the writer first noted their work on culti- 

 vated parsnips, which were being grown for seed. The plants 

 were seen to be swarming with adults and nymphs of this spec- 

 ies and appeared decidedly wilted. On closer examination the 

 damage was seen to be of two kinds. First there was the dam- 

 age resulting from the oviposition of the female to the small 

 stalks bearing the umbels, which caused the flower heads to 

 droop. Secondly there was the damage resulting from the 



