SPRING NUMBER 121 
REPORTS OF MEETINGS 
Nov. 25, 1918. Under “Timely Notes’ Professor Watson ex- 
hibited a collection of several hundred moths of the Velvet Bean 
Caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatilis) which shows unusual vari- 
ation in color and markings. Professor Watson also reported 
severe attacks on citrus and avocado fruits by the cotton stainer 
at Miami. 
In the first paper of the evening, ““The Sweet-potato Root 
Weevil (Cylas formicarius) Situation”, Mr. Bragdon gave an 
account of the attempt to eradicate this pest from Baker County. 
This comparatively small infested area was selected for three 
reasons: (1) isolation; (2) absence of wild host-plants of the 
weevil; (3) climate, all potato vines being killed by cold dur- 
ing the winter. The Bureau of Ent. U.S. D. A. has established 
a laboratory at Macclenny which will attend primarily to the 
eradication work. The Plant Board’s share in the work consists 
principally in maintaining the necessary quarantines. One or 
two growers who cooperated from the very beginning have ap- 
- parently already cleared their farms of weevils. The method of 
procedure is, in brief: (1) to collect and destroy the last vestige 
of potatoes at digging time; (2) to sort and destroy all infested 
potatoes at digging time; (3) to dispose of all potatoes by 
February in order to starve out the weevils; (4) to plant vines 
free of weevils and to plant late; (5) to locate this year’s fields 
as far as possible from those of last year. Mr. Bragdon ex- 
hibited a map showing the infested regions—Texas, Louisiana, 
Alabama (Mobile Co.), and Georgia. Another map showed a 
narrow infested strip, five to eight miles wide, bordering the 
coast from Tarpon Springs on the west to Ormond on the east 
coast. Above those points on each side there is a break in the 
distribution of the sea-side morning-glory, the native host-plant 
of the weevil. This apparently accounts for the absence of the 
weevils on the beaches north of those points. 
The second paper of the evening was by Dr. Berger, who gave 
a brief account of the larvae, pupae and adults and showed 
specimens of one of the Soldier Flies (Stratiomyidae). These 
dirty gray maggots and dark brown leathery, active, pupae were 
found living in the droppings of chimney swallows that had ac- 
cumulated to the volume of about half a hushel on a ledge inside 
the chimney just above the fireplace. The droppings, apparently 
made up mostly of insect remains, were quite alive with several 
