946 MICROBIAL DISEASES OF INSECTS 



Malacosoma neustria, Hanneton commun and Hanneton de la Saint- Jean 

 (Rhyzotrogus solsticialis) , but does not kill the gipsy moth caterpillar, 

 Lymantria dispar, regularly, even after many passages. 



Serbinov describes an infectious diarrhoea of bees on the south coast 

 of the gulf of Finland due to two new bacteria, Bad. coli apium n.sp. 

 and Proteus alveicola n. sp. The disease develops rapidly and becomes 

 epizootic, the bees become weakened and death follows, frequently in 

 convulsions. 



Korke of India describes a new protozoon, Nosema pulicis n. sp. 

 which has been found to cause frequent infections of the digestive tract 

 of the dog flea, Ctenocephalus felis. This parasite was infected so 

 readily that in about three weeks the infection rose from about 16 per 

 cent to nearly 100 per cent under controlled conditions. 



Bacillus erausquinii n. sp. was isolated from locusts of the species 

 Romalea miles in Argentina by Cullen and Maggio. It is said to have 

 many characteristics which distinguish it from B. acridiorum. 



A disease of the caterpillars of Gortyna ochracea, an artichoke pest, 

 is recorded in the Department of Var, France. Bacillus gortyna was 

 isolated as the causal factor. 



Bacillus pyrameis I and II were isolated from the blood and tissues 

 of the caterpillars of Pyrameis cardui, another artichoke pest. These 

 may be distinct or merely varieties of a single species; they may repre- 

 sent one or more saprophytic species widespread in nature which are 

 readily adaptable to a parasitic life (Paillot). 



Two associated microorganisms, one a motile rod and the other a 

 coccus were the cause of epizootics destroying nearly all of the cater- 

 pillars of Galleria melonella, the bee moth, which were being raised for 

 experimental purposes (Metamikov). The rod form was the more viru- 

 lent on injection. The manner in which infection takes place was not 

 determined. 



GENERAL PATHOLOGY AND IMMUNITY STUDIES 



The study of degenerative changes in normal and in pathological 

 blood cells of insects is especially important as the blood is frequently 

 used in diagnosing the health of a particular insect. Glaser* (1917) 



* Glaser, R. W The growth of insect blood cells in vitro. Psyche 24, 1917- 

 pp. 1-6, i pi. 



