16 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of the gypsy moth and the brown-tail moth into Massachusetts 

 and to accHmatize them in that State. He showed that both of 

 these insects are well known in Europe and are by no means as 

 injurious on that continent as they prove to be in Massachusetts. 

 They are known to have many natural enemies and parasites in 

 Eiu'ope. Fifty-two species of })arasites have been recorded for 

 the gypsy moth by Euro])ean entomologists, and nearly the same 

 number for the brown-tail moth. The speaker visited Europe 

 during June and July, 1905, and secured the sending from Italy, 

 Austria, parts of Germany and Switzerland of large numbers of 

 parasitized full-grown larvae and pupae of the gypsy moth to 

 Boston. From these specimens were reared six distinct species 

 of parasites, and of these about 500 puparia of Tachina larvarmn, 

 one of the largest and most important of the European parasites, 

 were secured and kept for overwintering in an apparently healthy 

 condition. Numerous specimens of a smaller Tachina fly were 

 also secured. The other parasites from these particular sendings 

 were unimportant. Arrangements were made in Europe with a 

 large number of experienced collectors and with the official ento- 

 mologists of different countries, so that the work of sending para- 

 sitized specimens over to America will be continued systematically 

 for two years to come. The work of 1905 has shown that it is 

 an easy matter to import these parasites in living condition, and, 

 with the abundance of food which they will find in Massachusetts, 

 there can be little doubt that they will establish themselves and 

 will rapidly increase, eventually bringing about the same condition 

 of natural equilibrium that exists in Europe. 



The assistance and cooperation of official European entomolo- 

 gists were. readily gained, both on account of their general interest 

 in such matters and of the fact that the United States can be of 

 use to their countries in a similar way. Thus already, the speaker 

 stated, he had shipped sendings of Diaspis pentagona and Mytil- 

 a.s-pi.i ciiricola to official entomologists in Italy and France in the 

 hope that American parasites of these species will issue on European 

 soil.* 



*During the winter of 1905-06, 116,000 nests of the brown-tail moth were brought 

 over from many different localities in Europe. These were installed in the labora- 

 tory at SauRUs, and at the date of writing over 40,000 primary parasites have issued 

 and are being colonized in the vicinity of Boston. L. O. H. May 31, 1906. 



