194 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [J^ly, 'iQ 



The damage to cotton by Diacrisia virginica in Victoria and 

 Calhoun Counties in 191 8 is claimed by farmers to be from 

 twenty-five per cent, to total destruction. I visited the land of 

 Mr. Jay Hubbard in Calhoun County, and found the destruc- 

 tion of cotton on sixty-five acres to be complete. The fields of 

 Mr. Hubbard as well as the lands adjoining were free of weeds. 



The only parasite bred from this species is Eremotylus 

 arctiae Ashmead, which has been determined by R. A. Cush- 



man. 



— — ■ <■» ■ 



A Melaphis from Moss (Horn.) 



By A. C. Baker, U. S. Bureau of Entomology, Washington, 



D. C. 



Only one American species has been recorded in the genus 

 Melaphis. This is the type species, Melaphis rhois (Fitch), a 

 form which produces galls on the sumach. Certain closely 

 related species, occurring in other countries and like rhois 

 forming galls on sumach have been referred to the genus 

 Schlectendalia. This genus the writer (Ent. News, Vol. xxviii, 

 p. 385) has placed as a synonym of Melaphis. All of the spe- 

 cies referable to Melaphis, therefore, form galls upon some 

 species of sumach. It is noteworthy that these are fall galls, 

 not spring ones like most of the common galls produced on 

 poplar, etc., by species of Pemphigus and other aphids. The 

 spring generations of our Melaphis rhois have not been dis- 

 covered. 



On April 29, 1916, Mr. E. B. Blakeslee sent the writer sam- 

 ples of moss which he found infested with an aphid at Spring- 

 field, West Virginia. At the time these samples were received 

 only young apterous forms were present. It is quite probable 

 that these were produced by stem mothers originally present, 

 but no such forms were found. The moss was placed in breed- 

 ing cages and the young insects reared to maturity. All of 

 these proved to be winged forms which were unable to live 

 upon the moss. Slide mounts of several of these were pre- 

 pared, but before a careful study could be made of them all of 

 the other alate insects were dead. 



As soon as a careful study was made of the specimens it 



