916 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. Nq. 1068 



slides made from photographs of Bartonia iacilli- 

 formis, of clinical eases, of the micro-pathology, of 

 the Phleiotomiis, and of Verrugas Canyon, etc. It 

 was discussed by Admiral G-. W. Baird and medical 

 inspector H. E. Ames. 



The second paper of the regular program was 

 by W. Dwight Pierce, "The Uses of Weevils and 

 Weevil Products in Food and Medicine. ' ' Mr. 

 Pierce described in particular the trehala manna 

 of Syria which is the cocoon of the large weevil 

 known as Larinus nidiflcans. These cocoons are 

 used by the natives as a food similar to tapioca 

 and are also commonly sold in drug stores for use 

 in making a decoction said to be efficacious against 

 bronchial catarrh. The cocoons are made by an 

 abdominal excretion of the laiva and contain a 

 large percentage of sugar known as trehalose as 

 well as a carbohydrate, a little gum, and a small 

 amount of inorganic mineral m'atter. 



Specimens of the trehala manna and of the 

 weevil were exhibited. 



The third communication was by L. 0. Howard, 

 "Some Observations on Mosquitoes and House 

 Flieg. " Dr. Howard spoke of the work which is 

 being done in New Jersey against mosquitoes, de- 

 scribing the organization of county inspectors 

 which was effected at Atlantic City in February at 

 an ' ' antimosquito convention. ' ' He showed a 

 series of lantern slides illustrating the very effec- 

 tive work done by the Essex County Commission 

 in the vicinity of Newark, N. J. He then spoke 

 of work done by Mr. Hutchinson of the Bureau of 

 Entomology in regard to trapping the maggots of 

 the house fly, illustrating his remarks vrith lantern 

 slides showing a large out-door maggot trap in use 

 during the summer of 1914 under Mr. Hutchin- 

 son's direction at College Park, Md. The illus- 

 trations in question appear in U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture Bulletin No. 200. 



The last communication was by A. Ii. Quaint- 

 ance, ' ' Remarks on Some Little-known Insect 

 Depredators. ' ' 



Mr. Quaintance called attention to certain spe- 

 cies of insects which have but recently come into 

 prominence as of economic importance and to 

 other species wliich, although long known to ento- 

 mologists as occasional pests, have recently at- 

 tracted attention in view of local outbreaks. A 

 species of Jassidaj, Typhlocyba oiliqua, is at the 

 present time seriously destructive to apples in por- 

 tions of the Ozark mountain region and in Kan- 

 sas. These insects occurred in countless numbers 

 in some orchards, infesting the lower surface of 

 ths leaves, causing the foliage to drop with subse- 



c.uent injury to the fruit crop and the trees. A 

 Tineid insect of the genus Marmara was reported 

 to have caused a good deal of injury to certain 

 apple orchards in Albemarle County, Virginia. 

 The caterpillar makes long, serpentine mines under 

 the skin of the apple, resulting in blemishes. The 

 J;eeping quality of the fruit is also lessened. The 

 common walking stick, Diapheromera femorata, 

 while often the cause of more or less local defolia- 

 tion in forests, occasionally becomes a serious pest 

 in orchards, especially in orchards adjacent to 

 woodlands. These walking sticks have recently 

 been complained of on account of important in- 

 juries to apple and peach orchards in Virginia and 

 West Virginia. Khali dopterus picipes, a Chrysome- 

 lid beetle, has recently been discovered as damag- 

 ing cranberries. The insect is a near relative of 

 the grape root worm, Fidia viticida, and the larvae 

 work on the roots of cranberry, feeding principally 

 on the fibrous roots, but also stripping the bark 

 from the older roots. Investigations of the insect 

 by Mr. H. B. Seammell indicate that it is re- 

 stricted in cranberry bogs to the higher and sandier 

 soils. Nezara hilaris, one of the stink bugs, and 

 long known to feed on vegetation of various sorts, 

 has recently become very abundant and destructive 

 to peaches in the Marblehead district in northern 

 Ohio. These plant bugs in feeding insert their 

 beaks in the developing fruit, causing the peaches 

 to become knotty and misshapen as they grow, and 

 many of which fall from the trees. Farandra 

 brunnea, better known as the chestnut telephone 

 borer, following investigations by Mr. Snyder, has 

 been determined by Mr. Fred. E. Brooks to be 

 very generally present in the heartwood of old 

 apple trees and as a result of its work the trees 

 are often so weakened that they are easily broken 

 or blown over by winds. Various species of 

 Cecidomyidse are known to be serious crop pests, 

 as the sorghum midge, the pear midge, etc. A new 

 midge pest, Contarina jolinsoni, has during recent 

 years come into prominence on account of its in- 

 juries to grapes in the Chautauqua and Erie grape 

 belts. The adults oviposit in the blossom buds 

 which may contain from 10-70 maggots, though 

 the average number is much less. Many blossoms 

 are thus destroyed, resulting in very ragged and 

 imperfect bunches of grapes. 



This paper was illustrated by lantern slides 

 showing the insects and their work from photo- 

 graphs prepared mostly by Mr. J. H. Paine. 



At 10.15 the society adjourned until October. 

 M. W. Lyon, Jr., 

 Recording Secretary 



