70 



THE REPORT OF THE 



[19 



Niagara River. This year it has made itself quite destructive in Lincoln and Welland 

 Oountiep. Two species preying upon the asparagus have arrived simultaneously, Grioceris 

 Asparaqi and Grioceris duodecempunctata. The latter has a reddish body with black 

 spots, the former steel blue with white spots. W. N. Hutt, B.S.A. has at my suggestion 

 kept a record of the work and life history of the beetles, and has prepared a short paper, 

 which I have pleasure in presenting to this meeting. These beetles were first noticed by 

 Mr. Hutt about May 8th, on the second or third cutting of the asparagus. The larvse 

 hatch from the eggs in about a week, and change into pupae in two weeks, and in about 

 ten days later the adult beetle emerges from the ground. There are probably several 

 broods in the season and Mr. Hutt remarks : " The broods of the insects seem to be very 

 numerous and to overlap one another, so that eggs, larvce and beetles may b6 found any 

 time during the summer." The same observer states that the best remedial measures 

 would be : 



1 . Frequent cultivation of the ground to disturb or destroy the insect in the pupa 



state. 



2. The removal of all spindling stalks on which eggs might be deposited. 



3. Thorough spraying after cutting has ceased. 



The 0. 12-punctata was by far the more common form in the Niagara district. 



The Farm. 



My experience leads me to the conclusion that the insects which usually trouble farm 

 crops were not serious pests in many portions of the Province. 



The Wheat Stem Maggot (Meromyza Americana) did some dam- 

 age in some localities. (Fig. 26.) The "White Head" can be 

 readily discerned among the other uninjured stems. Like the 

 Hessian Fly the adult is a four- winged fly which lays its eggs about 



0=» 



Fig. 



26. The wheat-stem Maggot, a. The fly. 6. The maggot, 

 c. The pupa. d. HiDd leg of fly, with large femur. 



Fig. 27. The clover root borer- 

 a.a.a. Excavations made by borer. 

 6. grub. c. pupa. d. beetle. 

 May 15th, upon the stalk near the top point. The larva burrows into the stalk, and 

 when mature is a worm about ^ inch long. The flies emerge in July, to lay eg»s for a 

 second brood. Dr. Fletcher has determined three broods at Ottawa. 



The pea crop still suffers very heavily from two very important pests, the pea-weevil, 

 (Bruchus pisorum) and the pea-moth (Semasia nigricana). In Ontario the ravages of the 

 pea-moth appear to be limited chiefly to the Counties of Duflerin, Grey, Bruce and Huron. 

 From a study of its life history it is very probable that the early varieties will not suffer 

 much from the pest, as the larvae do not appear before the middle of July. 



