THE REPORT OF THE 



[19 



In Parkdale, Toronto, many of the residents complain of the prevalence of fleas in 

 their houses during the past summer. About the first week in September these little 



pests were extremely abundant, much to the writer's regret, as 

 he spent a night at a friend's house, while he was visiting 

 Toronto. These may have been introduced into the houses at 

 first, no doubt, through the agency of some pet animal, and had 

 probably multiplied during the summer absence of some of the 

 residents. The young larvae feed upon animal matter in dust, 

 and being very slender and active, penetrate into the smallest 

 of cracks in floors, walls, etc., and where dust has accumulated 

 will breed rapidly. Thorough cleanliness therefore, and a fre- 

 quent use of scalding water, will do much to remedy the occur- 

 rence of this pest. 



Another insect which has caused some anxiety in Toronto 

 during the past sea3on is a black aphis attacking violets (Rho- 

 palosiphum violae n. sp. Perg.). Mr. J. H. Dunlop, the well- 

 known florist, has noticed the occurrence of this pest in his 

 green houses among his violet beds. On the 13th October, 

 greatly when in Toronto, I visited Mr. Dunlop's houses and found 

 this aphis very abundant, but fortunately it has not done much 

 damage as yet in this country. Last year Mr. Dunlop's violets suffered from an attack of 

 Umphytus Canadensis, the Pansy Sawfly, but this year he has not been troubled with this 

 insect. A small pyralid moth (Phlyctaenia ferrugalis) appeared among Mr. Dunlop's rose 

 bushes the past year, and its larvae occurred in sufficient numbers to cause some damage to 

 the foliage of these plants. When full grown the larva is about f of an inch in length, and 

 is a semi-translucent green with a dark green dorsal stripe, on each side of which is a 

 sub-dorsal white band. Those which were found by the writer, when in Mr. Dunlop's 

 houses, were feeding on the underside of the leaf, which had been drawn together some- 

 what by means of a slight web, the injury seemingly being chiefly done by eating the soft 

 tissue on the lower side of the leaves. 



61. —Red spider, 

 magnified. 



NOTES ON THE SEASON OF 1899. 

 By J. Alston Moffat, London. 



From various causes, personal observations on the doings of insects during the past 

 season, were with me decidedly limited ; so I was dependent in large measure upon the 

 observations of others for my knowledge of what was going on in the insect world. 



Fig. 62. 



fdHj The Colorado potato beetle, C. decemlineata, was very late in putting in an appear- 

 ance ; so muclTso that many thought that the severe frosts of the previous winter on the 



