14 THE REPORT OF THE No. 36 



never captured it. It was therefore a great triumph to take three specimens during 

 the day, all on branches of white pine lying beside the road. I saw several others, 

 but they were too active for capture. On the same day, in a rocky hardwood 

 heavily culled, I noticed by the path some shrubs of New Jersey Tea in bloom and 

 acting hosts to a varied gathering of guests; among many common species I was 

 overjoyed to capture two specimens of Leptura plebeja. 



In August while camping in the Algonquin Park I took both sexes of Leptura 

 hamata and a single speciment of Leptura biforis. 



NOTES ON LEAF BUGS (MIRIDAE) ATTACKING FRUIT TREES 



IN ONTARIO. 



L. Caesar, Guelph. 



The cause of deformed or disfigured fruit is always a matter of much interest 

 to entomologists. All deformities of course are not due to insects for there is no 

 doubt that some are brought about by other factors such as imperfect fertilization, 

 some of the so-called physiological diseases, and by fungi. By far the majority, 

 however, are due to insects. Of the insect agents Leaf Bugs (Miridae) play an 

 important part — a part that has only begun to be realized the last few years. 

 Slingerland and Crosby by their work on the Red Bugs {Heterocordylus malinus 

 and Lygidea mendax), were among the first to call our attention to Leaf Bug 

 injuries. Since then Parrott and Hodgkiss, Brittain and several others both in 

 North America and Europe have added greatly to our knowledge; so that"" now 

 there is a fairly long list of Miridae known to attack fruit. In Ontario I have 

 observed the following: — Heterocordylus malinus, Lygidea mendax, Neurocolpus 

 nubilus, Paracalocoris colon, Campylomma verbasci, Lygus communis and Lygus 

 quercalbae. 



The last two were discovered as offenders only this year and fortunately each 

 seems limited to a small area. They are not, however, new insects nor are their 

 fruit-feeding habits in 'Ontario new; for the owners of the orchards in each case 

 have observed their work for several years without, however, knowing the name 

 of the insect. 



Lygus communis is the so-called Green Apple Bug of Nova Scotia, and also 

 the False Tarnished Plant Bug of New York which Parrott and Hodgkiss found 

 attacking pears in that State. This insect was found by me this year in two 

 orchards at Newcastle, both orchards containing apples as well as pears. 



An interesting feature about its work was that both pears and apples were 

 attacked. Now Knight states in his "Revision of the Genus Lygus" that he 

 spent four summers inspecting orchards in New York state and was unable to take 

 any form of L. communis on apples, though he says Herrick received the typical 

 communis last year from apples in Eastern New York. Brittain, however, tells 

 me that it is preeminently an apple pest in Nova Scotia and that any injury to 

 pears there is largely brought about by the adults flying in from neighboring 

 apple trees and feeding upon the fruit. At Newcastle both nymphs and adults 

 were observed both on apples and pears. For instance, at my second visit I 

 estimated that from 20 to 60 per cent, of Ben Davis apples were attacked and from 

 30 to 00 per cent, of the pears. 



