1923 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 39 



record, and must be attributed to the very favourable climatic conditions, 

 especially during the winter of 1921-22. So far the dry weather of this fall has 

 given almost ideal conditions for the hibernating insects, and should the winter 

 prove mild and fairly dry it will not be surprising if next year will witness much 

 greater injury even than this; though in the past outbreaks have usually lasted 

 only one season in this province. 



Instructions for guarding against an attack next year have been sent to the 

 agricultural representative and by him published in the local press. 



Ants. There have been more requests for information on how to control 

 ants in houses and lawns this year than at any time in the writer's experience. 

 The most troublesome house species to deal with has been Pharaoh's Ant, 

 (Monomorium pharaonis), which is evidently spreading rapidly. 



Buffalo Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus scrophularice) . Many requests for 

 information on how to rid buildings from this pest have been received. 



Mill and Stored Grain Pests. The mild weather of the last three 

 winters would appear to have something to do with the greatly increased num- 

 bers of insects affecting stored grain. The chief species involved are the Indian 

 Meal Worm (Plodia inter punctella) , the Rice Weevil (Calandra oryzce), and the 

 Saw-toothed Grain Beetle (Silvanus surmamensis) . 



Clover Mite (Bryobia pratensis). A correspondent from Melbourne, 

 Ontario, writes of this mite: "This vermin comes out around the foundation 

 of our dwelling house every year about May 1st, and continues to infest the 

 outside and get inside the house by thousands on warm days for a period of 

 three weeks or a month, and then all disappear until the next year. They crawl 

 all up on the pine siding and all over the windows, both upstairs and down- 

 stairs." 



Hitherto these mites have been sent in in the fall instead of the spring. 



Mosquitoes. Tourists in Muskoka and many other parts of the province 

 were unanimous in declaring that mosquitoes were never so numerous or bit so 

 viciously as this year. The claim was made that this year the mosquitoes were 

 much smaller than usual and worked their way into houses through screened 

 windows. The species was not determined, but the writer observed that many 

 specimens were indeed very small. 



Heel Fly (Hypoderma bovis). There were not so many complaints as 

 usual of cattle being tormented by this fly. 



NOTES ON FRANKLINIELLA TRITICI (Fitch) 



R. C. Treherne, Entomological Branch, Dominion Department of 



Agriculture 



The Order Thysanoptera is rapidly assuming an important place in econ- 

 omic entomology, and many members to-day are recognized as among the most 

 important injurious insects of cultivated crops. In Canada the pear thrips, 

 Taniothrips inconsequens Uzel, the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, the 

 greenhouse thrips, Heliothrips hcemorrhoidalis Bouche and femoralis Reuter, the 

 grass thrips, Anaphothrips obscurus Muller, are known and have been recorded 

 in our literature as major pests of the crops they attack. To these we must 

 unquestionably add Frankliniella tritici Fitch and its two closely allied species 

 (which may ultimately be classed as "forms" or "subspecies") occidentalis 

 Pergande and calif ornica Moulton. All three commonly occur in Canada; the 

 last named, thus far, is only recorded from Central and Western Canada, but 



