48 THE REPORT OF THE No. 36 



long distances even in cool weather in the packages around eggs, even apart 

 from the ease with which they could be transported on the birds themselves. 

 It is possible sparrows may also be a means of spreading them. 



How destructive the mites are was not observed, but Mr. Bishopp considers 

 them a serious pest, and one of the poultrymen said that when they became 

 abundant on a bird they quickly caused it to droop and become valueless. 



Fortunately control measures do not appear to be specially difficult. Mr. 

 Bishopp found that by thoroughly cleaning out the houses, nests and brooders, 

 burning the nesting material and placing the manure where birds could not 

 reach it, then thoroughly spraying the houses, nests and brooders with car- 

 bolineum and dusting the birds heavily with sulphur, the mites could be exter- 

 minated. 



In this country carbolineum in most places is not easy to procure, hence 

 it seems to me that creosote oil could be substituted. I am also of the opinion 

 that owing to the presence of lice on most poultry it would pay to combine 

 sodium fluoride with the sulphur in the proportions of about four parts sulphur 

 to one part sodium fluoride. A test was made on twenty-one birds, including 

 several breeds, with two parts sulphur to one part sodium fluoride, and, though 

 the dusting was purposely done very heavily, no injury followed, and every 

 louse present was killed. (There were no mites in this case to begin with.) 



THE GRAPE LEAF-HOPPER 



W. A. Ross, and W. Robinson, Dominion Entomological Laboratory, 



Vineland Station 



The Grape Leaf-hopper, Erythroneura comes Say, a native American species, 

 apparently occurs in North America wherever grapes are grown. It has been 

 recorded from the eastern states, from California in the west, from Texas and 

 New Mexico in the south, and from Ontario and Quebec in the north. Named 

 and described for the first time by Say in 1825, it has long been known as a pest 

 of grape vines, and has at times caused very serious losses, notably in California 

 and in the Chautauqua and Erie grape belts. 



In Canada the hopper is only of importance in the Niagara peninsula — 

 the only section where grapes are grown on an extensive scale. In the past 

 there have been many severe local outbreaks of the insect in the Niagara dis- 

 trict, particularly in graperies adjoining bushland, wasteland and other places 

 favourable for hibernation, but prior to 1921, as far as we can learn, there was 

 no general outbreak throughout the district. 



i 



The 1921-22 Outbreak. 



Early in July, 1921, we noticed that the Grape Leaf-hopper was present 

 in injurious numbers in several graperies near Vineland, but we did not realize 

 that there was a general outbreak of the insect until the end of the month, at 

 which time the hopper made its presence known in different parts of the penin- 

 sula by the mottled and unthrifty condition of the grape foliage. Conditions 

 were favourable for the increase of the pest, and by the time grapes were being 

 cut the adults were so abundant in many vineyards that they annoyed the 

 cutters by getting into their eyes and mouths. The adults went into hiberna- 

 tion in immense numbers, and this spring they emerged in full force, the mild 

 winter having had little if any effect in diminishing their numbers. By the 



