NOTES ON [NSECTS OF THE YEAR. 175 



mens were received the last of May. and the buds were dead and 

 the insects gone. The trees were in grounds in Farmington, 

 and the effect on them was quite noticeable. We have never 



seen the work of such an insect in the forests of Maine. This 

 was probably the work of a small moth. We call attention to 

 it as we do not know the insect and will be pleased to receive 

 specimens of the buds with the worms in them. They should 

 be looked for early in May. Mrs. Jaques informs us that she 

 saw small worms emerging from the holes earlier in the sea- 

 son than the date of sending the buds. 



The Brown-tail Moth, an insect from Europe that has 

 secured a foothold in Massachusetts and is claiming the atten- 

 tion of the Gipsey Moth Commission as a bad insect, is said to 

 have been found in Maine, as indicated by the following letter 

 from Mr. Sessions, the secretary. 



"We are now making an inspection of the territory infested 

 with our new imported pest, the brown-tail moth (Enpractis 

 chryssorrJwca). Our inspector in discharge of his duty called 

 on Dr. Geo. E. Osgood of 283 Highland Avenue, Somerville. 

 The doctor is one of the reliable physicians of Somerville. His 

 place is infested with the moth. He said that he saw the 

 brown-tail moth in South Berwick, Maine, while on his last 

 summers vacation, and was sure that it was identical with the 

 Somerville pest. He also said that while he was in South Ber- 

 wick he professionally treated two cases of poisoning by con- 

 tract with the moth and that the symptoms of the patients were 

 identical with those of his Somerville patients who had been 

 poisoned by the brown-tail moth. The premises in South Ber- 

 wick are owned by the doctor's father-in-law, Andrew White- 

 house, 10 Goodwin St., South Berwick. I send you notice, that 

 you may take such measures as you think proper in the case. 

 I cannot of course vouch for the doctor's judgment in the mat- 

 ter. The caterpillars he saw in South Berwick may be some- 

 thing else, but I give it to you as I had it from our inspector." 



We wrote Mr. Whitehouse for specimens, but he was not able 

 to send any. We will investigate the matter next season. 



The Fickle Midge (Sciara inconstans, Fitch) was reported 

 bv Mrs. R. S. Warren, of South Deer Isle, as eating roots and 

 penetrating the bulbs of Gloxinia plants. So far as we know 

 this is a new habit for this species. Specimens of the bulbs 



