158 PARASITES OF GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 



difficulties experienced in the importation of Blepharipa scutellata. 

 All other species of parasites could be secured equally as well or better 

 from shipments under normal conditions, but because Blepharipa 

 differed from all the others in this apparently minor characteristic, 

 it was found necessary to make use of cold storage for practically 

 all of the very large shipments made during 1909 and 1910. 



No large shipments of full-fed caterpillars have been made from 

 Japan. They were rendered unnecessary in the first place on account 

 of the very excellent and intelligent service rendered by the Japanese 

 entomologists. There are but three important parasites to be secured 

 from these large caterpillars in Japan, and the cocoons and puparia 

 of these have been reared and forwarded to us in specially devised 

 packages, with almost uniformly good results. 



There have been a few very valuable lots of material of this char- 

 acter shipped otherwise than as above described. It is by no means 

 certain that if sufficient time and experimentation were to be devoted 

 to the subject some of these occasional and successful modifications 

 might not be developed into something better than has yet been 

 tested. Any deviation is apt to prove disastrous, however, as wit- 

 nessed in 1910, when failure resulted because the quality of the paper 

 used for wrapping the bundles of boxes was changed in several instances 

 from that employed at any time previously. It is very difficult, and in 

 practice impossible, to foresee such minor contingencies and provide 

 against them. The really serious phase of the situation lies in the 

 fact that such a slight modification may result not only in the com- 

 plete loss of the shipment itself, but in a year's delay before it can be 

 remedied. By the time the first shipments are received and the 

 trouble recognized, it is apt to be too late to apply a remedy that 

 year, even by the use of the cable. 



The laboratory methods in use for the handling of the parasite 

 material of this sort have been modified in various ways, more espe- 

 cially for the express purpose of overcoming the difficulty in hiber- 

 nating the puparia of Blepharipa scutellaia. Such of these modifica- 

 tions as have been primarily made for this special purpose will be 

 discussed in the account of Blepharipa which will be found elsewhere. 



In general it has been the practice to open the boxes immediately 

 upon their receipt, and to sort the contents in accordance with their 

 character. The tachinid puparia were always carefully counted, 

 and of late years they have been sorted to a certain extent into 

 species. 



In 1907 all the puparia were placed in jars, without sorting, with a 

 little very slightly dampened earth which was kept from drying by 

 the use of a wet sponge. In 1908 they were sorted to species, so far 

 as this was practicable, and all were kept dry. In 1909 the Blepharipa 

 puparia were sorted out and placed in earth as soon thereafter as 



