204 



NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tera and Hymenoptera. Of the former at least three or four dis- 

 tinct species were at work, while of the latter but a single one was 

 noticed . 



By a reference to the accompanying cut it will be seen that the 

 sweet potato saw-fly (Schizocerus ebenus) bears a strong general resem- 

 blance to other species of the group with which we are more or less 

 familiar. One difference at once noticeable is the forked or double 

 antennae in this insect. This saw-fly has become quite a dangerous 

 pest to the sweet potato crop in Mississippi, where it has been at work 

 since 1886. 



Fig. 16.— The Sweet Potato Saw Fly {Schizocems ebenus). [After Riley.] 





Judging from what I find published about this saw-fly in vol. I of 

 Insect Life, pp. 43-5, it must be at least a double brooded if not a many 

 brooded insect, and if it should become thoroughly adapted to the sweet 

 potato as a food plant, will be a dangerous and troublesome enemy to 

 handle. That it is a comparatively new enemy to this plant is evi- 

 dently true, since no former reports of its injury to the sweet potato 

 have come to my notice. It is evidently a feeder upon the wild morning 

 glory, since its range is quite wide. The original specimens from which 

 the species was described were collected in New York state, while I 

 have on several occasions taken it here in Nebraska. While I have 



