EARLIEST OBSERVATIONS IN AMERICA. 13 



Museum, and Mr. H. L. Viereck, expert, Bureau of Entomology, who 

 are specialists in the parasitic Hymenoptera. 



During the winter of 1907-8 Congress provided the sum of $10,000 

 for carrying on these investigations ; otherwise this work would have 

 been impossible. 



EARLIEST OBSERVATIONS ON THE INSECT IN AMERICA. 



The first examples of Toxoptera graminum to be found in America 

 and identified as such were probably collected with the oats plants 

 which they were destroying by Mr. H. S. Alexander, of Culpeper, 

 Va., on June 15, 1882. A letter in the files of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology, written on the above date and addressed to Hon. George B. 

 Loring, then Commissioner of Agriculture, stated that he, Mr. 

 Alexander, was sending by that evening's mail specimens of an insect 

 which had almost entirely destroyed the oats crop in his neighbor- 

 hood. But he very evidently neglected to indicate on or within the 

 package the name and address of the sender. Under date of June 

 17, 1882, the records of the old Division of Entomology show, how- 

 ever, that a package of oats or wheat plants — exactly which could 

 not be determined by the person making the examination — were 

 received on that date, badly infested by what was determined as 

 Toxoptera graminum. As there was nothing on or within the package 

 to indicate the source from which the material came, the locality 

 has since remained in obscurity. Upon a recent examination of the 

 old letter files, the communication of Mr. Alexander was found and a 

 reply thereto by Dr. Riley, dated July 7, 1882, stating that the 

 communication had been received from Mr. Alexander, but that the 

 specimens referred to by him had not arrived. As the Division of 

 Entomology did not have these specimens before them when Mr. 

 Alexander's letter was received, or did not connect these specimens 

 with his letter it was assumed that the species was the well known 

 SiphonopTiora avense Fab., a name at that time applied to what is 

 now called Macrosiphum granaria Buckt. Evidently the connection 

 between the letter and package was never investigated, as the 

 insects in the package proved to be Toxoptera. It is significant that 

 of the eight communications received at the Department of Agri- 

 culture about that time, from various points in Virginia and including 

 also one from Maryland, all relating to the wheat louse, this one from 

 Mr. Alexander is the only one not shown to have been accompanied 

 by specimens, and also it was the only communication in which 

 reference was made to the destruction of oats, all of the other letters 

 alluding to insects found infesting wheat or rye, which were probably 

 M. granaria Buckt. Without a doubt, therefore, the letter of Mr. 

 Alexander refers to the package received June 17, 1882, without 



