NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 95 



gained through a small opening. The underground nests are 

 entered hy a broad gallery, which turning slightly at its extremity, 

 gives access to the lower portion of the nest. The nest itself or 

 " paper " is considerably darker than that of our white-faced hornet. 



This European insect commonly gnaws the bark from living 

 twigs and small limbs and in this way may cause an appreciable 

 amount of injury to ornamentals, whereas our native hornet is con- 

 tent to levy for its paper-making material upon exposed wood 

 surfaces, such as old stumps, rail fences and the like. 



Odontocynips nebulosa Kieff. Specimens of this gall on oak 

 were received under date of January 3, 1922 from J. M. DelCurto 

 of the state department of agriculture, Austin, Texas. The mass 

 was a very irregular one with a length of about 10 cm and a 

 diameter of approximately 6 cm, and composed of numerous fused 

 cells or individual galls, each with a diameter of 1 cm or less. 



A considerable part of the mass consists of older, blackened 

 tissue with numerous exit holes from which the insects presumably 

 escaped last year. There is a smaller part, dark brown, approaching 

 the blackened color of the older mass and containing fully devel- 

 oped gall wasps evidently due to escape next spring. 



There is in addition a smaller reddish brown mass with small 

 cells containing eggs or very small larvae. A section through one 

 shows that all the tissue is decidedly softer than in the older galls 

 and moreover the central part is nearly filled with a whitish, cheesy, 

 nutritive material easily distinguished from the surrounding pro- 

 tective woody part. The gall evidently develops to nearly full size 

 before the larvae feed to any extent. The above conditions suggest 

 a two-year life cycle, though there may be fall and spring broods 

 and an annual life cycle. 



The above is supplementary to and confirmatory of the account 

 by L. H. Weld (U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc, 59: 210-11, 1921). 



Cotton moth (Alabama argillacea Hubn.) . Northern 

 flights of this insect were noted in early October 1919, the insect 

 being specifically reported from Lockport, Rochester, Schenectady 

 and Albany. They were somewhat abundant in the last two cities, 

 the moths being numerous in show windows and in Schenectady at 

 least fairly festooning the upper portions of electric light poles. 

 They were also noted at Maiden, Mass., October 3d and reported 

 by R. W. Braucher as quite common October 9th, and the preced- 

 ing 3 days at Lincoln, 111. 



Moths appeared again in 1921 and were observed in small num- 

 bers at Silver Creek September 13th, Sandusky, Ohio, September 



