26 Trxas AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS, 
ently there are days and even parts of days when the ants are most active 
in their destruction. Never were the ants present in sufficient numbers 
to attempt tracing them to their nests. No observations have been made 
upon this ant in or about the apiary, and, while it proved very destructive. 
under artificial. conditions, the moths and larve might be better able to 
protect themselves under natural conditions. 
Three hymenopterous parasites have been recorded from the bee-moth. 
One is a chalcid, Hupelmus cereanus, found by Roudani in Italy ; another 
is Bracon brevicornis, which was found by Marshall in France, and a 
third species, Apenteles lateralis, was recently found by A. Conté in 
France.* This last species was found near Lyons, where it spread very 
rapidly. It is apparently of considerable importance since it has also 
been reported to attack the larve of several other moths in England and 
Germany. The adult parasite is about one-sixth of an inch (4mm.) in 
leugth, very lively, and avoids light; the body is black and the wings are 
transparent, with black specks. The larve of the bee-moth are attacked 
while quite young and never attain a large size. A single parasite develops 
in each larva. The bees are said to pay no attention to the presence of 
the parasite, so that it can easily enter the hive in search of the bee-moth 
larve. It was artificially introduced into hives by Conté with very satis- 
factory results. 
ARTIFICIAL CONTROL. 
Unfortunately, the only natural enemy of the bee-moth that is present 
to any great extent in Texas is the honey-hee itself. In the absence of 
any other natural enemies of importance, the measures of artificial con- 
trol must be made all the more effective if the beekeeper is to free his 
apiary of the pest. If the moths are driven from the hives by strong 
colonies of Italianized bees, they will surely seek scraps of comb and wax 
about the ground and stored comb and honey in the honey house. It 
seems quite likely that in such cases the eggs are deposited as near to the 
comb as possible, as along the cracks between the supers, and the larve, 
after hatching, find their way to the comb through crevices much smaller 
than the moth could enter. 
One of the hest methods of artificial control, and one upon which many 
beekeepers depend, is fumigation of combs and honey. Gas is able to 
penetrate material that it is not possible to treat in any other manner. 
The fumigation process is not difficult, for, when once started, no further 
attention is necessary until the treatment is complete. It is not necessary 
to watch the entire process. Stored material, such as comb honey and 
empty combs, should be examined from time to time, and at the first 
evidence of the wax-worm they should he fumigated. Stored material 
of this kind should be examincd at least once every week during the 
summer and once every month during the winter season, so as to detect 
the infestation at the start. 
FUMIGATION, 
In the present investigation two materials have heen used in the fumi- 
_ gating experiments. These were selected because most every beekeeper 
*“4 Hymenopterous Parasite of the Bee- ? 
Aaea Nae Pare Ge Be i. he Bee-Moth,” A Conté (Compt. Rend. 
