99 



it, "everything was bugs." The soil, the edges of the benches, under 

 the benches, and the walks were all covered with the dead creatures. 

 At a rough estimate he concluded that he had destroyed about 24,000 

 specimens in the two nights. 



NOTES FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 



For House Ants.— Mr. M. C. Mohr, of Lealman, Fla., writes, under date of Sep- 

 tember 5, 1898, that a good way to prevent ants from ascending the legs of tables, 

 food safes, etc., is to take an ounce of corrosive sublimate, mix it with a tablespoon- 

 ful of lard, and apply it in bands of from one-half to three-fourths of an inch wide, 

 seeing that the tables, etc., touch nothing except with their legs. This should be 

 applied every three or five months. 



Injury by the Orange Leaf- Roller. —Under date of January 21, 1898, Mr. William 

 Chappelow writes that the so-called orange leaf-roller (Tortrix citrana Fern.), speci- 

 mens of the larva of which he sends, is doing injury to oranges in the neighborhood 

 of Monrovia, Cal. The principal source of damage by this species is due to the 

 habit of the larvae of burrowing into green oranges, which causes them to turn 

 yellow prematurely and finally to drop from the tree. A short account of this 

 species has been given by Mr. D. W. Coqnillett in Divisional Bulletin No. 32, 

 page 24. 



Injury by the Caterpillars of Scepsis fulvicollis Hbn.— June 26, 1898, Mr. W. L. 

 Simpson wrote that the above-named caterpillar, specimens of which he sent, was 

 proving very destructive to swamp meadows at Jackson, Wyo. It confined itself 

 chiefly to the lower bottoms, cutting the grass to a level with old stubble and eating 

 it entirely away. 



Poisoning for the Cotton Caterpillar. — We learn from Mr. John J. Dix, Benavides, 

 Tex., that in his part of the country contractors treat cotton fields for the ordinary 

 cotton caterpillar (Aletia xylina) at the rate of 25 cents per acre, using either Paris 

 green, London purple, or arsenic. This insect is no longer a serious factor in cotton 

 growing. It is generally considered in Texas that if a planter loses his crop as a 

 result of the work of this species it is due to carelessness or laziness. 



Insect injury to Pecan Buds. — During the first week of August, 1898, specimens 

 were received of a larva found feeding upon leaves of pecan. Messrs. W. H. McLeod 

 & Sons, of Seabrook, S. C, who sent the specimens, wrote, under date of July 27, 

 that some insect was at work destroying the buds of pecans at that place, and that 

 400 trees had been destroyed that season. The larva? sent were reared and proved 

 to be a Tortricid known as Proteopteryx deludana CI. It could not be ascertained 

 whether or not this species was in any way concerned in the injury, but it is, we 

 believe, the first recorded rearing of this species on pecan. 



A late Outbreak of the Army Worm. — The present autumn Mr. Frank W. Troth, of 

 Accotink, Va., found the army worm very abundantly at work in his millet when he 

 cut it on the 26th day of September. This is an exceptionally late occurrence of this 

 insect in injurious numbers, and the caterpillars are undoubtedly to be referred to 

 the third generation for the year, counting the offspring of the overwintering larva? 

 as the first generation. It used to be considered that the first generation of the 

 larva? only was the injurious one, hence the interest attaching to this instance. 



Extraordinary abundance of Io Caterpillars. — We have received from Dr. Ben. H. 

 Brodnax, Brodnax, Morehouse Parish, La., specimens of the larva of Hypercltiria 

 io found upon cotton, with the information that he had found thousands of them in 

 the same patch where they were eating leaves and squares and were so abundant as 

 to clean the plants. This insect has long been known as an enemy to cotton, but 

 we have never before received a report of its occurrence in such abundance. 



Another very Beneficial Ladybird. — The coffee plantations of Guatemala have 

 been seriously affected for several years by one of the common mealy bugs, Daciy- 

 lopius citri. Efforts have been made by persons interested to secure colonies of 



