THE SORGHUM MIDGE. 41 



made October 2, 1895, and nothing further was heard from this 

 insect until September 26, 1898, when Mr. Coquillett received a 

 ond lot of heads from College Station, Tex. The latter contained 

 the larva? of this insect, as well as a large number of the flies them- 

 selves. Mr. Coquillett decided that these belonged to an undescribed 

 species, and forthwith he published the first technical description of 

 the midge under the name Diplosis sorghicola, new species." 



In a special article in Science, published January 17, 1908, Prof. 

 Carleton R. Ball, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, discussed his experiments with the 

 midge in Louisiana and Texas during the spring of 1907. These 

 experiments resulted from an investigation of the causes of sterility 

 of sorghum seed. 



Working under the direction of Prof. Wilmon Newell, of the 

 State Crop Pest Commission of Louisiana, Mr. R. C. Treherne con- 

 ducted a systematic investigation of the midge during the spring 

 and summer of 1908, and later published a brief summary of the 

 results obtained. 6 



Prof. Glenn W. Herrick, entomologist at College Station, Tex., 

 contributed to the information on this insect in an article pub- 

 lished in Entomological News. c 



At the time when official recognition was taken of the importance 

 of this insect by the Bureau of Entomology, Prof. F. M. Webster, 

 under whose department this investigation fell, was unable to begin 

 the work through lack of available field assistants. In order that 

 no time should be lost in making this beginning, however, Professor 

 Webster arranged with Prof. Wilmon Newell, of the State Crop 

 Pest Commission of Louisiana, to pursue a cooperative investigation 

 until such time as he could relieve him of the bulk of the work. 

 Accordingly, Professor Newell assigned one of his assistants, Mr. 

 It. C. Treherne, to the work, which was systematically conducted 

 during the spring and part of the summer of 1908 until the writer 

 was assigned the problem under the direction of Professor Webster. 

 On July 25, 1908, Mr. Treherne discontinued the work and at that 

 point it was taken up by the writer at Baton Rouge, La. 



Professor Newell kindly allowed the writer unlimited access 

 to his most complete laboratory and offices, and these were used 

 as headquarters during the Louisiana investigation. In many 

 other ways, too numerous to mention, he contributed to the progress 

 of the work. It is therefore evident that but for this hearty coopera- 



a Bui. 18, n. s., Div. Ent,, IT. S. Dept, Agr., p. 82, 1898. 



b Thirty-ninth Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 1908. 



c Entomological News, vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 116-118, pi. 7. Mar.. 1909. 



