23 
brood as a whole would, after feeding on such flowers as could be found 
at that time, fly to the nearest woods and there find, protection under 
tlie leaves and other debris till the following spring, and the experience of 
the past seasons bears out this theory. One of the strawberry beds at 
Falls Church adjoins a bit of woodland, and it was along the border of 
these woods that the insects began their attack last year, other portions 
of the field, on higher ground, exposed to the wind being practically 
exempt from infestation. 
It should be borne in mind that the few insects that might hibernate 
in the beds, if these are neglected until they become overrun with 
grass and weeds, or contrive to eft'ect an entrance under the covering, 
can be killed by a few dustings with pyrethrum. 
Finally, the fruit-grower should not trust entirely to staminate varie- 
ties. It will be found far better, in districts where this insect is known 
to be injurious, to grow pistillates as is now customary, and the spray 
need only be applied to the staminates used in fertilization, provided 
the nonfertilizing plants are j)erfect pistillates and hence bear no pollen. 
OCCURRENCE OF THE HEN FLEA fSARCOPSYLLA GALLINACEA 
WESTW.) IN FLORIDA. 
By A. S. Packard. Providence, B. I. 
At the meeting of the Entomological Society of Washington, held 
November 12. 1886 {see Proc, vol. I, p. 59), a letter was read from 
Judge Lawrence C. Johnson relative to the damage done by a species 
of flea to young chickens at Gainesville, Fla. At the meeting held 
March 7, 1889, another com- 
munication from Judge John- 
son was read, in which he 
gave, with some detail, the 
habits of the insect (loc. eit. 
pp. 203-205). 
Wishing to further examine 
this case, Prof. Eiley kindly 
sent me a number of the males 
and females from the U. S. 
National Museum. These I 
identified as SarcopsyUa gal- 
linacea Westw.. and in 1889, 
in the Museum at Leyden. I was kindly shown by Dr. C. Ritzema Bos 
specimens of this species from Ceylon, which seemed on a superficial 
examination to be the same as the Floridian example. The insect was 
first described by the late Prof. West wood in an article in the Entomolo- 
gist's Monthly Magazine (vol. xi, 1S74-'7.j, p. 246), entitled " Description 
Fig. 8. SarcopsyUa gallinacea: male — enlarged; ant, 
antennae; m, palpi — more enlarged. (From drawings 
by Packard.) 
