148 
Pin holes in poplar wood. — January 20, I received from Pickens, 
W. Va., a piece of sound yellow-poplar wood containing an example 
of Xyleborus pubescens Zimm., which, served to explain the cause of a 
serious trouble complained of in poplar lumber, sometimes causing 
the loss of thousands of dollars to poplar manufacturers. It appears 
that the beetle is either in the log when the lumber is sawn or it 
enters the lumber directly after it comes from the saw. It continues 
to work in it for some time after, boring it full of minute pin holes, thus 
reducing the value of the lumber. Xyleborus pubescens is a remarkable 
insect in its habits and distribution. It appears that it will infest the 
wood of all kinds of trees, and that it is widely distributed over the 
world. It is probably the same species as the one which is so destruc- 
tive to sugar cane and wine casks. It is my belief that Zimmerman's 
name and a number of other names given to slightly varying forms of 
the genus must give way to Wollaston's name applied to the species 
he described in 1857, now known as Xyleborus perforans Wall. 
On February 3, Prof. Pane called my attention to swarms of small 
" gnats " in the station greenhouse. Upon examination I found that 
they were Braconid parasites of Aphis brassicce, which was very abun- 
dant on the radish and lettuce leaves. I also found that the method 
the gardener was using to destroy the lice, i. e. smudging with sulphur 
and tobacco, was killing the parasites as well. Pealizing the opportu- 
nity offered for an experiment to determine the value of the parasites 
as a natural check against the Aphides, I requested that the smudge 
treatment be discontinued. The experiment proved to be a complete 
success. Within a few days we could see that the parasites were gain- 
ing on the Aphides, and within two weeks the numbers of the latter 
were greatly diminished and had ceased to be particularly injurious, 
and they were kept under control by the Braconids until all the vege- 
tables were removed from the house. Specimens of the Braconid were 
sent to Mr. Ashmead, who pronounced it a new species and named it 
Aphid ius lactucce n. sp. If this insect makes its appearance next 
winter in the greenhouse, we will attempt its introduction into other 
greenhouses as a method of combatting this serious hothouse pest. 
The clover-leaf weevil. — On April 18, we received specimens of the 
larva of the clover-leaf weevil (Phytonomus punctatus) from Berkeley 
and later from Hampshire counties, W. Va., with the statements that 
the clover in that section of the State was being destroyed by the 
insect. Upon investigation, on May 4, I found the fungus epidemic 
had struck them a few days previous to my arrival, and the leaves of 
the clover, the dead weeds, etc., were covered with the dead and black- 
ened bodies of the larvae. Scarcely a living example of the insect 
-could be found. 
A Lepidopteron feeding on scale insects. — May 7, a Lecanium scale 
insect was observed on the twigs of scrub pine in Hampshire County, 
and a lepidopterous larva was found feeding upon the scales, after 
