479 



SOME NOTES ON IOWA INSECTS. 



The present spring Las been an unusual one with regard to the abun- 

 dance of a number of species of insects, and some of the observations 

 made are perhaps worthy of early record. 



The White- winged Bihio {Bibio albipeniiis) has been present in phe- 

 nomenal numbers and has attracted attention far and wide. I Iiave 

 had specimens from a number of localities, reports from others, and 

 here at Ames it has been present in numbers never before observed. 



One point with reference to its appearance in many localities is that 

 so many report it as injurious to vegetation, and such statements as 

 "eating corn, potatoes, * * * and everything," or "killing the 

 fruit," and others equally strong, indicate a strong belief on the i)art 

 of the observers that they have actually seen such injury. None have 

 sent specimens of injured plants, and while there is perhaps a bare pos- 

 sibility that they could do some damage in blossoms, it seems more 

 probable that they have excited attention by their immense numbers, 

 and any injury found on the plants where they cluster has been ascribed 

 to them. JS^o damage to any of the i)lants they rest upon has been 

 observed in this locality. 



The Plum-leaf Plant louse {Aphis jrninifolii) is another species that 

 has been wonderfully abundant, so much so that for a time si^ecimens 

 were received almost every day from correspondents in widely sepa- 

 rated localities. In some cases the injury reported was such as to have 

 very serious effect upon the trees. The great amount of curling of the 

 leaves renders thorough treatment with kerosene emulsion quite difili- 

 cult for this species, and makes it specially important to begin treatment 

 as soon as the lice first make their ai)pearance. 



The Currant Aphis {Myzus ribis) and the Cherry Aphis (Myzus cerasi 

 have also been unusually plentiful, as indeed are almost all the com- 

 mon species and a number that have never been observed here before. 



Agallia sanguineolenta Prov. was very abundant in grass in early 

 spring, and with the appearance of beets has attacked them. 



Deltocephalus debilis is fairly swarming in blue grass, and I have 

 found that for capturing these the most successful hopper dozer yet 

 tried is simply along flat strip of sheet iron covered with coal tar and 

 drawn flat on the ground. 



Cutworms are very abundant, and reported destructive in many lo- 

 calities. — [Herbert Osborn, Ames, Iowa., June 2, 1891. 



PRECAUTIONS IN INVESTIGATING TllK BITES OF POISONOUS ANIMALS. 



Dr. R. AY. Shufeldt has favored us with a copy of his paper entitled 



" Medical and Other Oi)iuions upon the Poisonous Nature of the I^ite 



of the Heloderma," and although this paper does not trench upon our 



province, the author's conclusions as to precautions will apply equally 



3329— No, IX 4 



