363 



Mr. -Jack finds three or more annual generations at Boston, tiie final 

 larvae dropping to the ground in September and hibernating as pupa-. 



Our notes indicate thatthere are also three broods at Washington and, 

 although we have reared the adults in October, we surmise that the spe- 

 cies normally hibernates in the larva or pupa state underground. 



The figure of the adult accompanying Mr. Jack's article is faulty in 

 regard to the third vein of the wing and in the absence of the cross vein. 

 The female antennae are also 14-jointed instead of "apparently 13- 

 jointed." His implied criticism of Loew, however, to the effect that the 

 male antennae are 14 jointed instead of 26-joiuted, is probably correct, 

 as in the antennas of every male Diplosis, with which we are familiar, 

 the true division is at every other bulb instead of at every bulb. 



The remedy of late fall or early spring plowing and rolling suggested 

 by Mr. Jack will probably greatly reduce the numbers of the pest. 



AN EXPERIMENT WITH COCCINELLID^ IN THE CONSERVATORY. 



By F. M. Webster. 



The extent to which the various species of Aphididce and Coccidce en- 

 ter into the food of this family of beetles has led to the suggestion that 

 they might be utilized in keeping some of our greenhouse pests in sub- 

 jection, at least during the winter season. As nothing definite ap- 

 peared to have been done in this direction, some experiments were be- 

 gun during the fall of 1889, with a view of learning whether or not the 

 colonization of these beetles, in conservatories, could be made of practi- 

 cal benefit to the florist, and, perhaps, to the market gardener also. 



The prospect of realizing any very enthusiastic expectations was 

 somewhat dampened at the start from the fact that the terms " Scale," 

 "Mealy bug," and "Greenfly" are far from being specific terms, and 

 might each apply to an indefinite number of species, while considerable 

 evidence has accumulated in this and other countries, going to show 

 that the several species of Coccinfllidae are not indiscriminate feeders , 

 but confine their attention each to some particular species, or, at inosr, 

 include but a small number on their " bill of fare." Therefore, the re- 

 sults obtained by experimentation with one species might not hold good 

 with another, and, indeed, it might be that, in case one species of beetle 

 proved effective as against its particular favorite among the Aphids, 

 several species might be required to work out beneficial results. From 

 this it will be readily observed that the experiment is one which can 

 not be carried out in a single year, or in a single locality, for the reason 

 that the species of Coccinellidae are not equally distributed or yearly 

 equally abundant. 



Partly because of its great abundance, and partly because it had been 

 observed feeding upon several species of Aphides, among them one in- 



