30 
A little gall on young shoots, found very locally only, is formed by a 
Cecidomyiid very near to Lasioptera farinosa, if not identical with it. 
The young shoots are always trimmed out before the imago emerges in 
spring, and no damage isdone. The larva is also parasitized quite fre- 
quently, and only a few imagos were obtained. The relations of the 
parasites to each other is still somewhat obscure, and one of the species 
may be secondary. _ 
AFTERNOON SESSION. 
Meeting called to orderat 4 p. m. by President Fletcher ; 29 persons 
were present. 
Mr. Smith read the following: 
THE SQUASH BORER, MELITTIA CUCURBITZ, AND REMEDIES 
THEREFOR. : 
By JOHN B. SmituH, New Brunswick, N. J. 
The most dangerous enemy to squash culture in New Jersey is un- 
doubtedly this borer. Its life history is already fairly well’ known, and 
the question of remedies is the vital one. Those usually recommended 
have not proved eminently satisfactory in practice, and cutting out is 
still most generally relied upon. Summer squashes are badly infested, 
but have a large stout stem and usually mature a erop before the borers 
can kill the vine. Of the later varieties the Hubbard is the favorite, 
not only of the grower, but of the borer. The missing links in the life 
history seemed to bein the egg stage, and these were carefully observed 
- by me during the present season. I found in every case one or more 
eggs at the base of the plant, as near to the root as possible, and usually 
on the underside of the stem, ?. e., that portion of it resting on the 
ground. The moth evidently gets as near to the base of the plant as 
possible, and deposits her eggs as far towards the root as her ovipositor 
will extend. Rarely the egg will be found at the axil of the first or 
second leaf stalk ; but it is at such points that the insects rest at night. 
The egg itself is chestnut brown in color, in form a flattened disk and 
of quite large size. The shell is quite hard and chitinous, but brittle. 
It is not readily pervious to the kerosene emulsion diluted 12 times, but 
is readily crushed. This stage is quite a protracted one, lasting at least 
12 and probably often 15 days. The young larva when it leaves the 
egg moves off less than an inch and immediately enters the stem. This 
habit accounts for the ill success of the arsenical mixtures applied to 
thestem. The difficulty of getting all around it is great in the first place, 
and the larva eats so little that it has at least an even chance for escape. 
The kerosene emulsion might be more satisfactory but for the difficulty 
- of getting the application on the under side of the stem. When the egg- 
laying habits were observed the experiment patch was examined, all the 
spare vines pulled up so as to verify the universal presence of eggs, and 
