1904.] 



A Parasite of the Bee. 



245 



chickweed family, Caryophyllaceae. In this country it occurs on 

 the following stitch worts : — St el/ aria media, Cyril I ; 5. nemo- 

 rum, L. ; 5. graminea, L. ; and on mouse-ear chickweed, 

 Cerastium semidecandrum, L., and B. glomeratum, L. The 

 important point to remember is the fact that the continuance of 

 the disease depends entirely on the presence of both fir trees and 

 chickweed growing within a short distance of each other, that is 

 to say, in the same plantation. 



The fungus spores produced on the silver fir cannot directly 

 infect that plant, but give rise to the second phase of the fungus 

 at once when sown on stitchwort or chickweed. On the other 

 hand, the spores produced on these last-named plants give 

 origin to a fungus when sown on the silver fir. The spores are 

 conveyed from one plant to another by wind, birds, insects, &c. 

 The fungus on chickweed and stitchwort forms yellowish 

 blisters on the under surface of the leaves, from which quantities 

 of orange-coloured spores escape at maturity. 



From the above account it will be seen that the presence of 

 stitchwort or chickweed is absolutely necessary for the develop- 

 ment of " witches' brooms " or cankered swellings on the silver 

 fir, hence the destruction of these weeds is imperative. The 

 removal of the " witches' brooms " from the silver fir is also 

 advisable, as it is the spores formed on the leaves of such that 

 infect the chickweed and stitchwort. Spores are not formed on 

 the cankered portions. Those desirous of following Dr. Fischer's 

 investigations and the methods of culture adopted in demon- 

 strating the relationship between the fungus on the silver fir 

 and the one on chickweed, will find a detailed account in 

 Zeitschrift fur Pflanzenkrankheiten (1901), Vol. XL, p. 321. 



A beetle recently forwarded to the Board by a correspondent 

 has been identified as Meloe violaceus. There is no probability 



that this beetle will do any harm or increase 

 A Para *jte Of the rap idly, but it is from the view of its 

 Meloe violaceus.) biology one of the most interesting of all 



our insects. The females lay an enormous 

 number of eggs (five thousand times more than would be required 



