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JOURNAL OF ECONO^IIC ENTO^IOLOGY 



\yo\. 8 



Progress on the Manual of Dangerous Foreign Plant Pests. At the Cleveland 

 meetmg, December 1912, a resolution was passed by the American Association of 

 Horticultm-al Inspectors (now a section of this association) "that a pubhcation be 

 issued giving brief illustrated accounts of (1) the various dangerous insect, fungous 

 and other enemies of vegetation liable to be introduced on nursery stock or other 

 plant products, (2) similar pests aheady present in portions of this country and which 

 may be spread on plant products. " 



A committee was appointed to take up this matter with the Federal Horticultural 

 Board and this committee reported at the Atlanta meeting, December 1913, that 

 the Bureau of Entomology had imdertaken the work at the request of the Federal 

 Horticultural Board., 



The news letter of the Bm-eau of Entomology for May states that this manual is 

 now rapidly approaching completion. It is intended to serve as a guide for inspectors 

 and field entomologists to the insects liable to be brought into this countrj- on foreign 

 nursery stock. It wiU surely be welcomed by aU engaged in the work of inspecting 

 imported stock and we await its appearance with great interest. W. E. B. 



A Breeding Record by Anthrenus verbasci Linn. The following record is of inter- 

 est because it shows the tenacity of hfe exhibited by certain insects under adverse 

 conditions. April 4, 1902, two ears of corn infested by this insect were received and 

 placed in a two-quart Mason jar and kept tightly closed. There was no moisture 

 aside from that in the somewhat dried com. Breeding continued uninterruptedly 

 and at the end of seven years, namely, April, 1909, the bottom of the jar was nearly 

 covered with fine, white, globose particles, apparently starch grains falling from the 

 eaten kernels of corn and a thick mass of the brown larval skins and other debris. An 

 examination of this same jar June 14, 1915, revealed, after some search, one hving 

 grub although the insects were distinctly less abundant than six years ago. On this 

 latter date there was a distinctly pungent odor to the contents, somewhat suggestive 

 of acetic acid and a marked increase in the masses of brown, apparently webbed- 

 together exuviae and other organic debris, some of these having a diameter of over an 

 inch. There was fuUy a half cupful of powdered com and corn cob dust. AU of the 

 material was returned to the jar and the breeding is being continued without the 

 addition of any moisture. E. P. Felt. 



Liqiiid Excretion by Dreeculacephala reticulata. While studying the habits of 

 this Jassid it was noticed that the method of excretion was in some respects quite 

 different from that of the "Sharp Shooters," as described in Insect Life, Vol. V, 

 pp. 150-154. In the case of reticulata, nymphs of all instars as well as adults excrete 

 the drops of Hquid in a similar manner, though the drops are of course smaller in the 

 earlier nj'mph stages. 



These small drops of water-like hquid, voided from the tip of the abdomen, re- 

 mained poised for an instant, and were then flipped off in whichever direction the 

 tip of the abdomen happened to be pointed. The excretion usually takes place 

 while the insect is feeding, the rate at which the drops form varying considerably. 

 Each drop is cast off with such speed that it is difficult for the eye to follow. When 

 caught on a shde or on cotton they evaporate quite rapidly. Several drops were 

 caught on absorbent cotton on which they retained then original spherical shape. 

 The discharge ceases when the insect is disturbed and there is no indication of an 

 effort to throw it in the direction of the intruder. 



At a temperature of 70° F. the drops from thi'ee adults, two females and one male, 

 were counted for periods of five minutes. The result was 168 drops for the male 

 and 225 and 281, respectively, for the females. The di-ops vary slightly, averaging 

 .45 mm. in diameter, so at this rate each individual excretes about 4 cubic mm. 

 per minute. W. H. Larrimer, Bureau of Entomology, 



Cereal and Forage Insect Investigations, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



