550 



JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 8 



This insect has been unusually abundant in the vicinity of Albany and has caused 

 material injury in the case of small trees. It has also been reported to us the past 

 summer by Mr. S. B. Fracker from northwestern Iowa and as very common in south- 

 eastern Wisconsin. Watching for the earliest signs of injury to the developing leaves 

 and prompt spraying with a contact insecticide is the most promising method of 

 controlling the midge. E. P. Felt. 



The Desirability of Host Labels for Parasites. Recently, while looking over a 

 systematic paper prepared by one of the parasitologists of the bureau, I noted that 

 the data concerning hosts which accompanied the description were sometimes 

 lacking and generally insufficient. For many years I have kept a card catalog of 

 the recorded host relations of parasitic Hymenoptera, and a duplicate of this card 

 catalog is now in the hands of Mr. Harry S. Smith of Sacramento, who is arranging 

 it for possible publication under our joint authorship; and this is the reason why I 

 have especially noticed this point. When field workers send in parasites for deter- 

 mination, many of which will of course be new to science, it is of great importance 

 from my point of view that host labels should accompany the specimens. Of course 

 a biological number referring to "Webster Notes" or "Hopkins Notes" or "Bureau 

 Notes" will eventually enable some one to find out the facts concerning the host 

 insects, but it is perhaps too much to expect of a systematic worker that he write 

 for these data to headquarters, or to the field men, since often field notes are not 

 sent in for months, and it frequently happens that the systematist is desirous of 

 publishing immediately. Further the mere name of the host is not sufficient, but 

 the stage should also be mentioned; that is, whether the parasite issued from the 

 egg, from the larva, or from the pupa of the host. L. O. Howard. 



Gall Midges in an Orchard. Observations on a quiet, lowery morning in a 

 Baldwin orchard at Spencerport, N. Y., July 29, 1915, revealed an interesting con- 

 dition in that thousands of small midges, a species of Parallelodiplosis, were to be 

 seen hanging from spiders webs. The webs were rather common at the base of the 

 larger branches, in a few instances had a transverse diameter of six or seven inches, 

 and were composed of several layers or series of webs, the latter separated from each 

 other by a distance of half an inch or more. It was easy to find series of five or ten 

 midges on strands of the smaller webs, the insects being about one-fourth of an inch 

 apart, arranged in rows, swaying freely with gentle breezes, and mostly on the lee 

 side of the trees. The tendency of the midges was to alight side by side as nearly as 

 they could without disturbing adjacent insects, and the regular arrangement was 

 determined by the plan of the web, the flies naturally resting upon the larger, stouter 

 threads. It was not uncommon to find hundreds, and in a few cases six or eight 

 hundred of these midges upon the larger webs, and in the case of the latter they might 

 be four or five deep, due to the several layers of the web offering attractive resting 

 places. The small flies were timid and easily disturbed, though with care it was 

 possible to approach within two or three feet without alarming many of the insects. 

 On being disturbed, the midges would swarm about their haunts for a brief time and 

 then slowly return in much the same way as commonly observed among flocks of 

 birds. There was no evidence to show that the spider architects preyed to any 

 considerable extent upon the midges, though the latter were far more abundant than 

 any other form of life. A few midges were observed resting upon the trunk, espe- 

 cially chnging to fragments of webs, though retreats of this character were distinctly 

 less favored by the insects. 



This appears to be a fairly common habit among the smaller gall midges, at least, 

 and similar observations in regard to several species and genera have already been put 

 on record. E. P. Felt. 



