19§ 
Personally I know nothing against the introduction of the three birds 
you mention and I should think that some birds which keep to the open 
country and are insectivorous might be introduced with advantage. 
Whether you will be successful in establishing all — or indeed any of 
these — remains to be seen. I should be very careful in the matter of 
introducing forest birds, especially anything of the woodpecker lot, 
or birds with the habits of woodpeckers. Though these might destroy 
a good many boring insects, they would be sure to destroy a lot of the 
beneficial ones, especially grub<: of the wasps of the genus Odynerus, 
which nest frequently in the holes made by other and injurious insects. 
If these beneficial things were destroyed, it would probably be found 
that more harm than good had been achieved, even though the borers 
themselves were decreased in numbers, 
Yours very truly, 
R. C. L. PERKINS. 
P. S. — Any birds, which you find — on published records of the 
stomach contents — feed to any considerable extent on insects of the order 
Hymenoptera, should not be considered at all in making new introduc- 
tions. It would be too risky. 
FERN WEEVIL PARASITE 
The recent discovery of the unfortunate presence of the 
fern weevil in the ditch country on the island of Maui brings 
up the question of measures of relief. Owing to the extent 
of the infestation, the absolute eradication by clearing and 
burning is out of the question and the parasite must be relied 
upon for controlling this pest of the ferns. 
The following progress report on the effectiveness of this 
parasite, which was introduced from Australia about a year 
ago, will be read by all who are interested in the subject: 
Honokaa, Hawaii, Aug. 20, 1922. 
Dear Mr. Agee: On August 6th, I made an examination of ferns 
near the Volcano residence of Mr. W. M. Giffard to determine tlie pres- 
ent position and abundance of the fern-weevil l^^yayri iis fiil ritarsifi and 
the distribution and etfectiveness of its parasite Ischioyoinis syaf/iii. 
This is about one year since I originally shipped this parasite from 
Australia. 
The parasite is everywhere well established. At all points examined, 
where the. weevil has spread, evidences of the parasite were found. Liv- 
ing larvae or pupae of the parasite were found on or near the dead 
weevil larvae, on which the parasites had fed, or empty cocoons of the 
parasite were present in the hollowed fern-stems where the weevil 
had worked before attack by the parasite. These empty cocoons were 
particularly evident wherever the weevil has spread. These cocoons of 
the wasp, being silky and tough, remain permanently in the fern-stems 
after the parasite has emerged, gradually accumulate in a region and 
are the first evidence that the wasp is present or has been working in 
any particular locality. In some of these, Iscliiogonus pupae were still 
present, and in many others the wasp had already emerged. 
It is yet too soon for the parasite to have reached its maximum degree 
of efficiency, but the weevil is most certainly being checked. The weevil 
