170 
ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1889 OF THE 
CONSULTING ENTOMOLOGIST. 1 
(WITH ADDITIONS FROM REPORT OF MARCH 5, 1890.) 
TnE following annual report gives an abstract of the main points 
of the entomological work of the twelve months from December 
1888 to December 1889, to which is appended more full detail 
regarding some kinds of injurious insect attacks not previously 
recorded as being present in this country, and some other points 
of practical interest regarding effects of, or remedies for, insect 
infestation. 
During the past season the amount of inquiry and business 
coming to my hands has continued to increase. The home corre- 
spondence regarding identification and means of prevention of 
farm crop and orchard insect pests continues now throughout the 
year, and also frequent inquiry as to means of giving or procuring 
information in agricultural entomology, and other subjects connected 
with the work. 
There has also been much correspondence, colonial and foreign, 
especially with the United States, partly regarding special insect 
attacks, and frequently consisting of consultation letters with leading 
official entomologists, by which I am greatly assisted. 
The number of letters I have written on the above subjects 
during the past official year (from December to December) is 
approximately upwards of 1,257. I do not include in these short 
notes written by my assistants to accompany pamphlets asked for, 
or the like. 
Inquiries have as usual been sent in regarding almost all 
the regularly known crop and orchard insect pests, which it is 
unnecessary to enumerate here, but, excepting with regard to 
orchard insects, I am not aware of widespread attacks of any 
special kind of insect having occurred over large districts during 
the past season, and amongst some of the kinds quite exceptionally 
observed as present in 1888, the beet carrion beetle has not been 
reported at all, and frit fly in oats at only two or three places. 
Some few kinds, scarcely or not at all noticed here before as 
injurious, were observed in the past season ; namely, the attack of a 
small beetle to turnips at a locality in Aberdeenshire, and a red 
maggot on barley at one place in Lincolnshire ; a large white 
woolly scale most extraordinarily prevalent on various kinds of 
currants, where it established itself at all, and a small boring beetle, 
of which the attack is very rapidly fatal to young plum trees. 
1 In figs. 4 and in this paper, those of the winged moths and of the wing- 
lcss moths to right-hand side arc from British Moths by Edw. Newman; 
the wingless moth and loopcr caterpillar to left in above figures respectively 
are from Die pralttischc Inschtrnkunde of Dr. E. L. Taschcnbcrg. The 
other illustrations, namely, tigs. 1, 2, 3, C, and 7, are figured from original 
specimens for my own publications, and are lent for this paper. — E. A. 0. 
