NARRATIVE OF PROGRESS OF WORK. 
81 
main forest, where the open grass-covered ground did not offer suf- 
ficient concealment for the beetles. 
Thje principal check to the depredations of the caterpillars of the 
gipsy moth in this forest came with the advent of the tachinids, the 
latter appearing upon the scene after the trees had been almost or 
entirely defoliated. Chalcid. flies also appeared at this time, but not 
in considerable numbers. The species of Limnerium, a few speci- 
mens of which had been previously received from Russia, and of 
which it had been hoped to secure a supply for transfer to America, 
proved to be exceedingly rare, only three specimens being found. 
The larva of this parasite on emerging from its host spins an elongated 
silken thread, at the end of which it spins a cocoon and transforms 
to the pupal state. 
Considerable numbers of the cocoons of Apantdi* solitariua were 
collected from the forest, from the extensive orchards of the neigh- 
borhood, and from clumps of willow bushes conmonly found at the 
edges of fields. For several weeks shipments were made almost 
dally to Hamburg, from which port the packages were shipped in 
cold storage to New York. Many difficulties arose til attempting to 
make rapid shipments. The postal connections were very unsatis- 
factory and caused annoying delays, while at the German frontier 
another cause for loss of time developed through the formalities of 
the customs authorities of the German Government. 
The brown-tail moth seemed to be quite uncommon in the region 
about Bendery, and no parasites were observed upon the small num- 
ber of larva' collected at this point. 
Since it seemed desirable to cover as extensive a territory as pos- 
sible during the season, the writer, leaving an assistant in charge of 
the laboratory and collecting organization at Bendery, journeyed 
northward on dune 17 and established a aew center of exploration at 
the city of Kief, in the province of the same name. Through the 
courtesy of Prof. YValdeniar Pospielow the writer was furnished with 
much valuable information in regard to the forests of this portion of 
Russia and concerning the areas in which the gipsy moth was known 
to exist. SeveraJ immense forested areas were traversed, but as they 
were for the most part purely coniferous in character the gipsy moth 
appeared to be quite a rare insect. Through information supplied 
by Prof. Pospielow it was ascertained that at Mechnigori, a nionas- 
terial institution on the banks of the Dnieper, several hours by 
steamer from Kief, an area of woodland existed which was infested 
to a m< derate extent by caterpillars of the gipsy moth, among which 
the parasites were reported to be much in evidence. A visit to the 
locality showed an interesting condition. The monastery was sur- 
rounded by beautiful groves of elm and oak trees in which the gipsy 
moth had made considerable inroads, but the parasites had developed 
to a sufficient extent to practically clear the foliage of caterpillars. 
Almost the sole agency in bringing about this condition was Apon- 
teles rujijH'S, which attacks the larvae of the gipsy moth in a manner 
closely resembling Apanteles japonicus, as observed during the pre- 
ceding season in Japan, but in the case of the latter the caterpillars 
usually die upon the leaves of the trees, whereas in the former the 
caterpillars descend to the trunk and lower branches to form colonies. 
On emerging from the caterpillars the parasites spin cocoons beneath 
05<;7 7°— Bull. 01—11 6 
