94 
F. W. SILVESTER — REPORT ON INSECTS. 
the recorder for Hertfordshire, I shall he happy to furnish any 
members with a “ Schedule of points for observation and experi¬ 
ment,” if any should be desirous of taking up this useful field of 
labour, in which our honorary member, Miss E. A. Ormerod, is 
interested, as it is her intention, by desire of the lloyal Agricul¬ 
tural Society, to devote a special report to it, with the co-operation 
of Mr. Whitehead, the chairman of the Seed and Plant Diseases 
Committee of that Society ; it being “ important to collect evidence 
as to whether insects that feed upon manure in certain stages of 
their lives are attracted to growing crops by the smell of manure, 
and whether any measures have been adopted to counteract this.” 
I am indebted to Mr. A. E. Gibbs for the following interesting 
note “ The wax-moth (Galleria cereana) was very troublesome in 
my apiary this past season. When I removed a number of empty 
hives indoors for the winter, I found that in a few days the rooms 
in which they were put were much infested with these troublesome 
insects. It should be mentioned that the hives had been standing 
empty in the garden for some weeks, and that my other hives were 
also more infested than usual with the grubs of the wax-moth.” I 
thought I could not do better than write to the indefatigable 
honorary secretary of the Hertfordshire Beekeepers’ Association for 
information on this head. The Bev. John Lingen Seager replied as 
follows :—“ The only cure for moth is carefully to search both hive 
and quilt and destroy the grubs. They are often to be found in 
the saw-cut at the top of the frames into which the foundation is 
put; also especially in old carpet-quilts. I always take all my 
quilts ofi twice a year and bake them in the oven ; if they are dirty, 
I scald them first. The moth generally gets in under the roof, 
which in ninety-nine hives out of a hundred does not fit properly. 
Some people always keep a lump of camphor laid on the quilt. I 
do not think this a bad plan. Old bits of comb left lying about 
near the hives are sure to encourage the moth.” 
In bringing this report to a conclusion, I have to thank most 
cordially those members of our Society and others who have 
furnished me with notes of their observations. I only wish it had 
been in my power to compile the matter entrusted to my care in a 
manner more worthy of your acceptance. I am most grateful to 
Miss E. A. Ormerod for kindly help and valuable counsel. We all 
regret that her increasing beneficial labours to the country at large 
have compelled her to resign the post of recorder for injurious 
insects, but she assures me that she will ever be ready to help our 
Society in any way that lies in her power. Members will find her 
newly published ‘ Guide to Methods of Insect Life ’ full of infor¬ 
mation. I hope a perusal of it will induce greater numbers to send 
in their observations to me during the present year. 
