April, ’23] 
CURRENT NOTES 
235 
Efforts toward the control of the Mexican bean beetle have been rewarded by the 
discovery of a very promising parasite. Mr. E. Gray wood Smyth, who was sent by 
the Bureau of Entomology in early May to Mexico to search for natural enemies of 
the bean beetle, has discovered a tachinid parasite that preys upon at least two 
species of Epilachna and seems to restrict itself to that genus. It was responsible 
for a very high fatality among Epilachna larvae in the Valley of Mexico and at 
Cuernavaca. In the neighborhood of 2,000 living puparia of this fly were sent to the 
Birmingham, Ala., laboratory and from this material Neale F. Howard, in charge 
of the laboratory, has succeeded in rearing one generation from native Epilachna 
larvae. A considerable number of puparia are now being held in hibernation for the 
coming spring. In addition, Mr. Smyth found in Mexico two varieties of beans 
which show promise of resistance to the injurious attack of the bean beetle, one of 
them, a native edible white bean, known as “ayocote,” which is cultivated on a fairly 
large scale in sections, the other a wild brown bean of the genus Phaseolus. The 
latter grows very abundantly along streams in southern Mexico, climbing bushes and 
other vegetation, and the rather leathery foliage which it produces is very seldom 
attacked by the bean beetle, so that there is a possibility of the bean proving of great 
value for hybridizing with cultivated varieties to breed a resistant stock. 
At the ninth annual meeting of the Entomological Workers of Ohio Institutions 
held at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, February 2, the following officers 
were elected: President, Clifford R. Outright, Vice-President, J. W. Bulger, Secre¬ 
tary, C. H. Kennedy. Visiting entomologists were: S. B. Fracker, Madison, Wis; 
W. J. Schoene, Blacksburg, Va; W. H. Larrimer, West LaFayette, Ind; G. A. Runner, 
Sandusky, O.; F. W. Poos, Sandusky, O.; T. L. Guyton, Harrisburg, Pa ; R. D. Whit- 
marsh, Wooster, O. The program was as follows: C. R. Neiswander, The Tracheal 
System of Ranatra fusca; J. S. Hine, The History of the Ohio State University 
Entomological Collection; T. J. Naude, Representative Genera of Cicadellidae in 
South Africa; E. W. Mendenhall, Some Observations on Ecoromic Entomology; 
D. M. DeLong, Recent Observations upon Toxicity of Nicotine; J. T. Potgieter, 
Remarks on South African Aphids; C. R. Cutright, Fall Activities of Some Common 
Aphids; F. H. Lathrop, The Environment of Aphids; T. H. Parks, A Progress Re¬ 
port of Hessian Fly Studies; J. S. Houser, The Present Status of the San Jose Scale; 
C. H. Kennedy, A Record Bumblebee’s Nest; M. O. Lee, Mechanism of Respiration 
in Certain Orthoptera; Herbert Osborn, Personal Contact with Pioneer Entomolo¬ 
gists; Albert Hartzell, The Potato Leaf-hopper and Hopperburn; H. A. Gossard, 
Life History of the Codling Worm in Ohio; W. J. Schoene, The Problems and Oppor¬ 
tunities for Entomological Investigations in Virginia; J. W. Bulger, Some Researches 
with Paradichlorobenzme; W. G. Stover, Some Plant Diseases Know or Likely to be 
Transmitted by Insects; R. C. Osborn (Subject to be selected.); A. E. Miller, The 
Cabbage Looper and Common Ear Worm at Chillicothe; E. C. Cotton, Steps in 
the Enforcement of Inspection and Quarantine Regulations. The following reso¬ 
lutions were adopted: 
(1) Resolved , That the Entomological Workers of Ohio express their thanks to 
the Federal Bureau of Entomology for the excellent exhibit of photographs and 
other material to illustrate the work of the European corn borer and that we like¬ 
wise thank Mr. J. S. Houser for his sucessful effort to secure this exhibit. 
(2) That the Entomological Workers in Ohio State Institutions assembled in 
annual meeting respectfully urge the calling of a national conference to determine 
the future policy for the control of the European corn borer. This conference to 
be held preferably at Cleveland during the summer or fall of 1923 and to inc ud 
