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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 
Vol. 16 
fiscal year 1922, the Forest Insect Branch of the Bureau gave advice in 118 cases in 
which termites had damaged the woodwork of buildings or their contents in the United 
States, and during the present fiscal year 74 cases of such damage have already been 
reported. A destructive species of West Indian termite which breeds in dry solid 
wood seriously damaged the woodwork and furniture in a large hotel in Miami, Fla. 
The termites infesting the furniture were killed by placing it in the attic directly 
under the roof, where the sun’s rays beat down. The temperature in the attic was 
from 17 to 24 degrees F. higher than the maximum temperature recorded by the 
U. S. Weather Bureau. 
During the past year the work of rearing and liberating an important parasite 
of the corn borer, Habrobracon brevicornis Wesmael, has been very successful, and 
this parasite has been liberated in numbers exceeding 1,000,000 individuals in the 
densely infested area in New England. In view of the success achieved in rearing 
this parasite, it was believed that it might be worth while to attempt to introduce 
it into the intensely infested areas of southern Ontario, and a suggestion to this effect 
was made to the Dominion Entomologist, Arthur Gibson, who recently has been 
authorized to employ an assistant for this purpose. With this end in view, A. B. 
Baird recently visited the Arlington, Mass., laboratory and was instructed in the 
technique necessary for the handling of this parasite. Mr. Baird will soon proceed 
to southern Ontario to conduct the preliminary work necessary for the rearing and 
introduction of this parasite into Canada. Several other promising parasites of the 
corn borer have been received from Dr. W. R. Thompson,located in France, and are 
being reared by Detmar W. Jones of the Arlington laboratory. Mr. Jones has shown 
great ingenuity in perfecting the technique for the successful rearing of these insects, 
and at least one additional promising species will soon be ready for liberation. 
The third general meeting of the North-west International Committee on Farm 
Pests was held at the Agricultural College, Winnipeg, Manitoba on April 18 and 19 
1923, the following entomologists being present: W. R. Walton, Washington, D. C.; 
Arthur Gibson and R. C. Treherne, Ottawa; Stewart Lockwood, Montana; R. L. 
Webster, North Dakota; H. V. Severin, South Dakota; A. G. Ruggles, Minnesota; 
E. H. Strickland and H. L. Seamans, Alberta; Kenneth King and M. P. Tullis, 
Saskatchewan; A. V. Mitchener and N. Criddle; Manitoba. Some of the 
sessions were also attended by members of the college staff and by J. B. Wallis, 
Winnipeg. 
The meetings were opened with an address of welcome by Prof. C. H. Lee, acting 
president of the college and later Mr. J. H. Evans Deputy Minister of Agriculture 
also addressed the meeting. 
The sessions were of an informal nature, no set papers being presented. Im¬ 
portant subjects discussed were: The Pale Western cutworm (P. orthogonia ), grass¬ 
hoppers and grasshopper baits, the Wheat-stem Sawfly (C. cinctus), Hessian-fly, etc. 
The committee reported upon experiments undertaken during 1922 and arranged 
for a uniform series of experiments to be carried on in 1923. 
The importance of rainfall as a means of forcing cutworms to the surface and thus 
enabling parasites to attack them, was brought out, as showing the chief cause in 
explaining the periodic outbreaks. Cultural methods for preventing egg laying on 
fields and as a method of possibly destroying the eggs were discussed and a series of 
experiments arranged in order to obtain fuller information on these subjects. 
An extensive discussion on grasshopper baits indicated the necessity of a close 
