October, ’23] 
SCIENTIFIC NOTES 
459 
in the Oregon Grower, August, 1923. According to Professor Lovett the earwig is a 
real menace to agriculture as well as a household nuisance of the first magnitude. 
E. 0. Essig 
Scutellista cyanea Mot. recovered at New Orleans, La. —Those familiar with the 
literature of this parasite will recall that it was liberated to attack the barnacle scale, 
Ceroplastes cerripediformis Comst., at Baton Rouge, La., in 1897 by Dr. H. A. Morgan 
then entomologist of the Louisiana Experiment Stations. The original material was 
sent to Dr. Morgan from Washington, D. C., by Dr. L. O. Howard who had received 
it from Dr. Leonardi in Italy; and Mr. Alexander Craw in 1903 also sent to Dr. 
Morgan a quantity of Sciissetia oleae Bern., parasitized by Scutellista from California. 
Dr. Morgan states in correspondence with Mr. Ed. Foster of the Louisiana State 
Department of Agriculture and Immigration that Scutellista cyanea was liberated 
only at Baton Rouge, La., and in July of 1897. Careful searches made several 
years after liberation failed to reveal a single individual. It was therefore supposed 
to have died out, and this, its first recovery after more than twenty-five years and 
at a point over 110 miles distant from the place of liberation, seems very remarkable. 
The rather light infestation of the black scale, Saissetia oleae , on Nerium oleander 
and varieties in this city, led the writers to make a short inquiry as to the part 
which parasites might be playing in holding this scale in check here. Accordingly, 
liberal quantities of oleander branches infested with black scale were collected and 
caged on May 4, 7, 10, and 12, at which times many exit holes could be seen in the 
scales; in some instances living parasitic larva and pupae could be found by removing 
scales at random, and one scale thus removed contained three pupae. As a result 
numerous parasites emerged on May 11th and on subsequent dates up until June 
20th, shortly after which time the cages were discontinued due to drying of the ma¬ 
terial. These parasites were identified as Scutellista cyanea Mot., which identifi¬ 
cation was later confirmed by Mr. Gahan of the United States National Museum. 
About 80 or 85% of the black scale on oleander in New Orleans seem to be para¬ 
sitized by this insect. 
H. K. Plank 
Thos. F. Catciiings 
An Outbreak of Amorbia burner osana Clem, on Apple: A serious outbreak of the 
Leaf-roller, A morbia burnerosana Clem, has been found in York County, Pennsylvania. 
The species has been present in small numbers for a number of years and attention was 
previously called because the insect might probably become an apple pest. The 
writer has collected the species from apple from ten counties in Penns}d vania. It 
feeds also on Poison ivy, Spice bush, Pine and Huckleberry. The injuries resemble 
those of Eulia velutinana Walk, but the scars are larger and deeper. The species is 
one brooded, the larvae mature towards the end of August or first of September. 
They winter as pupae and the adults issue in April and May of the following year. 
S. W. Frost, State College, Pa. 
An Important New Pest of Beets in Porto Rico. Disonycba laevigata Jacoby is 
the determination given by Mr. G. E. Bryant, of the Imperial Bureau of Ento¬ 
mology, of a Chrysomelid which has recently become very abundant in Porto Rico. 
The beetle is about 4.5 mm. long, bright orange-red in color, with eyes, antennae 
except two basal segments, apical half of tibiae and all of tarsi, black and finely 
pubescent; the elytra bright green, shining and impunctate. Dr. E. A. Schwarz 
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