526 
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 
[Vol. 17 
moisture in the soil, and at a soil temperature of 56°F. Later experi¬ 
ments with part of the material applied with a beet seeder and part 
plowed in with a garden plow when the soil had become drier, were not 
nearly so efficient. Further experiments with paradichlorobenzene 
and calcium cyanide are now in progress, the material being applied 
soon after leveling the ridges. 
Repellents. Upon the suggestion that insect repellents might be 
effective for the pest in the asparagus fields, many materials such as 
various forms of lime, tobacco dust and others were tested, but without 
any apparent repelling effect. These materials were scattered along on 
top of the asparagus crowns and covered with a heavy ridge of dirt. 
Some work has also been done and other experiments are being planned 
with the use of repellents for the protection of sprouting seeds, bulbs 
and so forth, in the small gardens and truck crop fields. 
A discussion followed, lead by Mr. E. O. Essig, who emphasized the 
importance of the entomologist having a better understanding and 
knowledge of the best farm practices. 
CYLINDROCOPTURUS JATROPHAE FALL, A NEW 
ECONOMIC INSECT 
By Chas. T. Vorhies, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 
Abstract 
Serious damage to chrysanthemums in one garden in Tucson, Arizona, by a small 
stem borer proved to be due to a hitherto unrecorded insect pest. This was identified 
as Cylindrocopturus jatrophae Fall, first discovered by Schwarz on JatropJia in the 
Santa Catalina Mountains. JatropJia is a native shrub of the family Euphorbiaceae. 
Late in July 1923, a citizen of Tucson, Arizona came to me with the 
complaint that his chrysanthemums were being mysteriously killed, and 
the statement that he suspected some insect of doing the damage, 
though he was at a loss to locate anything specifically. An examination 
of his chrysanthemum bed showed a number of the plants in various 
stages of wilting and dying. When it was attempted to pull up plants 
that were badly wilted or quite dead they would usually break off below 
the surface of the soil. It was found that the stems were being mined 
by some small borer, and on careful examination boring larvae, a pupa 
or two, and two adults were found within the tunnels of the stems. 
So far as could be determined with the small amount of material avail¬ 
able it appeared that the eggs were probably laid in pits dug in the bark 
at the surface of the soil. The larva then mines back and forth upward 
