MONTHLY LETTER OF THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY UNSTED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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Number 125 STATE PLANT BOARD September, 1924-

SOUTHERN FIELD CROP INSECT INVESTIGATIONS J. L. WetU, Entomologist, Acting in Charge

T. C. Barher, of the Brownsville, Tex., station, has "been transferred from sugarcane insect investigations to work on" the cotton hopper, which will he conducted at the Brownsville station.

The Sugarcane Insect Laboratory at New Orleans, La., was moved September 29 to rooms 6 and 7, Wilson Building, 8200 Oak Street, New Orleans. The new location is one block above Carrolton Avenue and can be reached by St. Charles and Tulane Belt cars .

L, P. O’Dowd and Daniel D. Ewing, jr., have been employed as Temporary Assistants for the months of October, November, and December. They will assist T. E. Hollcv;ay and W. E. Haley in making observations on sugar plantations during the "grinding season." J. W. Ingram, stationed at Crowley, La., will also assist in work on the sugar plantations this fall.

W. E. Haley recently spent some days in Mississippi, inspecting sugarcane for the pink sugarcane borer. He was assisted by M. M. High, of Truck Crop Insect Investigations, and E. K. Bynum, of the Mississippi Plant Board.

T. E. Holloway v;as recently at Cairo, Ga. , determining the results of experiments on control of the sugarcane mealybug. J. W. Ingram will soon go to Georgia to start more experiments.

T. E. Hollov.’ay and W. E. Haley have arranged a number of cooperative experiments on control of the sugarcane moth borer in Louisiana sugar plantations.

F. S. Chamberlin, of the Quincy, Fla., tobacco insect substation, was in Washington during the latter part of the month for the purpose of using the library and consulting the systematic workers in the National Museum.

Dr. G. F. Whits spent two weeks in Houston and Port Lavaca, Tex., assis - ing Dr. W. D. Hunter in investigations of the cotton hopper, Psallus senatus, as a possible plant disease carrier.

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ZRUIT IIJSECT IIJYESTIC-ATIOl'IS A. L. Q,-uaintanca, Senior Suionologist, in Charge

Fred S- Brooks, in charge of ths station at French Creek, VA Va, , read a paper on nut insects at a meeting of the Northern ITut Growers’ Association held in Fe^7 York City, September 3 to 5.

Fne temporary appointment of B. S. Brown, jr. , who ha,s heen assisting with life-history sti'.dies of peach insects at the Fort Valley, Ga. , labora- tory, terminated September 16. Ifr. Brown is now with Br. Hunter's pink boll- v;orm force in Fexas.

At the forty-ninth annual meeting of the Georgia State Horticultural Societ;/, held in Griffin, Ga. , August 6, Oliver I. Snapp gave an address on the year's development in peach insect control.

Judging from, present indications, a half million pounds of paradichloro- benzene for peach borer control will be needed again this fall to supply the demand in the Georgia peach belt.

In company with II. S. liar tin. Inspector in charge of the Hew Orleans office of the Louisiana State Entomologist, H. K. Flank visited the camphor scale infestations at Hammond, La. , and also inspected a number of citrus plantings aro'und Covington, La. A large acreage, e.pproxima.tely 800 acres, has recently been planted to the Satsuma orange, chiefly in the parishes of Tahgipohca., St. Tammany, and V/ashington, and although about 25 per cent of the trees were lost during the freeze of last January, those remadning are in very good condition despite the prolonged drought and heat of the summer just past.

On September 8 F. C. Bishopp ?vas a caller at the Camphor Scale Labora- tory s.t Hew Orleans, and, besides informing himself as to its work, took notes on som.e wire-screen experiraents being conducted there.

On SeiDtember 16 Dr. F. A. Fenton, of the Boll Weevil Laboratory at Florence, S. C. , was another visitor at the Camphor Scale Laboratory. Dx'. lenton spent some time looking over the camphor scale situation and the life history and control experiments under way.

E. J. Hewcomer, of the Yakima, Wash., laboratory, spent the week of August 24 to 31 investigating the occiurrence of red spiders in the orchard districts of Hortli- central Washington and the Okanagan Valley of British Colum- bia, and also attended the annual meeting of the Horthvxestern Association of Horticulturists, Entomologists, and Plant Pathologists, at Penticton, B. C. , August 26 to 29.

M. A. Yothers, of the Yakima, Wash. , laboratory, devoted the time from August 31 to September 3 to his investigation of the narcissus bulb flies in the Puget Soinad region.

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Basil E. Montgomery has resigne-d as Field Assistant at the Vin- cennes, Ind. , laboratory , to take up graduate work ip entomology ek Purdue Universi ty.

POSEST IE3ECT IFVBSTIGATIOES ' E. C. Craighead, Entomologist in Charge

^ Dr. Craighead returned September 10 from an extended field trip, the purpose of which was the inspection of the major forest insect control projects nnder v;ay in the best.

J. Ivl. Miller accpn^panied Dr. Craighead on the inspection of the con- trol work on the Kaibab Forest. ' He has now returned to headqusuters at ITorthfork, Calif. , and expects to spend the remainder of the field season on the Chiquito project.

F. P. Eeen hs.s returned to the Kaibab National Forest to conduct a survey necessary for obteuning results of the past sunnier 's control work.

It is likely that further control work will be carried out this fall, in- volving new procedure which promises to lessen the costs of the operations.

J. C. Evenden reports that a later examination of the spraying work against the lodgepole sawfly and needle tyer in the Yellowstone national Park shows the work to have been entirely successful. A high percentage of mortality was obtained agaunst both insects. However, only the road- side trees were sprayed and there are many square miles of infested terri- tory on each side of the road which will necessitate continued spraying for' several years. A continuation of this v/ork on a much larger scale is contemplated for next year.

Dr. S. A. G-raham is still at his field headquarters in Itasca Park, Minn., studying the ja.ck pine saivfly. He expects to return to St. Paul before the end of the month.

Dr. T. E. Snj^’der reports tlaat preliminary results of the cooperative tests with the United States Bureau of Standards in spraying with metals to prevent attack by the California lead-cable borer (Scobicia declivis Lee.) conducted at Washington, D. C. , this summer, v;ere not very encouraging. Various metals were sprayed on sections of California, live oak wood infested with these beetles, but even some of the harder metals were penetrated by the beetles in emerging from the Ttvood. Dhe tests were more severe than under conditions such that the beetles ;7ould attack cable, since insects make greater effort to emerge than to penetrate. The following metals were tested : . . ’ ■

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Metals Penetrated Metals not Penetrated

1. Alumin-um 1. Brass

2. Lead 2. Ccoper

3. Monell

4. Uickel

5. Tin

6. Zinc

William Middleton, of this office, recently returned from ITew York • where he met the Lahre Liner Providence , on which was a shipment of parasi- tized elm leaf -beetles from Dr. W. R. Thompson, in Prance. An attempt is to be made to establish the dipterous pax-asite, Ei^ynnia nitida R. D. , of the elm leaf -beetle in this country.

TRUCK-CROP INSECT INVESTIGATIONS J. E. Gra.f, Entomologist, in Charge

B. L. Boyden, Associate Entomologist, in charge of the Tampa, Fla. , laboratory, investigated an outbreak of the fall armyworm on a golf course at St. Petersburg, Fla. Specimens have been identified as Laphyn-aa frumi- perda S. & A.

R. E. Campbe].!, Associate Entomologist, in charge of the Alhambra, Calif. , laboratory, visited points in Oregon and Washington to investigate the wireworm situation. Ke conferred v/ith:.State officials at Corvallis. Oreg. , and with Bureau officials at Toppenish, Wash.

J. R. Douglass, Assistant Entomologist, in charge of the Estancia,

N. M. , laboratory, visited Douglas, Ariz. , to make a survey of a cucurbit pest in that vicinity and to determine whether the pest in question is EpiJachna borealis or E_. corrupta. Tne species has been tentatively deter- mined as a. western form of E. borealis .

Dr. F. A. Fenton, of the B'oreau's boll weevil laboratory at Florence, S. C. , .visited the Baton Rouge, La., laboratory during the middle of Sep- tember and conferred with Bureau and State officials.

J. E. Dudley, Associate Entomologist, in charge o.f the 1'fe.dison, \/is., laboratory, visited points in Kansas and Missouri to confer with officials regarding the pea aphis sit-ioation and the development of the aphidozer.

M. E. Moore, R. H. Garralaan, and M. L. Reutenik, representatives of the Vegetable Growers Association of America, recently visited the Bureau and discussed insects affecting greenhouse vegetables and their control.

S. C. :^cr many jear's ’.vas Icoated

in charge of the .a'l-'aat p;itah- w'ee'/ii eradication wo/.i. has been transferred to Grand ha.y, Ala.. . to he in cio

at Silver Hill, Ala., in that district, ser touch with cooper-

ative growers.

David Dunavan, tenporarily in chai’ge of the Toppenxsh, Wash, , truck crop laboratory, attended the meeting of hcrtlculruriscs, psAhologists, and entomologists, held at Penticton, B. C.

N. P. Howard, Associate Entomologist, in charge of the Birmingham, Ala. , laboratory, visited Knojc/ille and other points in Tennessee to dis- cuss the bean beetle situation with State and University officials.

C. H. Popenoe ha.s been transferred from Silver Spring, ,Md.-, to Wash- ington,. D. C. , for the purpose of compiling and pnblishing complete data on various insecticides, together with their sources, properties, uses, etc.

The temporary appointments of C. J. Boal and H. A. Eichman, field ■assistants at the Piiverton, N. J. , laboratory, have been terminated.

■ H. L. 1/ieatherby, who has been engaged in scouting, the Mexican bean beetle in the southeastern seaboard region, has resigned and returned to Montgomery, Ala. , to resume his work at the Lanier High School.

David Dunavan, temporarily in charge of the Toppenish, Wash. , truck crop laboratory, has returned to the Oregon Agricultural College for the completion of his last semester and to receive his degree.

BEE CULTUHE. IHVESTIGATIOHS J. I. Hambleton, A.piculturist, in Charge

,Dr. S. P. Phillips, after being with the Office of Bee Golture In- vestigs-tions fcr nineteen years, assumed his hew duties as Professor of Apiculture at Cornel 1 University October 1.

About 250 people from the United State's, Cainada, and Europe attended the Sevs2ith Inuernatxcnal Apl cultural Congress held.' at Qu..obe.o September 2 to 4. This office was represented hy E- P. Phillips and James I. Hambleton.

L. M. Berthc.lf, who has been engaged in .a study of the development ■of the honeybee larva, has resigned his temporar3^ apyointmenr to accept a position as Instru.ctor in Biology at the VCestern dvkiryla.nd University, \/est- minster, Md. .He W'ill also continue graduate .wox’k at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity. ■• ■ ■ ■ -

W. J, Holan attended the meeting of the Horth Carolina StsAe Beekeep- ers' A.ss'jciation at Vi/inston-Salem, September 10. E. S. Frevost and C. L. Sams, formerly extension workers with this office, hut each now engaged in sp.milar work for South Carolina and Forth Carolina respectively, were also present.

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Carlton Burnsif^.e, v/ho has “been engaged in a study of the intestinal flora in the honeybee, has resigned his temporary appointment to resune graduate study at the Universitj'" of Michigan.

CEREAL AM) FORAGE lESECT DhraSTIGATIOES G. A. Dean, Senior Entomologist, in Charge

The entomological laboratory at Ritzville, \iiash. , in charge of M. C. Lane, has been moved to Toppenish, \fesh. , a location believed to be more advantageous for the cooperative studies on the wireworms injurious to potatoes, wheat, and other crops.

C. E. Ainslie, Entomologist, in charge of the Sioux City laboratory, who has been making a study of the new infestation of the Hessian fly in the northwestern part of Eorth Dakota, is planning a trip to northeastern Mon- tana, where he will confer with Dr. J. R. Parker, of the Montana Experiment Station, concerning the new infestation of the Hessian fly in that State.

Prof. Geo. A. Dean retiirned to Washington September 16 from an ex- tensive trip to several of the entomological laboratories of this Division, located in the Eor thwestern. Central, and Southern States. Vnhile in the Eorthwest he attended the conference of the Northwest International Com- mittee on Farm Pests, held at Montana Agricultural College, Bozeman, August 27 and 28. Professor Dean reports a decided improvement in the grasshopper situation in the Northwestern States. The loss by grasshoppers during the past season has been very much less than that of the years 1922 and 1923.

He also reports splendid results by the entomologists of the Billings,

Mont. , laboratory in the control of the thrmon cricket with the poisoned bran mash and by the entomologists of the Salt Lake City laboratory in the control of the alfalfa weevil with arsenical dust.

Stewart Lockwood and F. Vi/ . Boyd, of the Billings, Mont., laboratory, attended the conference of the Northwest International Committee on Farm Pests, held at Bozeman Arigust 27 and 28.

Samirel Blum, Junior Entomologist, of the Columbia, S. C. , laboratory, resigned October 3. J. C. Shiver, a graduate of the South Carolina Agri- cultura.1 College, who has been engaged in entomological work with the Gipsy Moth Laboratories at Melrose Highlands, Mass., has been appointed to fill the vacancy. Ih. Shiver reported for his new duty September 29.

L. H. Worthley, in cbiarge of the European Corn Borer Control, and D. J. Caffrey, in charge of the Arlington, Mass. , laboratory, spent several weeks in Aagust and September inspecting the European corn borer situation in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. They report that the corn borer is not only much more V7idely distributed in northern Ohio and south-

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eastern Michigan hixt also tl'aa,t the degree of infestation ha,s increased in several districts. Tlie reports for northwestern Pennsyi'vania, western hew York, and Massachusetts ai’e niach more favorable. The report of the results of clean-up work on Long Island, in the vicinity of Brooklyn, is very en- couraging.

Resolutions expressing appreciation for the valuable services ren- dered by George I. Reeves, Entomologist, in chauge of the Sa,lt Lalie City laboratory, have been received from rejjresentatives of California and Eevada who Just recently held a conference at Reno, Eev. , relative to the alfalfa weevil investigations.

Y/. R. Y!/alton left Yvashington September 28 for iirlington, Mass. , where he will inspect the European corn borer work conducted by the Arlington laboratory.

MISCELLANEOUS IhYESTIGATIONS

(Items from the National Miuseurn Contributed by S. A. Rohwer)

Ered M. Schott, of Brooklyn, N. Y. , recently in the service of the State of New Jersey, was for a week, while in ha.shington, a frequent visitor to the Division of Insects, and brought with him a number of insects for identification by the specialists.

Messrs. Nicolai, Shoemaker, and Quersfeldt, of New York, recently spent a week doing miscellaneous collecting in the vicinity of Washington and visited the Section of Insects to meet the members of its force and con- sult with the coleopterists.

Captain Bartlett, who commanded the vessel “Roosevelt" on Peary's expedition to the North Pole, called on Dr. A.ldrich October 1 to clear up some questions concerning specimens collected on the expedition. The speci- mens had been previously sent to the Itiseum in pill boxes, with only the date and locality of collection. It is believed that as a result of this conference with Captain Bartlett more information will be available, the specimens will be of more value, and a more accurate record will be pre- served of the entomological results of the expedition.

Prof. 'W. M. Til'heeler, of Harvard University, ha,s sent to the Ifcseum paratypes of an extraordinary larval myrmecophile which he collected in Panama and recentl3‘ described as No tho micro don aztecarum, new species.

They are very small insects with no legs and few organs, shaped like a little bag or flask with the head sticking out at one end. It is supposed that they belong to the Diptera, but it is impossible to tell with any cer- tainty to what family, as no one has previously found anything like them.

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George U. Wclccit, of Hayti, recor.it 'Ly called at the Division of Insects, hringir:g vritli him specimens to have iclentiiied, and consuitsd the specialists regarding some of his tamonomic work,

Vuilliam Schatis went to Pittshnrgh toward the end of September to consult with Dr. Holland, examine types in the Carnegie Masenm, and return' material which had been sent him for study, l&r . Schaus has recently completed a paper on certain African Lepidoptera.

LIDPAHY

Mabel Colcord, Librarian ITew Hooks

Benard, G.

Insectes coleopteres: fam. Carabida.e, subf. Anthriinae. Paris, E. Blonde 1 La Eougery 1923. 34 p. , illus. , pi. , naps, 29 cm. At head of

title: Voyage de M. Guy Bahault dans I’Afrique orientale anglaise,

Resultats scientifiques,

Bodenheimer, P. S.

The Coccidae of Palestine; first report on- this family. Tel-Aviv, Palestine, July, 1924. 100 p. illus., 12 pi., 8^. (The Zi'cnist Organi-

sation Institute of Agriculture and natural History Agricultural Exper- iment Station. Bui. 1.) Bibliography, p. 95-96.

Cooling, L. E.

The larval stages and biology of the co.mmoner species of AustraJian mosquitoes with the biology of Aedes pecuniosus Edwards. Melbo'orne, Albert J. Mullett, Government Printer, A.pril, 1924 . 40 p.', illus.,

8°. Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Health, Service publica- tion (Tropical division) No. 8.

A synoptic list of the more important species of Culicida.e of the Australian region... ivlelbourne, Albert J. Mo.llett, Government Printer, 1924. 61 p. , 8®. Commonv/eaJth of Australia.. Department of Health.

Service publication (Tropical division) Ho. 2.

Csiki, E.

Serropalpidae . Berlin, Y/. Junk, Peb. 29, 1924. 62 p. , 4^°. (Schenkling,

S. Coleopterorum catalogas pars 77. ) . ,

Cuvier, George.

The aniinal ld.ngdora, London, W. S. Orr, 1849. 718 p., illus., pi., 4®.

Insects, p. 4 71-637.

Goldsmith, Oliver.

A history of the earth and animated nature... Gla,sgow, Blackie Son,

1853. 2 V., 4°. V. 2, p. 436-556, A liistory of insects.

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HoullDert, Constant Yinoent.

Thysano-ores deri;iap’:.erc'a ot ortlioptei’ss do I'^ancs ef de Paris, 0. Poin, 1S24. yii, 382 ;p. , illus. , 26 1/2 cm. scientii'ique . BiPlicthcquo de zcolcgie.)

Knisch, A.

la faiine em-opeene. . . (Encyclopedie

Hj/dropAilidae . Berlin, Vf. Jiink, Apr. 30, 1934. 506 p. , 4"^^. (Sclienlcling,

S. Coleopterornm catalogue, Pai'S 79.)

Mehdi Hassan, Syed.

... Translation of M. Hejutefenille ' s Report on lac and its industrial treatment. . .HydereBad-Deccan, Printed as the Government Central Press,

1924. 89 p. .fold. , map. . (Department of industries and commerce H,

E. H. the Nizam’s government Indus t:c iai laboratory, Bui. 2.) Tir 1333 E. May, 1924.

Mitra, K.

Prepotency of stimuli--a study in the heha.viours of house flies. Univ. of Calcutta. Jour. Dept. Sci. , v. 6, Zoology, p. 1-9. Calcutta, 1924. Peirson, H. B.

Estimating forest insect damage and progress report on other forest insect studies. Augusta, 1924. 22 p. , 8°. (Maine forest service, Bui. 3.)

Seidlitz, Georg Karl Maria von.

Eauna transsylvanica. Die Kaefer (Coleoptera) Sie'ben’b'Vrgens . . . Eonigsherg, Hartungscheverlags-druckerei , 1891-. 6 p. 1., iv, 914 p. , pi., 23 l/2 cm.

"A'blnirzungen der naraen und anga.he der v^ichtigsten literadur” . , p. zxix- xxxviii.

Speyer, Edward P.

Researches upon the larch chermes (Cnaphalodes strohilohius Kalt.) and their bearing upon the evolution of the Chermesinae in general. Royal Soc. London. Philos. Trans. B. 212, p. 111-146, pi. 7-8, 1923.

Weise, J,

Chrysomelidae : 13. Galerucinae. Berlin, W. Junk, May 30, 1924. 252 p. ,

4'^°. (Schenkling, S. Coleopterorum catalogue pars 78.)

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

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